My son has been accepted as a pre-science student at the University of Washington. He is an in-state student and scored fairly well on his SAT (1980). His strengths are math and science. His education will be about 20k per year. This is his dream but I would have to co-sign for the loans. I have three younger children who are all doing well and will likely also want a good education. I am looking for feedback from a Univ of Wash parent who may have already survived this decision making process. I know its a great school for CS, and related fields, but 80-120K seems like too much. How likely is he to land a job that makes this amount of debt seem tolerable? Thanks.
Cosigning your kid’s student loans implies that you do not really have the money. With three younger kids behind him, how will you tell them that you spent all of your money and used up your borrowing capacity on their older brother, so that there is nothing left for them? (Or maybe there was nothing available to begin with, but your income does not qualify for enough in-state financial aid.)
Does he have any less expensive options?
Be aware that admission to the CS major at Washington is fiercely competitive; typical admits to the major had 3.7 college GPAs. Even if he does graduate in CS, and the CS job market is good four years from now (no guarantee, just ask those who started in 1998 and graduated in 2002), $80,000 to $120,000 in debt is a lot of money to pay back.
However, maybe there is a more reasonable way to structure the finances instead of $20,000 debt every year.
- He can borrow $5,500 frosh year on a federal direct loan with no cosigner (note, maximum $31,000 for all four years).
- He can probably work for another $4,500 in the school year and/or summer. If he is good at CS, he may get a much better paid summer job (though it should not be assumed).
The stuff above, about $10,000 per year, is what he can contribute.
- You will probably save a few thousand dollars or so if he is no longer living at home.
- Can you find another several thousand dollars which, in addition to the savings of him no longer living at home, can cover the remaining $10,000?
However, even if you manage to do this, can you do this for each of the remaining kids?
Have you checked out UW’s net price calculator to see if you qualify for any need based aid? This can also help bridge the gap as well - you should become informed as to where you stand according to the formulas so you can provide your son (and his younger siblings) with a reality-based view on what the financial picture looks like. This will be key to getting all of your kids through college successfully without over-straining you or your children financially.
@ucbalumnus, Thanks for your thoughtful response. It has been hard to think straight these past few weeks and I appreciate your insights. I’m trying to encourage him to create the solution and take ownership of the outcome and your comments will help me steer the conversation. Still terrified:)
I am against the loans. My own D. went to in-state public on full tuition Merit shcolarship.
I am sure that your kid would have recieved some Merit awards at certain places (and maybe he did?). It does not matter where one goes for the CS along with wome other careers like engineering or pre-med. What matters much more is the student performance at any place and other activities and experiences along with personal growth and these are entirely up to a student, not the college.
I have been in IT for over 30 years, I have graduated from the local college as most in many departments in many places that I have worked, all are enjoying our jobs and comfortable living style that they provide. The same goes for my engineer H. and my D. who graduates from Med. School in 2 days debt free.
Have you submitted the FAFSA paperwork to apply for financial aid?
Does you son have any other options that are less expensive?
It DOES make a difference where one goes for CS, unlike for medical school. Some lesser schools offer far less content for a given course. You need to check on need based aid. Of course one doesn’t want loans but one also wants a quality education in the field of interest. At UW (the Seattle one, I’m from the state with the other UW) it could be very competitive and your son may not even get into the CS major.
IT is NOT computer science, btw (it’s usually a business school major). Different people want different types of work with computers- software design/programming- being a software developer/engineer with a major, national firm comes from the CS major, not IT.
Perhaps a less expensive state school with the option to transfer to UW after taking the basic courses? He should have a conversation with his HS guidance counselor. This Washington state person should be up on CS at your UW, transfer options for students and financial considerations. If the answer is not immediately known s/he should be able to find out what is needed or be able to direct him to resources. Somewhere data on who gets jobs such as at Amazon (located in your state) must be available- will a cheaper school suffice for his career interests?
At this point, no one even knows if this student would complete a CS degree. Many try, many change their majors due to the amount of math and other req’ts.
That is too much debt.
What were your son’s stats? SAT breakdown?
What is your EFC?
How much can you contribute each year?
Did he qualify for any aid or merit elsewhere?
The debt will still be on YOUR credit when your younger kids go to college. You could easily be declined at that point, then how would that be fair to those kids.
Too much debt. Your son can do his first two years at a CC then transfer.
WHY didn’t he do Running Start???
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It DOES make a difference where one goes for CS,
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Not as much as you’re making it sound. There are over 300 schools in the US with very good CS programs. It’s not as if a person has to go to his pricey flagship in order to participate in a good CS program.
With four college educations, why not opt for a community college to complete the first two years and transfer to the 4-year college? That way, should your son change his mind, it’s not a devastating financial event.
