In need of sound advice

Transfer Students
1

<p>Alright..</p>

<p>As I live in Massachusetts and as a student at the local community college, I have a few options when it comes to transferring to a four year school. MA has some solid public schools, most notably UMass Amherst. Supposedly Bridgewater isn't all that bad either. My community college has particular articulation agreements with all the Massachusetts public colleges, as well as Roger Williams University. The articulation agreements include guaranteed admission, guaranteed transfer of credits, and a slight tuition decrease. My current GPA is 3.75 (optimistically it'll be 3.8 or 3.9 by the time I'm done) which means I'm eligible for all the Phi Theta Kappa merit scholarships. Roger Williams offers a 10k scholarship, which is essentially 20k because it applies to two years. Of course, Roger Williams is a private school so tuition is near $30,000. Add room and board, and then you're over $40,000. </p>

<p>The other option I've been considering is Northeastern. Northeastern would be by far the most costly option, as being from a mid-upper class house I'd be BURIED in loans. My grandparents have said they're going to help a lot with the tuition, but you can't expect anybody to contribute to the majority of a private tuition rate. I haven't visited Northeastern yet, but from intently researching their website, I'm certainly becoming a fan. My stepbrother is likely going there for graduate school, so obviously he likes it a lot. He's getting a graduate assistantship though, so money isn't as much of a problem for him. </p>

<p>The only school I've visited is Roger Williams, and I liked it a great deal. Going to a Mass. public school is clearly the wisest option financially, but what's the "best" option to go with? I realize threads with this gather mixed opinions, and that's what I want. I'm transferring into a four year for the Spring '11 semester, so I have time to decide. I haven't applied for financial aid yet, but odds are I'm not going to be getting a whole lot. My stepsister is attending college as a freshman in the fall, and she's not getting any federal aid, if that's any indication. Also, colleges are typically less generous towards transfers, at least that's what I've heard. What to do?</p>

2

<p>Unless you have a trust fund or can bank on making an insane amount of money immediately after college - I would generically advise you NOT to go over 25K <em>total</em> in student loan debts for an undergraduate degree. The far far far reach I’d advise is 40K total–and that is the absolute insane maximum (prepared to be majorly burdened w/ debt, have grad school out of reach, etc.)</p>

<p>Grandparents can change their minds and back out of tuition promises. But assuming they are good for the partial tuition money, have you gotten a hard number from them yet? </p>

<p>Save your money for grad school instead. Graduate w/ your undergrad with modest (25K or less) loans. You can’t predict what you will want to do after college, so keep your options open. Even 25K is a heavy burden if you end up working only part-time for $10 an hour because the economy has taken another nose-dive.</p>

3

<p>The grandparents thing is certainly something I have to clarify. I’m positive they’re contributing SOMETHING. It’s just a matter of how much. My dad will contribute something too, but nothing too significant. Again, it all boils down to me. If I choose to go to Northeastern, then that’s my burden, and I can’t blame other people for not having a great deal of money to bail me out of the huge loans.</p>