I am currently a University of Nebraska- Lincoln Freshman. I live in the dorms and am a finance major. I choose this university because it offered instate tuition since my parents live in Omaha. I had planned to do all four year here and graduate and move to a location I like more but now that finals are around the corner and I am taking a look at how college is playing out I’m finding myself not happy. I feel like I am being pushed into the Greek life here because the culture is so fraternity and sorority oriented I feel left out nearly every weekend. Though I feel like I choose not to join a fraternity in the first place because it didn’t seem like it was the right chose for me. Now I am going away for the summer to the east coast to internship and might not be able to rush one in the summer. I’m not finding many people that are like minded about school and have some close friends but don’t seem to really have much quality time with them (Nearly all of them are in Greek life). The Greek life seems to be really taking a dip over all and it seems like the university is cracking down on them. I think the classes are all right but haven’t particularly like any professors. We have a brand new business building next year but not sure if that should influence my decision. The whole fall is taken up with football games that are a big part of here (but I don’t particularly like sports). Lincoln doesn’t seem like a town I particularly like and I already feel like moving on.
Anyways, I have always wanted to move away from Nebraska. I always said i want to move to California, Texas, or Colorado. The only place that accepts most of my credits is Colorado. The school I found that I would enjoy would be CU Boulder. Though now I have to pay an unbelievable amount of tuition more if I was to move. The comparison with estimated scholarship/financial aid and help from my parents would let me come out of UNL with no debt but going to Colorado would be close to 65k in debt. I know that in my career I will make lots of money and really don’t want that to be a real deciding factor but when we are talking about numbers that big I feel like it definitely influences my decision. They make it hard to establish residency there and it doesn’t look like a good option. I have a 3.75 currently at UNL so that helps.
I just want some input into if I’m being crazy or if any of my reasons make sense. Anything would help thank you!
going to an out of state school is always a good experience. Youll be surrounded with different people and as a result you’ll probably be a better you in the long run.
I was in a similar situation. I could’ve stayed in my home state of Washington for college but chose to go to school in California instead. It was a great choice because now I have connections in both states (I feel less obligated to settle down in Washington for the rest of my life)
65k is quite a bit of debt, but you seem to have a pretty good mindset about it. Student loan debt is usually referred to as “good debt” as in it’ll look good when youre applying for loans as long as you make your payments.
If you’re planning on going to grad school you should try to save money by staying in state. If a bachelors is your end goal then perhaps you should consider 2 years in state 2 years out of state?
The benefit of transferring in your sophomore/junior year is that you’ll hopefully have some internships thus youll be a more competitive student and be able to get into a more prestigious college for your final years of college.
Finish where you are with no debt. Then you can move wherever you feel like without having to just take the first half-way decent job because of your student loan bills.
As for the frats, if you focus on your classwork and any paid jobs or internships, chances are you will make plenty of friends and you won’t feel the need to try to get into a frat. Football is pretty hard to ignore at UNL, but if you head to the library on game days I expect you will run into other people who don’t care about that particular sport.
So you understand finance. What would 65K in debt do to you dreams of going to graduate school? How long would it take you to pay it off? Don’t assume that a Bachelor’s degree from UC Boulder will get you a “Big Bucks” job at a prestigious consulting firm.
I don’t believe that everyone at Nebraska is in a fraternity. If your friends are all in the same fraternity then you should join that fraternity. Talk to them about it. Otherwise you need friends who aren’t in a fraternity (and therefore busy on weekends).
CU Boulder is a good school. Boulder is an attractive town. There is no way that anyone should ever take on 65K in debt to go there.
“Youll be surrounded with different people and as a result you’ll probably be a better you in the long run.”
This can happen at ANY university, including Nebraska.
I agree with @happymomof1. Finish where you are with no debt. Then look to move elsewhere.
Wouldn’t that be $65K per year @VLGian? You haven’t started school yet in California, so you don’t know how the cost will hit you yet. California is VERY expensive. I’ve never heard of “good debt”; that’s just not recommended for someone with no collateral.
@JustinWieb, where would that money come from? Your parents would have to take on a Parent Plus loan because no one would loan that kind of money to you. You have to pay back that debt. Some loans require pay as you go. That is a very expensive transfer. Remember, there is VERY limited to no financial aid for transfers.
Stick to your school and avoid Greek life if you don’t like it. Get an off campus job or internships away from Nebraska. Go through school quickly, then move out after graduation. Yes, Colorado is gorgeous, but if you aren’t a resident, your gonna be paying for those views for a LONG time.
California public schools, like the CSU’s and UC’s, don’t provide financial aid to OOS students. The CSU’s are $40K per year; the UC’s are $60K per year. This is very expensive.
What are your grades like?
How much are your parents willing to pay?
Maybe, if you have good stats, you can apply to similar tier state universities in other schools and get enough merit to cover the difference.