Is money really no option?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I meant to say no object, dunno why I said option.</p>

<p>My parents have never had a lot of money, and they save to some extent, but when I talk to them about college they tell me to go where I want and then pay it back later. I am confused by this because from what I hear from other people and what I read on here, money is a serious issue. We have a 70k income or so household, so they for sure aren't paying for me to go. I want to get away from home, so a state school is not on my agenda. Would the 120k in student loans that I need to pay back haunt me forever? I am a fairly ambitious guy so I would want to get that off my back if I could, but is it realistic to go where I want even if there is massive debt?</p>

<p>And with that, although this question has a whole different argument involved: If I do not have a career plan set already, is a LAC worth going to over a University. I am fairly clueless about all this because I am a Junior and my school doesn't really emphasize, but I read somewhere that a LAC is a not worth it and will just be a waste of 100k+ for school. If I do not have a set major to go into as of now, though, does it really matter? I just don't want to go to a large public because I am typically more comfortable in a small setting.</p>

2

<p>Your question deserves a longer answer than this one, but I’d recommend checking out an Honors College within an in-State university. It would be relatively affordable and would give you a LAC like experience.</p>

3

<p>Yep, I kinda extrapolated my question at the end of the first idea. But if you have any experience, is an Honors college still a lot of partying? I honestly don’t want to be that one kid who doesn’t wanna smoke weed all the time. But I got no idea since I havent been to college yet haha</p>

4

<p>The quality of state universities depends on the state (i.e. some state universities are places with a strong commitment to academics, while others are “party schools” – though there will likely be at least a small “party subculture” at even the top universities).</p>

<p>But also, if you are not really sure what you want to study, consider going to community college, where costs are lower and there is less pressure to declare a major after two years. Then, when you have decided what you want to study, you can take the freshman / sophomore level courses at the community college and transfer as a junior to a bachelor’s degree granting college or university.</p>

<p>If you do decide to go directly to a four year college or university (perhaps because you have a better idea of what you want to study then, and/or will go in with advanced standing), note that some are very generous with financial aid. For example, [Harvard</a> expects no parental contribution from families with incomes below $60,000, and limited parental contribution from families with incomes below $180,000](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/financial_aid/hfai/index.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/financial_aid/hfai/index.html) and [eliminates</a> student loans](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/financial_aid/faq.html#1]eliminates”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/financial_aid/faq.html#1). The [University</a> of California](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying-for-uc/financial-aid/grants/blue-gold/index.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying-for-uc/financial-aid/grants/blue-gold/index.html) has a similar program for in-state students to cover in-state fees.</p>

<p>In other words, the actual cost is really the net cost after subtracting non-loan financial aid from the “list price”.</p>

5

<p>You do not want to borrow $120,000 to complete a bachelor’s degree. There is no BA on Earth worth putting yourself in that much hock. Honestly, I question anyone who goes above $50,000 in undergraduate loans. Even that is pushing it. I did 2.5 years at an OOS public and borrowed less than $20,000.</p>

<p>You can get away from home without going broke. Check out various out-of-state publics, and find out if there are any tuition reciprocity programs that cover your area.</p>

6

<p>What is your home State?</p>

7

<p>Maryland. College park is a good school, but I really don’t want to stay in-state. As I said my family makes 70k so I am hoping I get a bit of financial aid then. Although, I really don’t want to go to Community College. I would rather just determine what to study before I go to a 4 Year :).</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback though, even though my question was messy. Plus, when I apply for aid and look for scholarships I can have a better idea, hopefully.</p>

<p>I read somewhere that the state schools don’t have that much money to be giving a lot of aid to OOS applicants. I’m not extremely gifted, so they don’t want me that bad :p</p>

8

<p>

No.</p>

<p>You need to determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Colleges generally will not cover any part of the EFC amount in any need-based aid they offer (though they may differ in their own interpretations of EFC). Need-based aid generally will cover, at best, any gap between EFC and total costs.</p>

