@ucbalumnus I looked into that, they aren’t taking applications anymore because of how impacted their programs are.
Do you have AP credits? If you only take 4 classes, is that 12 credits? Are you on track to graduate with a major/minor on time with that course load?
@mommdc I do, I have 8 AP credits. If I take 4 classes, that is 16 credits. I am on track to graduate with the course load I have.
I haven’t done the math (sorry) but it seems to me that taking an extra year to graduate from a Cal State will still save you a lot of money, not to mention stress.
And if you think you’re stressed about money now – that’s nothing compared to what you’ll be facing once you graduate. The debt will affect everything in your life, from the kind of jobs you will need to look for/get to where and how you’ll live. Don’t become an indentured servant to a bank…
Can you maintain your grades if you take an extra class each semester so you can graduate a semester early? Then, could your parents use that money they save by not having to pay the last semester’s tuition on paying off the Parent Plus loan instead? Just trying to think of options out of the box here to bring costs down…
Have you maybe thought about graduating a semester early if that is possible? That would save you a semester in tuition and assuming you are taking four classes a semester, like one extra class each semester which doesn’t sound two unbearable. And what do you mean the CSU are impacted?
I haven’t seen this mentioned…applications for the CSU campuses you are interested in are closed for Fall 2017. Many CSUs have not accepted spring transfers recently. So you’d be looking at transferring no sooner than Fall 2018.
Have you talked to students at the other schools to see what it is really like? My daughter is at our large state flagship. She has found the classes to be smaller and more interactive than expected. She also has gotten to know her professors. She has had some issues getting classes but for the most part she has gotten what she needed. It helps that there are many sections of some of the higher demand courses . It does take more effort to make things work. Likely harder than a small private school.
My point is that many feel that large state schools are impersonal and that you are just a number. However this is not always the case. Every schools is different so you need to talk with a couple students to see what the real deal is. The impacted situation at California schools is unfortunate but students do make it work. So can you.
As an parent, I can tell you that your parent’s situation is not uncommon. A financial crisis can happen any time. Since your parents needed to take a unplanned loan to cover your tuition then it is likely that they have used up their emergency fund and that another financial hit could require more loans.You cannot plan on the next two years going smoothly.
As someone said, if you go in thinking you will be miserable then you will be. Also it is highly likely that you will need graduate school if you want to work directly in the psychology field.
So I wanted to ask a hypothetical.
If you graduate at University of Redlands on time, what is your total debt going to be?
If you graduate one of the CSUs with an extra year because of transfer credit / impaction issues, what will your total debt be? If any.
Also I didn’t see anybody mention it, but have you tried talking to your financial aid department about getting a little more aid? Maybe in the form of work-study?
If you have good grades, can you get merit at CSUs?
Also, how about taking summer classes at CSU? Wouldn’t that help with graduating on time, while still being less expensive than Redlands?
@katliamom It probably wouldn’t save me stress (the commute would be worse to any of the three schools than to Redlands) but yeah, I assume it would save me money. I just don’t know if I can mentally handle another year of college.
@redpoodles I would have to petition to take another class and I think 5 classes would definitely make my grades suffer. ):
@shawnspencer CSUs released a matrix of which majors at their schools had too many people, so did UCs. As of September 2016, CPP is impacted in at least compsci and psych (I didn’t check the rest) and CSUF is impacted in every major they offer. UC is impacted in compsci and psych as well.
@noname87 Yes, I did a few high school projects with a professor at UCR. I really don’t enjoy the large school environment. ):
@philbegas I have not talked to my financial aid department yet. I already have a work study, which I have been using to make payments on my own loans. If I graduate UoR on time, my loans will be around 25k. My mom will still probably have the 17k loan but she says she plans on paying it herself now. If I graduate at a CSU, my parents would likely not support me transferring and I’d have to take loans out, and would likely end up at around 30k assuming 3 years to graduate instead of 2. My parents are vehemently against me transferring as they don’t think CPP and CSUF are good schools since it takes people so long to graduate.