Lets break this out and look at the direct costs:
Will your son be living on campus or commuting from home?
in-state tuition while living at home is $12,39 (every thing else is negotiable; purchasing used books.on-line, renting books, discounting the personal expenses by having him pay for these things with a part time job). If he uses his $5500 in federal loans this will leave you with ~ 7k to pay out of pocket with either cash, a payment plan or a PLUS loan.
the direct COA if he lives on campus is ~ 23k per year. the concept of living away from home and in the dorms is a luxury item. If you cannot afford it or if borrowing is going to be onerous, then you need to let him know that you cannot afford this option.
In the event that this is not commutable, I agree with Knoxpatch, that perhaps he can start his degree at another in state school that is commuting distance from your home or attend the local CC and then transfer (as they all have articulation agreements with in state 4 year public schools).
While this may be his dream school, it should not be a financial nightmare for your family
Pretty likely if he’s serious about his education. For CS, assuming the market doesn’t dramatically change, he should be looking at around 100K first year compensation (though with a wide range, could be as low as 70K, could be as high as 150K).
That said, there’s ways you can knock the cost down a bit. Someone else said the tuition is only 12.4K/year, he can find a cheaper place to live than the dorms. He can go to community college for a year which should save about 10K. Overall you should be able to do it for more lik 60K (including housing) than 80K or 100K. And if there’s any money you can contribute then loans decrease. Even while 80K is probably manageable, it’s clearly far preferable for it to be lower. Make sure he can think about how much 10K really is before he decides on whether or not to go the CC route for the first year.
As for CC for 1 year vs 2, he will probably need to start his major classes after the first year, which the CC might not offer. But the first year should be fine at CC.
If you have no money now to pay for his education, what makes you think that you will be able to pay off those co-signed loans if he doesn’t get a good-paying job?
Have your son speak with the financial aid office at this university, and ask to have the financial aid package re-evaluated. He needs to know if there is any chance the cost can be brought down to whatever it is your family can afford with him only taking out the federal student loans and holding down a part-time job. If it can’t be brought into that range, he needs to:
a) Take a Gap Year and apply to places that will be more affordable (and maybe re-take the ACT or SAT in the hope of getting a better score and qualifying for merit-based aid).
or
b) Start this fall at a place that is affordable with just federal student loans and a part-time job. Chances are your local CC is in that category, but there may be other options as well.
In general, the debt would be too much if it is more than the first year income after graduation. If he does graduate in CS and get a job, it may barely justify the amount of the loan. However, there is no guarantee he will graduate with the same major (around half of students do not graduate with originally intended major).
Agree with Vladenschutte, for CS and many STEM type majors, most CC’s do not offer much beyond the first year of classes, you may save a lot of money going for a year or two, but then you will still need to transfer and more than likely spend ~3 years at a University anyway completing your major. So many people (even guidance counselors) toss around CC as a good financial option without understanding this. Perhaps there may be a few CC’s somewhere that offer a 2nd layer of tech classes, but they are few and far between and likely not within commuting distance and likely will not prepare you for a top-tier university program.
University of Washington’s CS major has a page for potential transfer students: http://www.cs.washington.edu/prospective_students/undergrad/admissions/cse_transfer_equivalencies/
That page conveniently lists the Washington CC courses that fulfill UW’s CSE 142 and 143 that prospective CS majors must have.
Other UW CS major prerequisites are listed at http://www.cs.washington.edu/prospective_students/undergrad/admissions/upper_division ; CC course equivalency can be checked at https://admit.washington.edu/EquivalencyGuide .
Due to the competitveness of the CS major at UW, he needs to consider other plans (transfer to a different school for CS, or a non-CS major at UW) if he is not admitted to the CS major at UW, whether he starts at UW or at a CC.
@nledelnr1 : Why do you have to take so much in co-signed loans? Did you fill out FAFSA? Did you apply for financial aid?
Sit down and look at your household budget. Can you cut corners anywhere to pay expenses now instead of taking on debt. As a single mother with a moderate income, I manage to pay $7,000-8,000 out of pocket each year for my son’s college costs. I may have to sacrifice some of my ‘wants’, but I think the long term investment is definitely worth it.
Is your student willing to work part time to cover some of the costs? How much do you think can be made working part time during the school year and at a full time job during the summer (be realistic about amount of hours and average pay in that area).
Does the school have a co-op program? Co-ops are becoming increasingly popular in tech fields and although they add on to the graduation time, many students use co-op earnings for their work sessions to pay for expenses during their class sessions. At some schools, students who apply early in their college careers even have the opportunity to complete 2 co-ops (2 full years of work experience) prior to graduation.
Government loans are designed to have manageable repayments and have safeguards in place for students that struggle paying them back later, such as income based repayment plans. However private loans don’t come with those same safeguards and are generally not a good idea. Try to find a way to not borrow beyond the federal student loans.
I second the community college option, which would be especially advantageous if you live in the Puget Sound region where the community colleges are darn good. Your student could be an attractive applicant to other CS programs provided that he have superior grades at community college. You need to have a frank conversation with him/her about the competitiveness of the CS Department (admission requirements) at the UW-Seattle and your financial situation.