<p>To give you some idea, consider aid at Trinity College (Hartford), a selective private LAC. For family incomes of $60,000 - $89,999 in 2011, the mean need-based aid (to those who get it) is $41,872/year. Total cost of attendance is more than $53K/year. So, based only on the Trinity data, and the income you mentioned, the EFC for a family like yours might be about $12K/year. (You guys need to verify this with an on-line EFC calculator and more detailed information about your family.)</p>

<p>Many schools leave a gap between EFC and costs. Therefore, you may be expected to cover more than $12K, maybe much more. Typically, the less selective a school is, the less generous it is in covering “need”. </p>

<p>But let’s assume any gap is covered, and your out of pocket cost is about $12K/year. How much of that can your family help you pay? In my judgement it is realistic for you to borrow no more than about $5K-$7.5K / year max in student loans. You may be able to make $5K or so from your own earnings. That gets you close to my very rough EFC estimate … but then, you may need to cover more.</p>

<p>You can look up average aid amounts in the “Common Data Set” document available from many college sites (Google college name + Common Data Set). See Section H. </p>

<p>Consider St. Mary’s College of Maryland, a public honors college. SMCM has the look and feel of a much more expensive private LAC, in a beautiful waterfront location. But total cost is still about $26K/year, and the average need-based aid only covers about 59% of determined need. If you could cover $12K from loans and employment, you’d need to cover about $14K from some combination of aid and family help. Can your parents contribute about $6K/year?</p>

<p>OOS public schools will be even more challenging. **My strategy for you would be to focus on SMCM, UMBC, or some other in-state school as a safety, possibly including one within commuting distance. Then also apply a few private schools that cover a high percentage of determined need<a href=“as%20indicated%20by%20the%20Common%20Data%20Set,%20Section%20H.”>/b</a></p>

9

<p>If your stats are good, I suggest you also apply to schools like Colgate that will meet 100% of need.</p>

<p>It was cheaper for my eldest to go to Colgate than it would have been to go to a SUNY.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

10

<p>To answer your original question, no, it’s not worth going I into big debt. It’s unlikely you could even borrow $120K. If you decide on professional grad school, you’ll have to borrow big for that. It will indeed cripple your future.</p>

<p>If you have the stats for privates that meet need, you should get strong aid if your parents don’t have big assets. Otherwise, look to see if Maryland has agreements with other states. Otherwise, plan to stay in state.</p>

11

<p>You might do a search for academic common market, which is an agreement that Maryland has with other states for programs not offered in Maryland (Maryland students pay the same as in-state students in the cooperating states). Now the trick for you is that you do not know exactly what you want to do; however, you might take a look at the things that are offered.</p>

<p>I agree with the others that big debt is not good for undergraduate school and will discourage my own children from acquiring big debt. Good luck.</p>

12

<p>Your parents may not understand the student loan system.</p>

<p>There’s a reason why federal student loans have limits. </p>

<p>frosh $5500
soph $6500
jr $7500
sr $7500</p>

<p>Total about $27k…that’s a far cry from what you’re talking about. And, do you know why it’s a far cry? Because the federal gov’t knows that newish grads cannot pay back amounts much larger than that. </p>

<p>Your parents also don’t seem to know that if you borrow MORE than that, then THEY have to co-sign (and qualify to co-sign). It’s unlikely that with their income that they would qualify to co-sign for that much money or that they would WANT to co-sign.</p>

<p>To pay back 120k in student loans, YOU would have to make payments of about $1350 per month. WHY don’t YOU ask YOUR parents if they have an extra $1350 per month (every month) after paying all THEIR bills. If they don’t, then there’s your answer. If they don’t have that much extra money, why would YOU???</p>

13

<p>Lafayette College is another one who meets 100% of demonstrated need.
From their website:<br>

[Apply</a> for Financial Aid Tuition & Aid Lafayette College](<a href=“http://finaid.lafayette.edu/apply-for-financial-aid/]Apply”>http://finaid.lafayette.edu/apply-for-financial-aid/)</p>

<p>Is there a thread with a list of such schools?</p>

14

<p>There is a merit money thread, LC82, but the OP implied that his/her numbers aren’t fabulous.</p>

<p>The OP also mentioned that his/her interest is in a smaller setting. However, for the undecided student, a larger school often comes with more options. DD thought that she wanted the small-school environment early in the search, but changed her mind and ended up at a mid-sized university. She is trying lots of different things.</p>

