I'm having trouble deciding where to go(Undergrad.Electrical Engineering major in CA)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey CCers!</p>

<p>With the May 1st deadline to submit intent to register coming up(I live in CA and will be attending college here in CA), I've gotten into a bit of a dilemma in deciding where to go for college. I've been accepted into UC Riverside and Cal State Long Beach for Electrical Engineering, UC Santa Barbara(undeclared, even though I signed up for Electrical Engineering), and I was waitlisted at UC Davis. I was rejected from UC Irvine and I haven't heard back yet from Cal Poly Pomona. My original plan was to go to Cal Poly Pomona or UC Santa Barbara no matter what, but I wasn't admitted into Electrical Engineering, so it's out of the question now, unfortunately, since it's come to my understanding that it is VERY difficult to switch majors into Engineering at UCSB. Cal Poly Pomona was my 1B. option, right after UCSB, and I was dead set on attending that school, but they haven't responded to my application, and it could be after the May 1st deadline that they send out their decision. </p>

<p>So I'm left with two options, UC Riverside and Cal State Long Beach. A LOT of factors play into this situation. For starters, I live nearby Cal State Long Beach, so after dorming for a year or two(Living on campus is a MAJOR part of what I'm seeking out of college, and my parents have allowed me to stay on campus if I do attend CSULB, even though I live about 20 minutes away), I'll be able to commute from home and save some money. I'll probably have to take out around ~30-40k in loans to pay for all 4 years since I won't receive much financial aid since my parents make a good amount of money(~140k/year). UC Riverside on the other hand will be MUCH MORE expensive. Since I won't be receiving financial aid, I'd probably have to take out 100k+ in loans over the 4 years in order to pay for UC Riverside. The problem with Cal State Long Beach though is that I've heard that in the CSU system, it's becoming difficult to get classes because of budget cuts. This would lead me to be unable to graduate in 4 years. It would probably take 5, maybe even 6 years to graduate. </p>

<p>Now, for the aspect of engineering itself, I've heard good things about both schools, but UCR is still a "UC" school, while CSULB is a "CSU" school. Is it worth going into more debt to attend a UC, or should I go with the more "manageable" route? </p>

<p>Any help I receive will truly be appreciated. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Put UCSB off the table since its impossible to change into engineering there. Your parents are not paying anything ? If they are not paying anything, I highly doubt they will cosign your loans. You have no other option other than attending Long Beach unless you get accepted to Pomona (which you should definitely attend). It will take 5 years for you to graduate, but you will still save more money than you would by attending Riverside. There is not much difference between Riverside and Long Beach academically. 100k undergrad debt is insane and should be avoided…</p>

3

<p>Even the amount of debt for CSULB is stretching the limits of what many consider reasonable. And $100,000 is too much.</p>

<p>Without a co-signer, you can only borrow the Stafford loan limit of $31,000 (of which $23,000 can be subsidized) for all four years.</p>

<p>With high income parents who cannot or will not contribute what colleges expect them to contribute, your choices are limited. With CSUs being a financial stretch, your other option may be to start at community college for the first two years and then transfer to finish your bachelor’s degree (if you do well, you may get into some of the schools that you did not get into as frosh).</p>

4

<p>My parents WILL cosign for me, it’s just that the SCHOOLS themselves aren’t going to offer me much, or any, financial aid, because of my parents’ high income.</p>

5

<p>UC Riverside on the other hand will be MUCH MORE expensive. Since I won’t be receiving financial aid, I’d probably have to take out 100k+ in loans over the 4 years in order to pay for UC Riverside</p>

<p>Too much debt. Even with an eng’g salary, the debt payments would be too much.</p>

6

<p>Pomona requires students to submit the SIR by May 1st, so I assume they notify before that date. Their website doesn’t give the notification date, so perhaps a call to them would be in order?</p>

7

<p>It generally is not a good idea for parents to co-sign student loans anyway. If they really cannot afford to contribute to your college costs, the loans liability is not something that they can afford, since if you are unable to pay back the loan, your debt becomes their debt.</p>

<p>If they co-sign a large amount of your student loans, then you may need to have life and disability insurance policies. But these cannot insure against graduating unemployed if an economic of industry downturn occurs as you graduate.</p>