@mommdc I’m not sure what merit is at CSUs? I have a cumulative 3.6 at the moment. Do you mean taking summer classes there but remaining at Redlands?
Also, just in general, I’m planning on working both remaining summers of my school year. I’m hoping I can pay down my loans that way as well. My parents are fine with me living expense free at home while I pay my loans as well.
It would make more sense to pay down the Parent Plus loan first, since it accrues more interest.
Also you would need to borrow less in the future, if you used your work earnings to pay for some school expenses.
I meant academic scholarships that the schools you transfer to might offer, which might offset an extra semester. But if your parents are against transferring…
@mommdc That is true, but I’m trying to get my mom to pay for her loan and for me to pay for mine. Currently we’re both paying for mine, which makes no sense.
I don’t think I would get much financial aid from Cal Poly Pomona (which is the only school I am now considering transfer to since I would be able to transfer for Fall 2017).
I lived in Riverside for a year before, and I’ve visited UC Riverside, it is a beautiful small town with a really nice campus, the cost of living there is also pretty low compared to most cities, if you decide to transfer I’d suggest you go there.
@Cookiegod I’m way past the transfer date for UCR. ): I’d have to either keep going to Redlands, then transfer, or take a gap year and my loans would go into repayment until I went back to school.
I honestly really want to stay at Redlands. My parents keep promising me we will make it work, and they really don’t want me to transfer. Most people at Redlands have more loans than I do and they are okay with it. I know being okay with loans is bad but if I’m going to be in a similar amount of debt anyways, shouldn’t I stay where I’m happy?
CSU’s give no merit aid. There are some departmental scholarships available but not automatic and require an additional application.
I have around 23k in aid for Redlands. That makes the school about 23k total for me and my parents. Previously, my parents paid 17k while I took 6k on in debt. So if that continued for the next 2 years I’d end up with 24k in debt for a really nice school. Am I just trying too hard to justify this to myself? I really do not want to have to transfer. ): I also don’t think many of my units would transfer. I’ve taken some odd classes very specific to Redlands.
Ok so you are a second semester sophomore. You have $5,500 in loans from freshman year and $6,500 from this year. Was any of this amount subsidized? If so then only the unsubsidized amount is accruing interest.
So if you earn money from work study and summer work, then why wouldn’t you use that to pay for school and then take out a smaller loan/no loan next semester?
The Parent Plus loan is over 6% interest and origination fee is also higher than direct loan.
You said your mom paid for first year out of pocket, and borrowed $17,000 in Parent Plus for this year?
Why is she helping pay your loans that aren’t due yet? Instead she should pay the interest at least of the PP. Or save money to pay next year’s cost out of pocket so she doesn’t have to borrow another PP loan.
That makes no sense to me. If you need to borrow, borrow the least amount possible.
Your loans are deferred, as far as payments due, until 6 mos after you graduate. Interest accrues on the unsubsidized loans. But at a lower rate than the PP loan.
The payments on the PP loan might be deferred, but interest accrues, starting from the day they were disbursed. And at a higher rate and on a larger balance than your unsub loans.
If you are expected to pay back these loans one day, it would be in your best interest to pay at least the interest on them.
It makes no sense for your mom and you to be paying on your lower rate, lower balance, possibly mostly subsidized loans right now, over the PP loans. If anything you both should be saving money to pay for next semester so you will be borrowing less going forward, if possible.
@mommdc Half of each loan is subsidized. I didn’t work last summer due to vacations/familial problems. Would it be better to save the money from working and use it to pay for tuition rather than taking out more loans?
My mom isn’t paying on the Parent loan because it is deferred payment and she doesn’t have a service provider. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get her to be able to make payments. I personally want her to be paying on that loan because that’s the loan that stresses me out, not mine.
If I transferred, she’d be able to pay off her loan and I’d take around the same amount in loans, which is why I’m considering transferring. I just really don’t want to as I like my school and I like being able to get the classes I need without having to fight tooth and nail for them. ):
When is it worth paying more for a school? I initially went to Redlands even though the price was higher because that is the California school to go to for Communicative Disorders, but I decided I didn’t want to major in that at the beginning of my sophomore year.