For the past 3ish years i have been in and out of college because of the money side of things. Since i have been out of college for more than 6 months at a time i have already had to experience the loan payback. i have taken some time off because i have been trying to save up enough here and there to put towards my schooling so i dont have to take out more loans. i am at the point where everyone i graduated with from high school are all finishing up college this year, which i dont mind because i know everyone takes their own path. currently i am in school part time but i have been thinking a lot about just taking out loans so i can go back to school full time. i am at the point where i realize i wont be able to save enough to fully pay for my schooling so should i just go back full time and deal with more loans or keep what i am doing now?! i know everyone has student loans and a lot of them are crazy amounts, i just want to finish school and start working towards my career, but is taking out crazy loan amounts worth it to cut the time in half?!
What is “crazy Loans”? how much do you project to accumulate by the time you finish your degree? What is your major and how likely are you to get a job in that field once you are finished with your degree? Have you been going to the same College for the past 3-years? Is it a Private or Public University? Have you explored lower cost (good quality programs) options for finishing your Degree?
The more information you provide the better opinions you will receive from CC members.
right now i am paying off around a couple thousand in loans, no more than 8,000. i am looking at an out of state college which is 26,900 a year. i already have about two years done (so all my gen eds) i am leaning more towards majoring in computer science. would also be looking to take summer classes so i could finish earlier.
So apparently you haven’t settled on a Major at this point? If you are looking at minimizing your College debt, why are you looking at Out of State Universities? Are you expecting scholarships to offset the difference between In-State and Out of State Tuition? What would you say is the difference between the two in Total Cost of Attendance? Again, what is the project total accumulated Student Loan Debt by the time you complete your Degree?
If you decide to go the Computer Science route, have you taken (varies by University) Calculus I, II and III, Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics (maybe, depending on School); At least 12 credits of Science Courses (Chemistry I & II [with Labs]; Physics I & II), etc.? From what I’m see, you have at least 3-years full time University Study ahead of you if you decide to pursue a Computer Science Degree (assuming you haven’t completed any of the Science Prerequisites as of yet). Good luck with your studies and I wish you the best.
Go in-state, keep costs low, finish up.
What frightens me is your loan description of “a couple thousand, no more than $8000.” Which is it? You MUST keep track of your loans, payments, interest. If you don’t, you could end up paying too much. If you want to go to a school that costs $26k/yr, map out how you are going to pay for it - grants, loans, working. If you’ve worked a few years, you know how hard it is to save anything.
Some students do take out loans, but please don’t do it if you don’t know how much you’ll need to finish. Have a plan.