<p>Looks like at one time OP was looking at chem engineering.</p>
<p>He lives within commuting distance of UM-TC. Even if another Uminn has lower tuition, if he’d have to dorm, then it would cost more than TC.</p>
<p>Students need to do “due dilligence” to make sure that their costs will be covered, especially when parents have said that they won’t pay. </p>
<p>I think that in the forums that the young folks are posting on here on CC, there’s a lot of talk about kids taking out big loans to go wherever they want, or getting aid for wherever they want, so there’s a lot of blind leading the blind going on.</p>
<p>Agreed…what IS this exotic major that is offered at only ONE public university in MN?</p>
<p>Other options…attend college part time while working part time. Attend college part time while working full time. Work and save money to pay tuition, then attend college. </p>
<p>Work in the summers and on all weekends…and earn money to add to that $6500 or $7500 Direct Loan.</p>
<p>I agree…</p>
<p>Ask UMinn if you can delay enrollment for a semester. Work this semester and save the money. Work part-time during spring semester. Work full time over the summer and so forth. </p>
<p>If you want something, you have to work for it.</p>
<p>Again, if UMinnTC is the only public within commutable distance, it doesn’t matter if another school has cheaper tuition.</p>
<p>If you got married, you’d be considered independent. Barring that, there isn’t much else you can do. </p>
<p>I think that your parents should take out loans and help you get the education. You can offer to pay them back. That’s what parents are supposed to do. </p>
<p>There isn’t enough federal money to take care of situations where parents don’t want to pay. Otherwise nobody would. </p>
<p>UM-TC for Chemical Engineering is absolutely a great school. Congrats for getting in!</p>
<p>Even with financial need, should tax payers pay for a student’s room and board and discretionary expenses, when there is state university that can confer a 4 year degree within commutable distance from where the student lives? I don’t think so. As I said before, I think there is an injustice when a student is NOT within any reasonable commuting distance from a Bachelor’s degree conferring school with no public transportation options to get a degree. That is a problem right there. BUt that you don’t like the local college? Well, kids may not like their district high schools either, but that’s where your parents live so that’s where you go. Too bad if the district next door has a better high school that offers better opportunities in things that you want to do, or better course selections. Why should it be any different at the college level?</p>
<p>So, yes, this problem does exist here in the US where some college students who have finished what they need at a cc, don’t have an affordable option for college. We, as a nation, have done a pretty good job in terms of getting community college options out there. I think these colleges need to be shored up with a lot of improvements, especially in terms of making sure those who reach junior status have gotten the material needed to segue into a 4 year schools program that has those courses as prereqs, and that these colleges are working with colleges to make the transfer process as smooth as possible. But the two year CCs are out there and plentiful, and affordable and accessible. But there is a lot to be desire for the next step in many cases.</p>
<p>OP, if indeed there is school within commutable distance , an in state school, that’s where you need to go, as your most affordable choice. </p>
<p>My former roomate from college teaches at a uni in MI. All four of her kids went to the branch univeristy where she taught because that is what they could afford. One was a top student with very high test scores,but with a NCP in the picture and the situation as it was, the money just was not there for him to go elsewhere. Had he focused his college search more, he might have found some school that would have given enough merit money to make it work, but really, the way it worked is that all four commuted to where their mother worked, got the free tuition benefit, lived at the family home, found jobs in the university communjity and were doing well. The one with the prospects for a selective school is now doing PHD studies at a major university, and with expenses and tutioin coveed, and stipendm it’s all for free. He has no loans either. He has a major statue un on his CV as undergrad, albeit a satellite campus and will have a big name school for his graduate degrees. I have no doubt he will do fine. The other three are all gainfully employed, one out of the area and going to grad/prof school elsewhere as well. It’s not such a terrible thing to have to commute from the family home and go to a non flagship campus.</p>
<p>College is expensive. Living in the US is expensive. Those of us not born to money have to work for it, and you are of the age where your parents are weaning you from the money cow. If they provide room and board while you finish up college, but they can’t/won’t spring for tuition, then you have arrived where many do, working and going to school simultaneously, but the good news is you are young and there are 24 hours in the day. If you can work out extra loans with your parents for 2 years, great, but don’t end up swamped in debt. Do you have any debt load yet? If you have 2 years under the belt with no loans it may not be too bad.
If you are in engineering, your future is more based on getting certification than the name of your school, prestige and flagships are over rated, and certainly not worth big debt.
