Is it even worth going out of state if you're very poor?

Paying for College
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<p>Hi, I'm trying to decide whether going to an out of state school is even worth the $$. I am a pretty average/decent student, lives in Washington, and I applied to schools like: Western Washington, University of Washington, University of Missouri, Penn State University, University of Wisconsin - Madison, and Boston University. I know BU is a private school so I probably wont end up going if I did get in. I'm not sure if I can even get in University of Washington since my grades are like borderline (same goes for PSU and UW-Madison). I got accepted into University of Missouri but I'm not sure about the aid yet. I know for sure that I will get a TON of aid from Western, my sister goes there and only pays about 5K per year.</p>

<p>My family makes under 5k and it worries me thinking about that HUGE load of debt I will get myself into. My dad is really pushing me to go Penn State or University of Wisconsin IF I don't get into University of Washington. I just don't think it's really worth going like 100k+ in debt especially since my family is extremely poor. My dad says it's fine and a degree at those schools will get me good money but I honestly think going to a state school like Western Washington will be just as good as long as I put my effort into it. I'll only consider going to an out of state school IF I have to pay near 15k a year, but no more than that. What do you guys think? This is so frustrating.</p>

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<p>Absolutely not worth getting into so much debt to go out of state. As a student you are only eligible for $5500 a year in Stafford loans your freshman year. Any more that that your parents would have to borrow in their names, or cosign for you.</p>

<p>You should try and avoid anything more than about $20-30,000 debt in total for the whole 4 years. </p>

<p>Western sounds like a great idea to me.</p>

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<p>My family makes under 5k and it worries me thinking about that HUGE load of debt I will get myself into. My dad is really pushing me to go Penn State or University of Wisconsin IF I don’t get into University of Washington. I just don’t think it’s really worth going like 100k+ in debt especially since my family is extremely poor.* My dad says it’s fine and a degree at those schools will get me good money** *</p>

<p>sorry, but your dad has NO IDEA of what he’s talking about.</p>

<p>Graduating from UWash or Penn St or UWisc will not mean that you’ll be earning more than if you graduated from Western Wash U. </p>

<p>NOT AT ALL. </p>

<p>Newish grads from even the TOP schools do not earn enough to pay back large debt. Borrowing even HALF that much will severely affect your adult life. </p>

<p>And, you would need co-signers to borrow that much (which would be crazy), and your parents would not qualify to co-sign.</p>

<p>This is going to sound harsh, but I feel it must be said…In general, do not take financial advice from people who are earning $5k per year. Typically, they are not going to have the wisest perspective on these matters.</p>

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<p>As a student I agree that it’s not worth the debt for that and to travel far, but I have to friends who have received EXCELLENT aid packages. One was $0 for MIT or $0 for a Calif. UC (all need based). MIT’s been his dream, and at that point, there’s only transportation. The other received about $50k of $58k at a fairly local private LAC. (Some of his was merit based, but most of it was need based.) What’s your case about getting aid from other schools? I would think you would at least get a good portion.</p>

<p>So, if you get a good aid package -let that guide you. But if cost is near equal, go were you think you’d be happy.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>In general, out of state publics do NOT give much aid to OOS students. Typically, they have to reserve their very limited aid to help their own states’ students.</p>

<p>*GPA Unweighted: 3.4 flat
weighted: ?? school doesn’t give it out.
Rank: top 35%
SAT: 1760 E:10
ACT: 26 E:10 (27 superscored. Does suny bing superscore?)
-WA state resident
-Competitive Public… *</p>

<p>Unfortunately, your stats aren’t high enough for any chances for merit at these schools.</p>

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<p>Penn State is not generous with financial aid for either in state or out of state students. It definitely is not worth taking on an extra $100K or more of debt (which would be high interest rate debt) vs. what you would pay for a good public u. in Washington.</p>

<p>As noted above, try to find a college where you can go with at total of $21K or so of Federally subsidized loans, which will not be too burdensome to pay off.</p>

<p>Also, carefully consider your own state college grants. They often are not available for out of state colleges, or are greatly reduced if you go out of state. In my state, that can often make a $10,000 or more difference over 4 years, which adds up. </p>

<p>Also consider travel costs, particularly if the college and your home are not both near an airport with discount airfares. I imagine airfares go up around Christmas and Thanksgiving time.</p>

