Hello everyone, I am looking for insights of other people on a matter that is driving me crazy: Perhaps different points of view help me see it clearer. Here is my dilemma:
I have been admitted to the University of California Berkeley as a transfer student for the fall of 2016. I didn’t expect to get it, I applied because it has been my dream school for a long time, and now I am in. I can’t believe it! I would double-major in Peace and Conflict Studies, Anthropology and I would try to get involved in their film school.
But here is the catch: I would be an out of state student. I am a resident at Washington State. Like I said before, I applied out of my dreams from childhood, but now it has happened , and I find myself in a very difficult situation.
On the other hand, I have applied to the University of Washington and I have reasons to believe that I could be accepted. It is a great school, it has great research opportunities as well, the campus is beautiful and I would pay in state tuition.
So this is my imminent torture: Do you guys think that the programs and overall quality that Berkeley has to offer is worth me going in debt and compromising myself financially? Or do you think that UW clearly offers a perfect option for an undergraduate degree? I am looking for as much financial aid as possible, and I am working two jobs, but I am looking for a real picture of the situation.
What are your thoughts? UW or UC Berkeley? Thank you so much!
The OOS COA at Berkeley is around $57,000 for next year. The UCs are no longer offering institutional need based aid to OOS students, so the only aid you can expect is from federal programs (Direct Loan, work study, and Pell).
You can borrow $7500 as a junior. Part-time work during the school year, and a full-time summer job will net you a few thousand more. If you come from a low income family, you will get any Pell grant money you are entitled to.
The rest will have to come from other sources. How much are your parents able to pay? If they can’t pay much and are considering taking a PLUS loan or cosigning a private loan for the remainder of your COA that’s way too much debt.
Your intended majors will not likely lead to a high paying job right out of school. Find a loan repayment calculator online and plug in your numbers. Your payments would take up a huge chunk of your income for ten long years after graduation. Yes, you would be financially compromising yourself (and maybe your parents, too).
Thank you, both of you, for your honest thoughts. My family earns a prominent middle-class salary, so I cannot quality as a high-need student, but still like most families, you don’t get any kind of financial aid unless is for merit. I am looking for merit-based scholarships… yeah it looks very difficult. But it’s even more difficult to widthraw the application. I am considering opening a gofundme account…
@TrepitjafortRoc IMO it is not “unrealistic” to attend, but it will cost you for sure. UW in-state COA is 27K-31K. Taking the higher number, the difference for 2 yrs (57-31) x 2 is approx. 52k. If you REALLY want to go to Cal and have a solid plan of what you want to do after you graduate, this is not an unreasonable amt of debt in the grand scheme of things. You probably would have to take out private loans. Both Uni’s being big flagship state schools, the quality of professors, research opportunities, etc are going to be very similar.
If you are going to regret going to your “dream school” the rest of your life, I say go for it (and have a plan to pay back the loans!). If you are going to be so financially worried about the extra debt, then go to UW. I recommend getting in touch with students, professors, grads from the specific departments you are interested in. That may ultimately nudge you one way or the other. Good luck and congrats!
$52,000 of debt would be a significant burden after graduation; depending on your post-graduation plans, it can significantly restrict your post-graduation choices (i.e. you may be forced to chase the money to pay off the debt, instead of choosing a lower paying direction that may be of greater interest to you or better for your career development).
@UC911doc , @ucbalumnus thank you! I will be in contact with the different departments, and I am considering driving down to Cal to personally meet with a representative. Yes, it looks like right now it’s down to whether I would not be able to live with myself I didn’t attend, or if the idea of $ 52,000 dollars debt is too much. It also looks like I really should think of my plans after graduation, because if I go to Cal there isn’t room for “wondering” or even taking a year off to think.
Do you guys think that Cal would be interested in even talking to me about the financial options that are available to me, or do you think that they will not waste their time in “directing me”? Are you familiar with the system of advisers and financial aid officers at Cal?
The financial aid offer (presumably nothing but loans and/or any federal aid you may be eligible for) that you got is all that you can expect. Unless you earn a significant merit scholarship, do not expect anything else.
@TrepitjafortRoc I do not think the Financial Aid office or their counselors will be helpful. There are some smaller merit scholarships, such as the Cal Alumni Association Leadership Award, etc., but you will mostly be on your own for securing funding as @ucbalumnus stated. I suggest that you check some of the college scholarship books for private scholarships. You are most likely too late to apply to the majority of these for matriculation in Fall '16.
I think there’s only one thing you know for sure with your decision: if you attend Cal you will pay a significant amount more to attend. Everything else such as your college experience, professors, interaction with fellow students, post-grad jobs, etc. is just a guess. All I am saying is that it is not impossible (from personal experience) and that your personal preference should also be a significant factor in your decision of where to attend.
That’s about the worst advice I have ever heard, to be blunt. UW is a fine school, and the debt (which I bet will end up being more than $52,000) is indeed unreasonable for someone with your projected career and earnings.
Perhaps you can score a scholarship for grad school when you have the time to plan ahead. Then you can attend UCB. Otherwise, having to drive a Camry instead of a Lexus is no shame. And the comparison is apt, because the Camry and Lexus are both made by Toyota, and a lot of the differences are perception rather than reality. The biggest reality is the price tag of each.
UW has a great CS program that is a feeder in to the technology jobs in Washington areas in the likes of all the start ups in WA , Microsofts and Amazons…
Am I missing something here?
Going two years to Cal will be $110K+. That’s if you can finish your program in 2 years.
That is a hard chunk of money. Paying it off would be really tough.
Staying instate would be $52K total.
Most of the merit scholarships at Berkeley are for freshman.
There is very limited money for OOS students, especially transfers. I would assume any scholarships would be, at best, $5K. How would that pay the remainder? As a middle class student, you won’t qualify for anything other than loans.
UW is a very good school. You need to go there.
Why would you go into debt before you could even plan to pay back your loans?