For context, I am a transfer student that is coming from a CC. I’m a spring admit into Marshall so I would be spending two years at USC, while needing to take one full year’s worth of loans out (60k), after spending the money my parents and I have saved on my education. I received no financial aid because of the CSS profile and how they account for your non-custodial parents income (Our relationship is fine, so I cannot request a waiver for this). Essentially, I can go to USC and take a full year’s worth of loans out, or I can go to Cal Poly SLO and have most of my education paid for because of FAFSA. I am a Business Administration major at all of these schools, so knowing this can anyone give me some advice on what to do/what you would do? I’m resorting to college confidential because I don’t really know who else to ask at this point. Any advice is appreciated.
Loans usually end up higher than original estimates, so I’m going to predict somewhere around 80k when you get out of college. It’s not worth taking out that kind of debt for a bachelors. Debt free is a far better deal, especially in an expensive place like CA. You don’t want large amounts of debt hanging over your head if you’re trying to make a living for yourself.
As a Business major, calculate the ROI.
hint, SLO is a no-brainer. Great school. Congrats.
@khud2277 Speaking as someone who got my MA at USC (thanks to a fellowship), a degree from Cal Poly SLO with no debt is so much better than taking out $60k student loan debt to attend USC. Just think about the freedom that you have with graduating with no student loan debt…you can feel free to pursue whatever path you choose once you graduate without the burden of having to pay off student loans. Young graduates often have to put off saving for retirement, buying a house, and starting a family because of student loan debt. Take it from someone who did NOT do this: start saving for retirement as soon as humanly possible…if you have any income, start today!..the power of compounding interest will mean that you will retire a rich person just by starting early.
It ultimately doesn’t matter where you get your degree unless you are getting into a field like Wall Street finance where getting an Ivy League education seems almost required. What matters most is what you make of your undergrad experience. Go to office hours for the professors and get to know them. Participate actively in your courses. Engage with the material. Make the most of any opportunities you find that are being made available to students. Sign up for internship opportunities! You will do great by going to Cal Poly, and enjoy the great atmosphere in SLO!
No point starting out your business career with a terrible business decision. SLO is a great school. Graduate with unspent savings in your pocket vs. 60K in the hole. If you really want to spend $$$ for a USC degree, get a grad degree there after your fully-funded undergrad at Cal Poly.
Another vote for Cal Poly SLO.
I am a tried and true Trojan with several recent grads and one still there, and have been very active on the USC CC forum suppoting potential Trojans for almost a decade. Just showing you how much I looove USC, but I gotta say, a business degree with no debt at Cal Poly is a great way for you to go. If it was one of those specialty degrees that was highly regarded or only offered at USC, I may have said take the debt. But a business degree is not one of those. If you were gonna have the four year experienc with a year of debt, that could be different too. But given you are just doing two years, you can get a great education and live a wonderful life at SLO while going to Cal Poly - I very much hope you get to be there sometime with this dang covid thing!
Btw, CP has some solid business grad degrees too - Business Data Analytics, Taxation, Quantitative Economics, MS Accounting, etc. You may want to use some of the money you will save on tuition (and rent) for that!