<p>Hello all,
I just got accepted into my dream school, Colorado School of the Mines. If you don't know of it, it is a great engineering school just outside of denver. They have the 2nd best petroleum engineering program in the country which was my intended major on my application. The graduates from this school tend to have an easy time finding jobs and the average starting salary is very good ~60k. On top of this, the campus is perfect to me and I love everything about it. The only downside is cost. It's 30k a year out of state which means it would end up costing me about 160k to attend it for four years. Is it worth the money? The way I see it, graduating from this school would give me amazing opportunities to work in a field I am very interested in. As far as financial aid goes, CSM isn't very giving. FAFSA wouldn't hardly give me a thing either due to my parents combined income. If any of you guys have any advice to offer, I would be glad to hear it. Thank you!</p>
<p>No it’s not worth it. What is your home state?</p>
<p>I’m in Georgia. Nothing to do with my intended major at any in state colleges here :/</p>
<p>The cost of attendance at Colorado School of Mines is $46,533 for the year for out of state students this year. You (the student) can borrow $5500 for your freshman year. How will you pay the remaining $41,000 per year plus to attend this college? If you have a way to fund this school (parent contribution from savings or current income, scholarship or grant money from the college itself), then you can consider enrolling there. If not, this school really is not affordable. </p>
<p>So…discuss this with your parents. Personally, I would NOT advise funding the total costs with loans. $160,000 plus in loans will be probably close to $2000 a month in repayment costs for ten years. That is way too much debt for undergraduate school in my opinion. Plus…beyond the $5500 Direct Loan, your parents would have to cosign the loans.</p>
<p>Look at instate schools in Georgia. Of course, Georgia Tech comes to mind. No, they don’t have petroleum engineering, but they have plenty of engineering. Are you eligible for Hope? If so, that coupled with the instate tuition rates will be a huge bargain.</p>
<p>P.S. FAFSA does NOT give money. It is a financial aid application form.</p>
<p>I would go for it!</p>
<p>If you worry about cost - marry some nice student. Than you are eligible for FAFSA financial aid, even if you divorce your spouse.</p>
<p>The only guaranteed aid the student would get if he marries is $9500 in Direct Loans ($4000 additional because he would be an independent student) and a $5600 Pell Grant…max. So…that would total roughly $15,000. How would this student pay the remaining $30,000 per year? How?</p>
<p>Mines is a GREAT school! However, that’s just too expensive for you. Listen to advise from Georgia parents who will know more options near you. </p>
<p>It is often possible to work an an industry without having the exact specialized degree. Perhaps you can find some alternative ideas on Engineering discussion area. Good luck!</p>
<p>On other threads the OP says he is applying to Georgia Tech. OP…has that changed? Hope not! He also indicated he wanted to apply to Texas A M…which will also be unaffordable.</p>
<p>OP…are your parents planning to help you with college costs at all? How much can they contribute? You will get a $5500 Direct Loan.</p>
<p>I really appreciate the feedback guys. And yes, my parents plan on helping me with the cost.
It looks like they want me to try to pay half of it. My dad said he is ok with paying half the costs for mines, but having 80k worth of debt coming out of college on my shoulders would be rough. But yes I have applied to other schools. Who knows where I will end up. CSM is just one option I really want to consider.</p>
<p>You are underestimating the cost of attendance at CSM. THIS year it is $46,500 or so. Next year it will likely increase. Your half could easily be $25,000 a year. For your freshman year, you will be eligible for a $5500 direct loan. That is the only loan you can get without a cosigner. Will your parents cosign the remaining $19,000 plus in loans each year? They would need to do so. You cannot get loans in that amount yourself.</p>
<p>Texas A&M has a better chance of affordability if the OP gets one of the merit scholarships that comes with a waiver of non-resident additional tuition.</p>
<p>There are 17 schools with ABET-accredited petroleum engineering majors; some of them are likely to be much less expensive than CSM even at non-resident list price (e.g. NM Tech, LSU, ULL, MT Tech).</p>
<p>The OP has CR/Math SAT that is under 1300. Will this qualify him for merit aid at A and M.</p>
<p>Good list to consider for affordability…check some of those out.</p>
<p>I have a 30 ACT though. I don’t know how it all works so any info you guys have would be greatly appreciated as far as TAMU goes.</p>