<p>And as to your question as to SDSU: If they have the program you want and you can get the loan amount down a little, then sure, SDSU is a good school. I have a son there right now in the MBA program. But it sounded like you really want a UC school or a school known for your major, so I think that’s why people were giving you suggestions as to how to make that happen.</p>
<p>Yoyayyy, you were unkind to mom2collegekids, who is only trying to help answer your questions and is bringing up some valid points. It is valid to ask why your parents aren’t able to pay for your college expenses, given their ‘great income on paper’. Life is about choices. If they make great money and choose to spend it on a McMansion, that is their choice. And the reality is that we parents are not obligated to fund our children’s college education. Some of us choose to make the sacrifice; others choose otherwise. Both are valid choices, and we have to live with them. In your case, you will have to either attend a less expensive university or end up highly indebted.</p>
<p>I was never trying to be rude, I just felt that this thread was more based on why my parents couldn’t help me. I appreciate all of the insight and I was only looking for advice on whether or not to take on all of the debt. Its a life changing decision and I’m just really stressed.</p>
<p>Yojayy, I hope you seriously consider community college. I am a proud graduate of community college. I transferred to a state school for BS and MS, then went on to get a PhD. Many of my colleagues (five are right down the hall from me, dozens in adjacent buildings) who ultimately earned PhD’s went to community college in CA. Some transferred to a CSU, others to UC, at least one went to Michigan. </p>
<p>Community college is a great option. It is inexpensive and you get good to excellent teaching. At a large university, you might get a good teacher, but those professors focus on research. They have to. The primary job of a community college instructor is teaching and that is their focus. All my community college instructors compared favorably, as instructors, to my university professors. I am indebted to them, but not economically ;-)</p>
<p>I’m sorry but CC is not going to happen.</p>
<p>@yojayy - Can you explain clearly why your EFC is so high that you expect zero financial aid but yet your parents are only capable of a minimum contribution to your education? No criticism implied here but if your provide details there are some very knowledgable individuals on this forum that may be able to help.</p>
<p>My parents combine make around 110k per year. My EFC is around 35,000 but my parents don’t have that kind of money laying around. If they didn’t have to pay the mortgage, they could contribute.</p>
<p>Yojayyy, what I did when I was your age was work full-time at night and attend university full-time during the day. I made enough to pay for my housing, food and transportation, and borrowed to pay for tuition at a private university. Yes, it was challenging, but it is doable. I ended up with a manageable debt that I paid off in about 7 years. </p>
<p>Best wishes.</p>
<p>Yojay…</p>
<p>You completely MISSED my point. Thankfully others pointed that out already (thank you to Sylvan and others).</p>
<p>I wasn’t blaming your parents. I was pointing out that you may think that you’ll be able to make these huge payments with a good income, but your parents are PROOF that after paying for housing costs, utilities, taxes, food, cars, insurance, etc, there isn’t a bunch of money left over to put towards a loan payment. </p>
<p>I’m not criticizing your parents. I don’t know their situation. But, you’ve said that they make a good income on paper ($110k), but can only give little bits of money here and there. There you go… People don’t have a bunch of money leftover each month for big school loans. </p>
<p>You said that you don’t know families who can “shove out” $2k per month. Well, I don’t know any newish grads that can “shove out” $1300+ per month for loan payments…and I live in a world surrounded by well-paid engineers!</p>
<p>You’re not going to start at $110k per year. You’ll be lucky to start in the $50k-70k range. </p>
<p>Your taxes will be much higher than your parents because you’re single with no deductions (no mortgage, no dependents, etc). You’re going to be socked hard for taxes. You may start at a highish income, but you’re going to see half of it going to fed taxes, FICA, state, and other taxes. (Oh, the shock of seeing that first paycheck and all the deductions as a single person!)</p>
<p>If they didn’t have to pay the mortgage, they could contribute.</p>
<p>Maybe, maybe not. It’s very likely that your parents have a large mortgage interest deduction that they’re declaring every year. Without that, they’d be paying more in taxes.</p>
<p>Thank you mom2kids, I meant no disrespect. All of these numbers and costs are just getting to me and I’ve been really stressed. I hate how the only thing holding me back from my favorite school is the price.</p>
<p>Anxious, when was that? What our parents did is no longer possible-working your way through school. So please get that myth out of your head.</p>
<p>I do work almost full time and it still didn’t cover most of my public U tuition.</p>
<p>Op, why are you against community college?</p>
<p>I just feel like I worked too hard. I feel that I could have slacked off and done nothing in High school and still ended up in a CC.</p>
<p>romani, it was in the late 80s. Why isn’t it possible to work now? It was difficult then, just as I am sure it is now. As I indicated, my income covered my living expenses but not the tuition, which I financed with student loans. Ironically, I did not qualify for grants because I worked! Where there is a will, there is a way.</p>
<p>*Attending SDSU would be 10,000 a year to commute. Again, all in loans.
*</p>
<p>No, it doesn’t have to be “all in loans.” (But even if it were all in loans, $40k of debt is much more manageable than the other option!!)</p>
<p>here’s a possible POA…</p>
<p>take the $5500 loan</p>
<p>work full time this summer and sock away at least $3k (work 2 part-time jobs if you have to).</p>
<p>see if your parents can (at least) give you $100 a month. That isn’t unreasonable considering their income. It may mean some belt-tightening, but should be do-able. That would give you $1200.</p>
<p>Work part time during the school year (earning about $2k)</p>
<p>5500 (loan) + 3000 + 1200 + 2000 = $11,700…more than enough for the CSU commuting. And, you’d graduate with about $22-25k in debt…not bad at all. </p>
<p>Are you doing any ECs at school that cost your parents money? If so, those will be going away, so that money should now be available.</p>
<p>Rent your books or buy used or online. Big savings. Sell back your books at the end of the semester.</p>
<p>I’m willing to get an on-campus job. But I doubt that will cover much.</p>
<p>Anxious, a full time job at minimum wage (not even taking out any taxes) plus a stafford loan would not cover the COA at my U. </p>
<p>Tuition has risen far faster than inflation since the 80s.</p>
<p>*I’m willing to get an on-campus job. But I doubt that will cover much.
*</p>
<p>You need to be willing to do more than that. </p>
<p>First off, many on-campus jobs are reserved for W-S students, so you may not find an on-campus job (there are some non-W-S, but many will be applying). </p>
<p>So, an off-campus job will likely be better - especially if you can find one near your home which can provide summer hours and holiday hours as well. </p>
<p>Secondly, you need to work during the summers…lots of hours. </p>
<p>What is your aversion to earning a good bit of the costs???</p>
<p>roman, you’re not getting my point. I worked to pay for my living expenses and took out student loans to pay for the tuition. Even in the 80s private universities were expensive. The point I am trying to make is that work can help finance at least half of the COA at any university, especially a public one. The question is whether you are willing to sacrifice, as I did.</p>
<p>Loans will not cover tuition. Banks will not loan students money without a cosigner. Therefore, loans cannot cover tuition. Therefore, you need a job.</p>
<p>roman, exactly. A job. Thanks for making my point. :)</p>