Is $100k in federal college loan debt worth a business undergraduate degree at Cal Poly SLO?

Paying for College
1

<p>I have accepted admission to go to Cal Poly SLO next year to start the process of getting a bachelor's degree in business administration.</p>

<p>Going to SLO gives me so many opportunities with people, internships, future jobs, etc., but it will also put me almost $100,000 in debt by the time I graduate which doesn’t even include if I go to graduate school…</p>

<p>I know I want to do business - I don’t know what kind of business and I’m hoping SLO will help me figure that out.</p>

<p>But, is the debt worth it? Do I want to be chained down to a debt throughout part of my life? What if I don’t find a well paying job out of college?</p>

<p>On the other hand, I could go to the community college where I currently live and pay everything out of pocket (I think) and transfer to a university in 2 years.</p>

<p>Staying here takes away my freshman college experience and I probably won’t be able get an internship after my sophomore year and I might not be able to study abroad my junior year since I will be transferring to another school.</p>

<p>I’ll likely put myself into probably $10,000-$20,000 in debt to finish off my schooling at an actual university if I transfer from a community college.</p>

<p>But, that’s an ~$80k difference.</p>

<p>The thing is, nobody in my family has a college degree. My dad took some college courses, but I am a first generation college student. I’ve been dreaming and talking about going to college since I was in elementary school literally and my dad knows that which is why he told me to take out the loan (which I can still decide not to take out).</p>

<p>I’m going to have to pay interest while I’m in college too. </p>

<p>I could decide to transfer to a CC if I don’t think it is worth it after my freshman year, but my freshman year alone is putting me $24k in debt.</p>

<p>I really don’t know what to do. I’m going to miss out on that college freshman experience I’ve always wanted and some opportunities if I go to the CC in my city, but $100k debt?</p>

<p>If anyone has advice, please help me out. I'm sort of late in being freaked out by my debt since the CC where I live starts in a month and Cal Poly starts in 2 months, but with this, it's really better late than never.</p>

2

<p>No, $100K debt for an undergraduate degree is not worth it. Certainly not for an undergraduate degree in business administration. </p>

<p>Also you wouldn’t be able to take out that much in loans under your own name anyway. </p>

<p>How would Cal Poly even require that much borrowing? Would you be paying non-resident tuition?</p>

3

<p>I would be paying in state tuition, and the loan is partially through a Parent PLUS Loan. Thank you for replying.</p>

4

<p>I agree that it is not worth borrowing 100k.
Were you eligible for any financial aid?
The question is are your parents willing to borrow $100K</p>

<p>I think that your solution is to look at more affordable options </p>

5

<p>That’s way too much. As I teenager I can see that you can’t fathom the terrible consequences of this, but I really can’t understand your father not working out the numbers with you. You would not likely be able to make payments on that amount after you graduate, so your father would have to make payments also or his credit will be ruined. You will pay at least 40,000 in interest in addition. Not worth it–any business person could see that.</p>

<p>You were not eligible for any financial aid? If not, and your family can’t/won’t help with some of the costs, then you really have to do your 2 years at community college. You will have a lot of options after that. You will save a lot living at home. Then you will get a college experience when you transfer. You will do an internship after It isn’t worth a staggering debt burden to have an idealized freshman year. That’s like going on vacation when you can’t put food on the table.</p>

6

<p>If you’re in-state for Cal Poly, how come you’d be in so much debt?
It should cost about $20,000 that you pay directly to the university ($4,000 for books, transportation, miscellaneous = what you pay as you go - if you can find second hand books or rent them, share a ride, and live frugally, the costs could be much less).
Out of these $20,000, you’d have to contribute about $2,000 from money you earned, $5,500 in federal loans, which leaves about $13,000 for your family to pay. If they can’t, there are grants from the State of California (did you fill out FAFSA? Did you apply for financial aid?) If they have the money but won’t pay, that’s another problem, but a $13,000 Parent PLUS loan wouldn’t add up to $100,000.</p>

7

<p>@MYOS1634 I have absolutely no money for college. Room & Board is $11,163 alone. Tuition is about $8,742. I would also be paying for books and supplies with loans which I could probably cut down the price on. But, either way, there is about $20,000 I would have to take out in loans which could make my debt $80k. Sorry if some of my information was slightly off - I was looking for quick advice and was a bit freaked out when I posted. The cost of attendance for Cal Poly has gone up a bit in past years. I did fill out FAFSA and apply to financial aid. I did not receive any aid, and my loan has to be taken out as unsubsidized. My family does not have the money. My parents did not save for my college education. I’m counting the Parent PLUS loan + federal loan as the loan debt.
I’m still not sure if the $80k would be worth it. As much as I want to go, I’m afraid of having a ton of debt on my hands without having even gone to graduate school. But, I really do want to attend Cal Poly.</p>

8

<p>If you want to be a business major…this should be one of your first business lessons. That is a LOT of debt. $75,000 or so would be in either parent secured or cosigned loans. You, the student, can only borrow $27,000 over four years in YOUR name only.</p>

<p>Are you saying that your college education will be fully funded with loans? If so, you need to look at less expensive options.</p>

9

<p>Oh my goodness, don’t do it. CC and transfer. </p>

<p>I feel for you and understand that you really want to attend Cal Poly. If you do, you will probably join the millions of young adults who are being choked by their student loans for years and years. You might get lucky, but there is asymmetrical risk and reward here. </p>

10

<p>To everyone commenting, thank you, and sorry about my lack of knowledge in general. This is mine and my father’s first time figuring out this college thing. I am leaning toward a CC now.</p>