15

<p>Sophomore/Junior Year I’ll have near a 4.0 unweighted, and with Freshman it’s between a 3.5-3.9 ish., weighed it is over 4.0 for sure. So my grades are fairly good. My SAT’s are going to be over a 2000, but my EC’s aren’t anything special. So no school is dieing to have me, but I would say I’m an above average applicant to most colleges, judging from my current standing within my own school, which is an average school.</p>

<p>Not trying to get a chance me, but I’m not really looking towards CC as one poster mentioned, and I am still considering OOS if I can get any scholarship + aid. If not, I can always look towards some lower end OOS schools and in-states as well. </p>

<p>And yes, my parents don’t really have any idea of the student loan system, and they are likewise terrible savers, so I’ll make sure not to make the same “mistakes” with my children, <em>sigh.</em></p>

<p>Thanks for all the replies though :)</p>

16

<p>" I just don’t want to go to a large public because I am typically more comfortable in a small setting."</p>

<p>Have you looked at St. Mary’s of Maryland?</p>

17

<p>Once you have your later test scores and a better idea of what your GPA will be, you may find that you’re eligible for some really good merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Don’t discount big schools. Many have honors colleges which can give you the small school feel with all the benefits of a big school.</p>

18

<p>Yep I think someone else mentioned that, but I wasn’t even aware of the Honors Colleges until I got on CC. Do you only have class with the Honors students? Or is it just a community</p>

19

<p>You might give St. Mary’s of Maryland and UMBC a look. They are smaller and draw some good kids. Some of the best students I know locally have chosen those two for some of the reasons you have noted, OP. Your trend upward in grades should also be considered.</p>

<p>Oops, didn’t see the SLUMOM post.</p>

<p>Honors colleges are all run differently from each other, so you need to look at each one. Maryland (CP) has several different programs.</p>

20

<ol>
<li><p>Have a sit down with your parents and ask that they run an EFC calculator. This will at least give an idea of cost. Be sure to warn them that many schools do “gap” and will expect more than the “Expected Family Contribution.”</p></li>
<li><p>Some close to home, but OOS Honors Colleges within bigger U to chose from:</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Indiana University of PA Robert E. Cook – This is a fairly “new” program. Classes the first 2 years seem to be more honors seminar than “mainstream.” The Honors dorm and Honors classes are held in the same building. Mr. Cook is heavily involved in the school. I’m a parent and PA resident. This school is high on our list for financial reasons. Like you, my son is very concerned with the “party” rep of IUP. The more he digs into the school, the more appealing it is becoming.</p>

<p>Pitt – The honors college here operates much differently than IUP. Comparing these two schools may give you an idea as to the variety of Honors colleges. Pitt is one of the public schools known to offer “good” merit.</p>

<p>Alabama – Spend some time on CC and you will certainly here of this school. Their website shows the SAT/GPA needed for each scholarship amount. I haven’t seen it in person yet, but their honors dorms in photos are the best I have ever seen.</p>

<p>Ironically, St. Mary’s of MD is also high on the list in our household, but being OOS it is not necessarily financially a good bet for us.</p>

<ol>
<li> LACs - I would suggest you check out some of the Colleges That Change Lives schools (book by Loren Poper - there is a website). All are small schools, some, like Rhodes in Memphis, have competitive merit scholarships that cover full tuition (but not room & board).
The Parents sub-forum here is a good place to lurk and learn the names and merit awards for small LACs. There are so many schools near MD, but still OOS, in VA or PA.</li>
</ol>

<p>The biggest issue my family is finding is that many LACs do not publish on the website all the merit award amounts. Some that do publish the award amount does not publish an “hard” SAT/GPA of the average winners.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If your EFC is doable and your SAT/GPA are in the range you indicated, Google “Schools that meet Full Need” This list can change from year to year. Some on the list will meet full need of only In-State students, some will require loans be taken.</p></li>
<li><p>What year are you in high school? </p></li>
</ol>

<p>CC has taught our family and extended family so much about the college process and the financial feasibility. I hope you will find it as good a source as we have!</p>