Do you think staying at Redlands is viable if I save up money for next semester or do you think I am wasting money?
I don’t know. It depends on if your mom can pay the $17k each of the last two years.
You said the first year she made payments but this year she took out the loan.
So it is not clear if she will be able to pay without a loan or not.
If you borrow $24k and with the $17k you would have total debt of $41k upon graduation.
Yes, I do think that paying from earnings would be better than borrowing more. Make sure to pay the bill before filing FAFSA so savings are almost depleted.
But $41k is not too bad if I go into a CS entry field? I’m sure my mom can pay the $17k my last 2 years (if my loans go up I will take more so she pays less and pays more on her loan). This year we just made a really stupid mistake in my opinion. It is always better to pay out of pocket rather than take a loan that will relieve some of the paying time constraints, we both know that now.
I just can’t see how transferring will help when it will likely mean that I graduate later and am losing out on potential income for that year. I am not a huge fan of college in general and would like to be done asap so I can work instead, so that extra year might really suck for me. Especially since at this point I’d probably have to take a leave of absence then apply for Fall 2018. But I can’t stop thinking about whether or not I’m making the wrong decision. ):
@Elliebelly It seems you just need to sit down with your parents, put together a spreadsheet and figure out all the math. Also, as several posters suggested, parents should be paying off the Parents Plus loans first, not your loan.
@fishnlines29 I will do that 
thank you
I know you said your parents don’t like the sound of you going to a CSU (and neither do you), but perhaps that should be a part of the conversation as well?
I will bring it up. I’d absolutely like to stay at Redlands if fiscally possible, but if I do end up having to go to a CSU I’ll take a gap year and pay down my loans by working full time then I’ll go to a CSU in Fall of 2018.
Of course - I’m just saying it should be part of the conversation