Hey guys. So I’m from Washington State and this decision has been stressing me out to a point where it’s gone too far. I got accepted into WSU (Washington State University in Pullman,) Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo CA, SDSU(San Diego State University) in San Diego CA, and Pepperdine University in Malibu CA.
The majors I’m debating upon pursuing are English with a Creative Writing emphasis, Business and Marketing with a fashion emphasis, or Film.
Now, I understand I didn’t apply much in state and that was because during the fall I had my mind set on adventure. The only problem is after these past few months I’ve been debating my decision to go out of state and be so far from home. WSU is still a 7 hour drive though so I’d still be pretty far. Here’s the deal:
With everything included, the amount of money I’d need to pay in loans for each school is:
WSU-$15,000
CAL POLY-$26,000
SDSU: $24,000
Pepperdine:$34,000
Yet, I’ve applied to dozens of scholarships last month and won’t here back till mid May so I won’t know until then if I get a little help financially. I was told with my high GPA and involvement I have a good shot though.
So…
I toured WSU back in Feburary but I waited till April to hear back from Cal Poly and Pepperdine. Pepperdine University has been my dream school based off its location, programs, internship opportunities, and study abroad program. The only catch is that it’s extremely expensive. I got a grant for my financial aid but that still requires me to pay about $34,000 in loans as noted above.
WSU has about two months of nice weather but then it’s winter and freezing till March and schools done by May so many people are in the cold. I’ve grown up with the rain in Western Washington but where I’m from we don’t get a lot of snow and Pullman has just that. I also wanted to go somewhere that has sunny weather because I get depressed easily in the winter here. But now I’m thinking maybe I should consider the cost and just stick it out at WSU even though it’s not my dream school.
With Pepperdine, I never got to tour it but I’ve seen videos and photos and it is a more conservative school and I think having fun is essential in college so that’s one thing I’m worried about. It’s also a Christian University (which okay) but it has more rules so I have to take that into consideration as well. It’s campus is beautiful though, its reputation is amazing, and it’s weather is great as well.
As for Cal Poly, I toured it but the only housing I like is the Cero Vista freshman Apartments. It doesn’t have as strong of an English program and has no retail business related program as well as no film program at all so I’m stuck. It’s weather is nice and the beach isn’t too far, it’s just a small town.
As well as WSU which is in the middle of nowhere.
SDSU is a big question mark for me because I’ve never been to San Diego and never got a chance to tour the school. So it’s a big risk for me to decide to go there. It does offer all three programs I’m interested in, and it does have nice weather. Only problem is it’s in a big city and I don’t know how I feel about that because I don’t know what the area that surrounds campus is going to be like as well as it doesn’t have the best reputation and is far from home and has bad housing. But it does have football and Greek life and the beach so I don’t know where I stand. If any of you could give me your honest opinion of some advice of where you would suggest I go that would be very appreciated. I have to make this decision in the next couple of days and at this point I’m considering maybe I should just stick it out at a community college locally and get my AA and then transfer to a four year? Idk. As far as housing goes with the rest, WSU has one housing place that’s not too bad, Pepperdine has decent housing (not fancy or anything) but decent, and Cal Poly has the apartments which are nice. Both SDSU/WSU have big Greek and footbal involvment.The other two don’t.
Are those debt totals over 4 years?
What can you and your parents afford? No school is worth going into large debt plus you will need to add transportation costs into you totals since all but one school is OOS. I personally would not choose a school if I have not visited so you are taking a risk. SDSU is very urban around the campus, about 20 min from the beach but has a great trolley system to get around town with a station on campus. There are different kinds of housing available from traditional dorms (red bricks like SLO) to new suite style opening this Fall. SDSU does have Greek life and sports are integral in the social scene but do not let the party school rep dissuade you since it is way over blown and not anything like it it was 20 or so years ago. There are partiers and plenty if non-partiers like any school. I would say location wise, it is a complete opposite of SLO.
Pepperdine is extremely conservative and again I would not consider the school unless you visit first. You will be spending 4 years there, so you need to make an informed decision.
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
Re-run the numbers, and then let us know what your debt would be each year at each place. If the figures you have posted are for just one year, then none of these places are affordable for you.
On your own, you can only borrow the standard Stafford Loan ($5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year) and any Perkins Loans that your school assigns you. To borrow more money than that, your parents will have to take out PLUS loans or will have to co-sign loans with you.
First off, get rid of two schools right now. Your problem is cut in half. Now weigh the costs, or if that is not the overriding factor, use whatever factor is most important to you. Look at your pro/con lists. The questions should be what faults can you live with on the cons list, what positives are just nice bonuses but not must-haves, and what positives are non-negotiable. If there is a con that is a deal breaker, then axe that school. You have very little time, and four schools is now too many to be deciding on. You have to be ruthless, right now. Good luck.
@Meg13245…San Diego sounds like it could be a great choice for you: it has all the programs that you are interested in. Although San Diego has a large population it mostly feels suburban except for the downtown area. (The university is connected by light-rail to downtown and other areas of SD, which is also convenient.) Also, San Diego is just a couple hours away from LA, which could be good for your interest in fashion and film. Cal Poly is great but it doesn’t seem to be a match for your interests and potential majors/minors. …And I don’t know enough about the other universities to comment on them…
I LOVE San Diego. Go there:-)