<p>Sorry if this is the wrong thread, but it seemed like the right place to post it. Some of you may remember my last post about college life in California. I had gotten a ton of really great replies that helped me a lot in my decision on going far away for college. I'm currently living in Massachusetts and right now I need to get away. I caught wind of University of Redlands in California, and from the vibe the school gave I knew that right away it was a school I would really love. My parents right now are making things extremely difficult for me in the sense that they want me to stay close. I have gotten accepted to 2 other schools in a 5 hour radius of where we live now. They're nice schools, but I know that going away is what I want. Although things may be scary, I'm up to the challenge. I've tried talking with my parents about going to that specific university (Redlands), but they wont budge. "If you get a full ride you can go!"... I absolutely know that this wont be happening. My grades aren't good enough for that. My mom said you can if you pay for it all. That was a yes, but a scary one. I was relying on them to pay for college, but if I want this bad enough, they said I could pay for it. </p>
<p>MY QUESTION: Alright, The tuition at University of Redlands is going to be about $32,000. If I get a job that pays minimum wage during school, will I be able to make enough money to pay off the bills? How many hours do you think I'll have to work? I'm really not good at calculating the monthly bills that I'll get from the school. I'm sure I'll get some financial aid as well so that may help. Also, one last thing... If I do have to worry about working, will I have enough time for studies and a social life? I'm really worried about that. Thanks so much for any help you can give me. It's a hard time right now and any help would be great! </p>
<p>-Bryan</p>
<p>Well, let's see. If you make slightly above minimum wage (let's say $6/hr) you would only be grossing $240/week for 40 hours. And assuming that you held this job all year full-time with no overtime you would make less than $13,000. But a lot of students get internships that pay more than this.<br>
MONTHLY BILLS: The school that I am at now requires the tuition to be paid off in three payments or less. Any bill not paid in full gets a surchage of $10. The last school that I went to (tuition = $30,000) you could set up an installmant plan.</p>
<p>If you are going to go to a $30,000/year school without help from your parents and no full scholarship you have to rely on other sources. I had a grant, federal loans, and endowed scholarships in my finaid package. The rest I had to pay for with private loans because my parents couldn't afford it. The only problem is finding someone who is willing to cosign a loan, unless you can get it without one. I was fortunate to have a cosigner for three years but now I can't get the particular loan without one.</p>
<p>So my assessment just by looking at the surface of things is that loans will be needed unless you get a big scholarship from the school. My parents couldn't afford to pay for my college either but I didn't realize how bad their situation was until I got my finaid package. Me and my brother were going to school at the same time but they couldn't even afford to send one of us. I was very angry because my dad shut down and never discussed the finances with me. Whenever I wanted to talk about it he would leave the room or ignore me. I thought I could have killed him. But I learned a very important lesson. There will come a time when relying on other people, even your own parents, will be more restrictive than beneficial. If I relied on my parents I wouldn't be in college.</p>
<p>whats california's minimum? if its anywhere near $7.10, forget it. i don't think its possible to pay off the bills from a part time job, but this depends on how much financial aid you recieve. of course you'll need a student loan, and even then it most likely will be iffy. </p>
<p>but if you play the sympathy note correctly, i'm almost positive that your parents will eventually help to chip in. if you really go there, your first weeks will be tough. depending on how stubborn and how much your parents really love you, help will be on the way from within the first week to your first letter home (explaining how you have to beg for bus money) to ... (some time i don't know). the idea of moving across the country to follow your dreams will catch up to your parents, and more likely than not, they will pay your dues</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies! Your right, I will be needing loans like you said and hopefully I'll be getting enough financial aid with my loans... I'm gunna wait it out and see how it goes, hopefully everything goes great... Polter, right now I'm trying to work on my parents. I told my grandparents that I was going to go and they were the least bit excited for me. My parents are just going to have to accept the fact that I want to go far away, it's not like I'm leaving to forget them. I think they're just scaring me into not going which is unfair... Thanks again for the replies! They're helping a lot!</p>
<p>Have you came out and visited the campus? I live about 10 minutes from U of R. </p>
<p>What kind of atmosphere do you want in a school?</p>
<p>First, go ahead and apply (assuming their deadline hasn't already passed. I have to admit that I am wondering why you are still working on your college list and haven't nailed down where you want to attend. February is a little late.) When you actually have a letter/fin. aid package in your hand, you and your parents will be able to understand the situation better. </p>
<p>Second, you need to come up with a strong argument for why you really, really, want to go to the U. of Redlands. I'm guessing "It has the vibe I want" isn't cutting it for your parents. You need to have good, specific reasons--such as they offer this opportunity, this speciality, etc. Things that you can't get at the other colleges.</p>
<p>Third, assuming that you get absolutely no grants/scholarships, here's the debt you are looking at: 32K*4 = 128,000. That's if you graduate in four years, which is unlikely if you try to work and go to school full time. 40 hrs a week at $6.75 an hour is $270 a month, and if you work all 12 months, that gives you $3,240. If you work at this rate all four years, you have almost 13K--with no spending money, or text books. </p>
<p>When you graduate, you will have a huge debt of at least 115 thousand. That will take many, many years to repay. And your working full time during college will only make a slight dent in that.</p>
<p>So what I think you need to do right now is sit down and take an honest look at your options. I'm assuming that you are a senior since you said that you were accepted to two other schools already. Do you really want to be stuck with a massive debt? Is that worth going to Cali? Have you visited the campus? How can you be so absolutely sure that you want to go to Redlands?</p>
<p>Make a +/- list of your choices. Show that list to your parents, to prove you are giving all the options serious thought.</p>