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<p>I agree I do not think it is worth the debt unless you get substantial aid. Also since your in washington do u really want to have to pay for plane tickets throughout the year when u need to come home for breaks or if u get homesick.</p>

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<p>

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<p>How does your dad think HE is going to qualify for enough loans for you to attend college. YOU (the student) could get the Stafford loan and maybe a Perkins loan in your name. Anything beyond that would need to have a cosigner or be in your parents’ names altogether. </p>

<p>With an income of $5,000 a year, I would guess you would also qualify for a Pell grant (another $5000 or so). </p>

<p>All of the aid you would get would NOT cover the cost of attending an out of state public university.</p>

<p>But the real issue is how you will pay for college. The Pell, and Stafford loans will pay for you to attend a college within commuting distance of home (so no housing/board costs). Beyond that, someone will have to pay the bills.</p>

<p>Does your state have any guaranteed grants for low income students? You need to find out.</p>

<p>Your parents could apply for a PLUS loan and if denied YOU would be eligible for additional Stafford loans. BUT even that additional Stafford will not cover the cost of attending an OUT of state public university at OOS costs.</p>

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<p>*Also, carefully consider your own state college grants. They often are not available for out of state colleges, or are greatly reduced if you go out of state. In my state, that can often make a $10,000 or more difference over 4 years, which adds up. *</p>

<p>Excellent point. The state of Washington does give grants to its resident students who are low income. Take advantage of that!</p>

<p>*Also consider travel costs, particularly if the college and your home are not both near an airport with discount airfares. I imagine airfares go up around Christmas and Thanksgiving time. *</p>

<p>VERY TRUE…My sis lives in Calif and has kids going to college in Boston and Nashville. She has to pay a LOT for airfare flying her kids home during pricey holiday times, spring break, and to and from school in the fall and spring.</p>

<p>Also, low income parents do not usually have the means to ever be able to visit the school themselves. Coming for Move in Day, Parents Weekend or even graduation can be out of the question if such trips cost $1500+ for airfare, hotels, rental car, restaurants.</p>

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<p>If you live in Washington, you’re eligible for Western Undergraduate Exchange tuition at a number of Western public universities - 150% of in-state cost.</p>

<p>Their Web site is down right now, but it’s at <a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://wue.wiche.edu</a>.</p>

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<p>*does financial aid ever include the cost of travel to and from the university? *</p>

<p>Yes and no.</p>

<p>On one hand, schools often include an amount for travel in their COA, but most schools do NOT meet need, so in reality, there’s no money for that.</p>

<p>Also, if a school does meet need, that doesn’t mean that the COA will cover the 2-4 airplane trips a year… Christmas, Spring Break, trip to school in Fall, trip home in Spring. And, you also have to include an estimate of about $75-100 in shuttle costs per trip. It all adds up.</p>

<p>Also, transportation estimates are also supposed to include any tranportation costs a student will include while at school…using subways, etc.</p>

<p>However, you can see from below, not much is often included for transportation in COA.</p>

<p>Penn State OOS Cost of Attendance.</p>

<p>Out-of-state tuition and fees: $27,114
Room and board: $9,030
Books and supplies: $1,264
Estimated personal expenses: $2,916
**Transportation expense: $594 **</p>

<p>Wisconsin-Madison has a similar transportation estimate…</p>

<p>Transportation expense: $580 </p>

<p>As you can see, it the above estimate, $594 would not cover more than just the one-way trip to school in the fall, and a one-way trip home in the spring. </p>

<p>More to the point, since Penn St doesn’t give much aid to non-residents, this wouldn’t be covered by aid anyway.</p>

<p>For schools that “meet need”…</p>

<p>It appears to me that the combination of “Student Contribution from Summer Earnings” and Work-study is roughly the same as the amount that a school estimates for “Personal Expenses” and “transportation”. So, I imagine that the thinking is that schools don’t want to pay for those things…they expect the student to earn the money for those expenses.</p>

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<p>It is worth a try to apply to any school. You just should be aware what your chances are. Unless you have some special talent that a school wants, and will pay for, you are not likely to be able to afford to go anywhere with high costs. As long as you have a safety school that you know you can afford on your list, you can shoot for the moon. There may be schools out there that have some merit money and financial aid and want you enough to give you a sufficient package. You just cannot count on it. You can look at your chances by researching if a school does meet 100% of need and/or if there are merit scholarships for which you have a chance of qualifying. That means being in the upper echelon of applicants for that school.</p>

