<p>Lately I've been thinking about going to a CC instead of UCSB. With my net cost for attending UCSB to be around $18000 a year, idk if it's a smart choice for me anymore. The opportunities to grow as a person and succeed in a career is definitely a pro but the cost is so immense that it's making me consider going to a CC (Santa Monica College in mind) and transfer. Any advice?</p>
<p>Whenever I have that battle I just think, you only live once. You’ll only be a freshmen in college once and that experience, from what I’ve heard, is priceless. You can pay off your debts later! :)</p>
<p>depend your financial status. if you think too much, and you are confident you can transfer to UCSB or better, then do it. otherwise, stay with it.</p>
<p>i have a net cost of 19K =(, im taking the unsub and sub loans and my parents are taking 14K of loans…but its money, money can always be made, lost and we nevr have enough of it, and i can’t handle going to smc i think i wuld kill myself, but u might be stronger mentally than me lol</p>
<p>@mladenp, I wouldn’t recommand taking the unsub loan because 6.8% interest is pretty high and it occurs Imediately after the loan is made</p>
<p>its only 1K of unsub, is that still bad</p>
<p>2 k of unsub over here -__-</p>
<p>Unofficial Fin Aid Award:</p>
<p>Scholarships + grants:
Cal Grant A - $11124
UCSB New Freshman Scholarship - $1500
University of California Grant - $254</p>
<p>Total of other scholarships - $1500</p>
<p>Loans:
Recommended Subsidized Direct Stafford Loan - $3500
Recommended Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loan - $2000
PLUS Loan Eligibility - $12496</p>
<p>I know for sure my parents aren’t going to be eligible to get a PLUS loan so I’ll probably have to take out a Sallie Mae Loan -___-. I almost laughed when I saw that I had a $254 UC grant. I know I should be grateful but seriously, wth am I going to do with that?</p>
<p>Is the COA on the UCSB website a bit over exaggerated?</p>
<p>ROOM AND BOARD $13413
BOOKS AND SUPPLIES $1414
TRANSPORTATION COSTS $831
STUDENT FEES $11124
CAMPUS BASED FEES $1600
HEALTH CARE $1044
PERSONAL EXPENSES $1448
Total: $30874</p>
<p>Do I need to pay for health care if I already have insurance? Are my personal expenses and transporation costs really going to be that high? Will my books and supply really total up to that cost?</p>
<p>Just go to CC. It’s not a big deal.</p>
<p>I never spend more than $50 on all my textbooks, but I get them from online and an edition down (all editions are pretty much identical minus minor differences…).</p>
<p>If you take the MTS bus, it’s free. It’s free for all UCSB students. Amtrak or Greyhound should be somewhere around $60. I’m sure you’ll only use it twice though. Once after the first quarter and another time after the winter quarter. After the spring quarter you’ll probably go home.</p>
<p>The “cost” is just an estimate. It’s not to say that you’ll actually spend that much.</p>
<p>Just know that the required GPA for CC transfer to UC is now 3.5 it used to be a 3.0 but it’s going up this year. </p>
<p>I don’t think 18k a year isn’t that bad compared to what OOS kids have to pay. (They pay around 50+ which is paying for a private university!). You should really call them up and tell them your financial situation. In the end you really don’t want to miss out on the college life when you had the chance. I think in the end it’s all worth it.</p>
<p>well the college experience is beyond overrated in my opinion
but id go to sb for the education</p>
<p>I like how people here complain about paying less than 32k a year.</p>
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<p>$32K is still a huge sum of money to pay for, my friend. How much you have to pay?</p>
<p>I really feel sorry for the middle class – they are too rich to get much financial aid, but too poor to afford to foot the college bill themselves.</p>
<p>To aymeer: there is nothing wrong with transferring to UCSB through SMCC, but do realize that the margin for academic error/mistake/poor grade is slim if you decide to take this route.</p>
<p>
So it’s easier to mess up at a CC than a UC?</p>
<p>It shouldn’t be ayymeer, but you have to maintain a high gpa in CC if you want to transfer to UCSB from there. (I think UCSB raised the transfer gpA requirement to a 3.2 or so. I’ll double check.)</p>
<p>The cost of attending a community college is not zero. Have you figured out the cost of attending a community college, including food, for a school year? The $18,000 figure includes the entire cost of attending UC Santa Barbara, including room and board of about $13,400. If you are not living at home, the cost of attending a community college would probably not be that different from the cost of attending Santa Barbara. Even if you would be living at home, you would still have to pay for transportation, food, books, supplies, personal items, and the fees charged by the community college. If you add up all of these, the cost differential is probably a lot closer to $10,000, or less per year. So, the amount you would save by attending a community college for two years would likely be less than $20,000. I am a parent with limited income, but if my daughter had this choice it would be an extremely easy decision.</p>