Too bad Queens are not elected, cptofthehouse, I would got for you.</p>
<p>It was totally my fault not doing enough homework and somehow thought I would be offered more loans than when I was still in CC. But obviously not! I applied for financial aid a while back, and I just learned about my financial aid status a few days a go. I was doing research out of state, and that’s the reason why I said I might be able to do it this Fall semester because I have some savings that could contribute to my tuition. I’m doing ChemE, and U of MN is the only school that offers that program. I can’t just out of the blue change my major. I’ll be a hybrid of sophomore/junior for Fall semester, but I guess it doesnt really matter if I’m a sophomore or junior since being a junior doesn’t mean I’ll get much more loans. The only one way I could try to do now is trying to find a scholarship that will cover most of tuition, which is not likely, but will have to look for that anyway, and I’ll have to sit down and talk to my parents and see what they say about it. And other than that, I’ll have to go to the university and talk to someone at the financial office and see what they think I should do in the Spring and so forth. I can’t stay at CC anymore, not because i’m not eligible but I have no more classes I need to take. I will have to go to the U of MN this Fall no matter what. Also it’s the only school I could commute to. And Chem-E over there is awesome, so I definitely don’t wanna move anywhere else unless I’m offered a huge amount of scholarship somewhere else, which I highly doubt.</p>
<p>Tuition for UM is about $8-9K. You can take out $6500 in Direct loans. If you have any savings, that is where it would go. Perhaps your parents can pay the gap. You are going to be billed per semester. If you can commute, then it’s going to be commuting costs, and hopefully you can find a job on campus. Go to school early in the morning, stay on campus all day, going to class, going to work, studying, and then home at night. Pack a couple of meals to eat. That’s the way a lot of people do and for schools alot less prestigious thatn UM_TC.</p>
<p>Tuition is around 14,000 not 8K according to the website.</p>
<p>We should be careful not to be political so as not to offend (me). I’ve been sanctioned before for expressing my opinion so I won’t. </p>
<p>Your parents need to help, this isn’t a lot of money, and it would be almost criminal to deny you the opportunity to study chemical engineering at Minnesota when you are commuting and it’s instate. I wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>I think Cpn is looking at the semester rates, not the yearly tuition.</p>
<p>The yearly tuition is about $12k per year…which is ridiculous since their OOS rate is too low! That’s a travesty! Their instate should be around 10 max, and their OOS rate should be at least $25k.</p>
<p>You’re lucky that Uminn TC is your commutable public. </p>
<p>however, there’s no reason that you HAVE to start there this fall if you don’t have the money. </p>
<p>When you add tuition, course fees, other costs, and books, you’re looking at $16k-17k per year (plus travel costs).</p>
<p>That’s about $10k more than what your loans will provide. If your parents had no intention of paying ANYTHING, then they’re not likely to give you more than a couple thousand. </p>
<p>How much have you ALREADY borrowed??? Have you already borrowed about $12k?</p>
<p>Lynnaac, sorry, it’s about $14K. My eye slipped to the room/board figure. </p>
<p>And that is about what the tuition is at a lot of state colleges. Way too high, I agree. But that is the cost.</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids: I also figured that it would b around 15 to 16k with everything included, but even if I spend time working now, it wont solve problems for the next 2 years and also Im already kinda behind that I went to CC. I haven’t borrowed that much of12k yet. I will just try to have my parents take out the Parents loan and have to pay them back later, I suppose. That’s all I could think of right now!!</p>
<p>Lynacc, you might want to take a longer time, and go springs only which would bring your loan leve to about the cost of tuition, and give you a semester to work and save. As I said earlier, summer courses can be valuable too, as they are often priced lowe. DOn’t know about UM, and, the selection can be limiting for upperclass students in terms of advanced level courses. But that is also an option.</p>
<p>If your parents are willing to help out, it would be great. As well as you have done, I think it is a reasonable request. You are contemplating entering a field with jobs that pay well, and you have shown that you can do the work. I have a whole other outlook about loans for students like you who have passed muster at college already. Good luck.</p>
<p>Cpn is right.</p>
<p>If you defer til spring, then you’ll get the full 6500 for that semester only. However, don’t let that lull you into thinking everything will be ok for future years. You need to use all of your time working/saving and building up a fund to help with the later years…work full time this fall, part-time next spring, full time in the summer, and so forth…to build up that bumper of funds.</p>
<p>Also, though it’s my opinion, that helping you in college costs is something your parents should do, I’m saying this in a vacuum with no idea of what their financial situation is and will be. Also, it is every bit their right to choose how to spend their money. But I believe your circumstances are such that I would advise parents like yours to take the risk, whereas I likely would not if there were hesitation for those first years out of high school.</p>