<p>OOS public universities rarely meet full need so unless you qualify for some merit award, it is highly unlikely that you will get a package to bring the costs down substantially. An athletic scholarship or merit award would have to be in the works to do this. Or some outside program like ROTC. </p>

<p>It seems as though you have yourself covered with your Western Washington app. So see what happens with the other schools. Your father can see what the costs would be if you are accepted at some of those choices. My opinion is that you should not borrow large amounts of money for college. Your family is not able to help you repay those loans, and it is not likely that you will make so much more upon graduating from those schools, or any schools to repay such large amounts.</p>

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<p>Honestly I don’t think that you should let something such as debt stop you from living your dreams I mean I know that sounds irresponsible but its just my opinion</p>

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<p>Your opinion doesn’t have to pay a $1,000-per-month student loan bill for the next 10 years.</p>

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<p>^^ I love that .</p>

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<p>Being in debt stops thousands, if not millions, of people from living thier dreams every single day.</p>

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<p>@PhotoMac: How did your friends go about finding out their financial aid awards? Did they apply to all the colleges they are interested in and then fill out all financial aid documents?</p>

<p>My Uncle is received his Chemical Engineering undergrad from Berkley and insist that I go there. Problem is, finances are extremely low.</p>

<p>My stats:
location: Tampa Fl
GPA: 3.8
Clubs: Pres. Engineering Society, Member of: Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, Students for the Environment, Sustainability Council, IEEE, and Electrathon of Tampa Bay.</p>

<p>Previous Jobs: TA Robotics Summer Camp, Nuclear Medical Tech, Web dev/digital designer/online sales/phone sales, Welder, and Server.</p>

<p>Top Choice Universities:
-MIT
-Berkley
-Harvard
-Stanford</p>

<p>Seeking Major: Undergrad: Double Major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Graduate: Neuroscience</p>

<p>I have one year to figure everything out before I finish all my Calc and Physics courses. I want to bring electrical components to the brain and the brain to electrical components.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>Remind your uncle that you’re OOS and Cal only gives enough aid up to instate status. Unless HE’S willing to pay your costs, ignore his advice.</p>

<p>What are your test scores?</p>

<p>Are you a CC transfer? If so, then getting accepted and getting the needed FA is going to be MUCH harder. I doubt Cal takes many OOS transfers…they need their spaces for instate TAG transfers. </p>

<p>If you’re a transfer, then much of the advice on this thread won’t apply to you. Transfers often get the worst aid and merit. </p>

<p>Do you qualify for Bright Futures to UF or FSU? Those will likely be your affordable choices. </p>

<p>Are you low income? </p>

<p>Do you have a non-custodial parent?</p>

<p>If you’re not low income, do you know how much your parents will pay?</p>

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<p>^LOL. Sigh. Yeah, Griggs, I’m glad YOU’RE clever enough to have this figured out. That said, sometimes “meet need” funding at private schools can in fact work out to be cheaper than even in-state – it’s a crap shoot.</p>

<p>Re “Don’t let debt stop you from living your dreams.” This is baloney.
The cost of OOS at most flagships or privates is at least $50 k a year, for a minimum total COA over four years in excess of $200,000.</p>

<p>So in essence, you’re saying:</p>

<p>But I WANT a Ferrari. I NEED a Ferrari to do well in business. I DESERVE a Ferrari for working so hard in school!</p>

<p>What do you mean they expect my parents to PAY for the Ferari? ***?</p>

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<p>^^^
Sadly, Grigg found some way to borrow the money to go to Penn State. Very likely a huge mistake. </p>

<p>It’s very sad when low income parents wrongly think that a college degree will mean big earnings for the graduate and the ability to pay back huge loans. </p>

<p>If his parents signed Plus loans (along with the idea that he would pay them back), then the entire Plus loan qualification needs to be examined. Parent income needs to be considered. Otherwise the gov’t is facilitating the “poor parents sign, child is expected to pay” nonsense. </p>

<p>that said, since the dad was the one who insisted that he go to PSU, then frankly, it will be a kind of justice if the student can’t pay and the gov’t goes after the dad for payment. Considering the amount of debt the student is taking on (only got a small bit of grants), it’s unlikely he will be able to make the payments once he graduates…unless he luckily finds a good job near his parents’ home and commutes.</p>