11

<p>First of all if you are borrowing $100K to go to college, you are going to end up paying a lot, lot more than that when you are through. There is this thing called interest that racks up very quickly. In this low interest environment, even the Direct Student loan amounts are not great deals, They start charging interest as soon as penny one is disbursed if unsubsidzed. Yes, you have a six month period after grad before starting to pay, but they do rack up interest during that time too. And if you are committing to pay back PLUS loans that your parents are going to take out on your behalf, get a load of those interest rates. They are downright usurious. So you borrow a $100K face amount for your 4 years at college, you are already going to owe a heck of a lot more at graduation than that. You want to major in business–well, here’s a free lesson in that field. Do the numbers and figure it out.</p>

<p>My guess is that you don’t qualify for finanical aid yet your parents can’t pay penny one towards your college and nor can you. You and parents figured you’d just borrow the money to go there, and as every cent that comes into the family is already earmarked, maybe several times over, there is not a dime to spare for college. The whole model of paying for college is with past, present and future income. That your and your parents haven’t saved a dime for your college, can’t tighten the belt and pay out of current income, and expect that the entire bill including that of your living expenses for the next four years should all be put on the future of a current teenager is appalling, IMO. Think about it. You are barely an adult, if you even are one yet. Something is very, very wrong here.</p>

<p>The most important thing you can do whether you even get a college degree or not is to get your brain cells to understand basic everyday finances so that you don’t end up in the situation of owing 6 figures before you earn a living wage. The whole idea of saving, planning, and working are difficult ones to learn and to practice. </p>

<p>So unless there is a whole lot more to this story, NO, absolutely, it’s not worth $100K+ and a more years than you have lived at this time of paying that debt off, to go to Cal Poly SLO. Go to CC and in addition to the basic courses you need, take some personal finance and management courses, something I wish there were more of for all of us. That would be the most valuable to you of all. </p>

12

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<p>true…if you want to go into business, you need to develop a business-head. That is toooooooooo much debt. You shouldnt even borrow half that much. Your parents are horribly naive.</p>

<p>If after you graduate you wanted to start a business, you wouldnt be able to because you would have this mega debt to manage. and if you went to a bank to get a loan to buy a business, the bank would say “no” because you already have too much debt.</p>

<p>I realize that your parents didnt save for college, but their income must be decent since you dont qualify for a Cal Grant. </p>

<p>Your route needs to be:</p>

<p>go to a cc and do your best. then transfer to a CSU that you can commute to. </p>

13

<p>Isn’t it a bit late to ask this question? Particularly for an upcoming business major. Cost and affordability should be assessed before application, or at least by the time of decision on May 1. $100k debt is several times of national average. <a href=“Average student loan debt: $29,400”>http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/04/pf/college/student-loan-debt/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>^^</p>

<p>we are seeing a lot more posts recently from kids questioning affordability, loans, etc.</p>

<p>I think that there are a number of parents who feel guilty and want to make problems go away (but create larger ones!) by co-signing loans or taking out Plus loans.</p>

15

<p>I agree with post 12. It’s late to be realizing that the cost to attend is not affordable unless fully funded with loans.</p>

16

<p>Is it correct that you didn’t qualify for CalGrants nor for other State grants - if so, your family probably makes more than 100K, which in some areas of CA may not be much but it’s still puzzling your parents don’t have any savings, nor yourself, you haven’t worked, and your parents cannot contribute anything toward your education.
However if your parents cannot pay off their income and have no savings, then you can go to SLO… two years from now. You’re lucky that in California, Community Colleges have, for most of them, a set of classes that will prepare you for the state’s university. Choose Foothill, DeAnza, Diablo Valley, SBCC, as those have excellent transfer rate (many students start out at a CC thinking they’ll transfer, not many achieve that goal, so being surrounded by students who stand a decent chance will prepare you better to reach your goal). During your years at CC, save money because SLO won’t be cheaper 2-3 years from now.
If you can’t afford anything, you’d need a full tuition or full ride scholarship somewhere. You may take a gap year to re-apply as a freshman to schools that offer such awards (outside of California). What were your GPA and SAT?
In your case however, the best course of action is likely community college then transfer to some CA public universities.</p>

17

<p>Oh my goodness! That is way too much.</p>

<p>I suggest you go to a community college and then transfer. I am sure you will be able to get back into Cal Poly SLO if you plan to apply again after two years. Just look into your local community colleges and visit their business websites. They may have programs that might interest you! </p>

18

<p>You can easily spend less than $24000 to attend Cal Poly if you live off campus. Tuition is less than $9000 and you can share a room at an apartment complex right next to Cal Poly (Mustang Village) for $419 per month. Buy used books, rent them or share with someone. </p>

19

<p>I’d say that’s way too much! Everyone is right in that interest will follow you for a very long time, and I don’t think you’d feel very comfortable starting off like that. You deserve to not be completely suffocated by debt. Going to CC will definitely slice that overall debt probably in half (or more if you commute to a CSU). </p>

<p>California has one of the best CC systems in the country, so don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed about attending one. Most people who go to college start off at one or at a local university and commute from home. Going away has become a luxury, and I can assure you that it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be. </p>

<p>Another tip: tuition goes up every year, and also, check and see how many credits the school’s projected costs include. My school calculates tuition costs based on 12 credits/semester. Yes that’s full time, but most people here take between 16-18, so our need is usually higher than what they say it is. Just something else to consider for calculating overall costs. </p>