It costs $40,000 a year to go to my school. I currently attend Illinois Institute of Technology. I was blessed to receive a scholarship which pays a lot. I have 3 more years at my university and I have racked up so much student debt it’s embarrasing… can anybody tell me is this too much for a person to take out? Or is this average? So basically in 4 years I will be $56,000 in debt with my Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering… I take out 14K yearly for my education. Any suggestions on what I can do to get my Mechanical Engineering degree for a lesser expensive price? I have already received my Assocaites in Science degree from a community college which took two years so now I need 3 more additional years. I finished my first year of college and I just recently found out I am already $14,000 in debt with 3 more additional years to go. Why is school so expensive ? It’s literally stressing me out. But I want to finish my degree no matter what.
Your numbers don’t add up. 3x14 is 42, not 56. Even $56k is manageable debt for an engineer. Whether you agree with that is more of a personal issue.
As for cheaper options, $14k a year is already a good price. Consider that UIUC down the road would cost you $35k per year in star before scholarships, and they are notoriously stingy with scholarships.
If your net cost is $14k per year, all expenses accounted for, that’s a screaming deal.
“Why is school so expensive”
Many people have asked this question, without getting a good answer. However, you are getting a very practical degree from a very good university. It seems unlikely that you will be able to find a less expensive option at this point, and if your grades are good then I agree that it does make sense to finish your degree.
I assume that you have checked to see if any of your CC credits can transfer to your university(?).
Do you mean to say that your net price is $40,000 per year after scholarships (IIT’s list price is $62,582 per year according to https://web.iit.edu/financial-aid/tuition-fees-and-costs ), and that you need to take out loans for $14,000 of it per year?
I guess I wish I can find some ways to minimize my student loan debt? The IL Map Grant has not passed and I have just been wondering how can I minimize my student loan debt. Yes I can apply for scholarships but so many scholarships are over with now. I have also been applying to jobs because maybe I can work part time and go to school full time. In reality my course load is really hefty so I don’t think I can handle a part time job. Summer time will be better for me. I actually want to look into internships too but that’s a whole new topic. I missed the deadline for so many scholarships because I was just so occupied with just my classes and nothing else mattered but passing my classes and maintaining my GPA. You are right I got accepted to University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne, Purde Univeristy, SIUC, UIC and IIT. Out of all schools IIT offered the biggest scholarship. I guess I just need to stop comparing myself to people that take out way lesser loans than I do. Also I graduated from a community college with 70 credit hours however, only 30 were accpeted. I still have to see why is this the issue. I will be calling IIT Academic Office tomorrow morning. Additionally, I already have had my first year at IIT which means I already have cumulated $14,000 in debt and I just multiplied it by an additional 3 years I will have at IIT because I have 24 classes to. So $14,000 * 4 which equal $56,000. My coach who is a Mechanical Engineer told me I am taking out way too many loans and to search for more resources. So it just got me thinking. But I just have to know that in my heart this is the greatest investment I will be making for my future. Thank God for CollegeConfidential you guys give very great advice. I went to my advisor today and let’s just say she was not helpful at all. She actually talked me down like telling me 3 years is way too long maybe I should change my major to graduate faster. But I am not into this program like a race I am in it to finish it no matter how long it takes. So what it will take me 3 more years. It’s all because my cc credits did not transfer but that’s just one obstacle and I am willing to jump over it! (:
Have you considered a co-op? That would defray some of the costs.
Are you saying you are takng six years total to finish your degree? That is a long time, even accounting for a transfew and an engineering major. It’s not crazy, just a long time. You aren’t the first person to take that long to graduate. You need to make sure you spend that time well and set yourself up to be successful.
Do well in your classes this next year. Get tutoring if needed. Get to know your professors by visiting office hours.
Visit the career center at IIT. Make sure your resume is strong and you are ready for internship interviews. Start this process now, or when school starts this fall. Get on the career center website and learn what help is available to you. The career center at IIT offers many kinds of help–mock interviews, resume prep, building a LinkedIn profile, and even help with interview clothes and headshots. IIT hosts several job fairs each year where you can meet employers and the career center offers new students a “tour” of the job fair so you can see how it works before heading in with your resume. Begin the process of looking for internships right away for next summer. Get a head start. Get advice from your professors. IIT does well at placing students in jobs and internships. You should be able to get an internship or two over your next three years and earn some money to help pay your costs. You can also work at getting an RA position or other campus job to help pay your expenses.
My kid attends IIT and has worked on campus several semesters (as an SI–tutoring–other students work as RA’s or in the library or in various other jobs–plenty are available and will work around your class schedule), and worked three paid internships (two summers, one part time during the school year).
A college degree should cost something. You are buying future earnings potential that, if planned right, should return your investment many fold. At $14k net, yours will. That doesn’t mean you can’t search for other ways to try to offset your costs, but your current price is a good one. They say comparison is the thief of happiness, but I’ll give you one anyway. I pay $36k/year for my son and am happy to do it. Don’t obsess. You’re in good shape.
If you transferred with 30 credits, that is about 1 year worth. If you need 24 courses to finish, wouldn’t that need about six (not eight) more semesters if you take 4 courses per semester?
I think what he is saying is that he has three years to go at IIT, so that’s 3x$14k. and then he already has $14k in debt from his time at the community college for two years. I think it’s just a happy coincidence that it works out to the same as 4x$14k. Maybe I am wrong, though?
How old are you? Once over 24 I am pretty sure you can qualify for financial aid as an independent student (even if your parents help with your living expenses etc)
I need a new academic advisor at my school she told me it would take 8 semesters. Also at the rate I am going I should change my major to Engineering management because maybe it’s up to my speed.
I spend my first year at IIT in the Fall of 2016. So I racked up 14k. At my 2 year college I used my financial aid and my scholarship program helped me a lot. So I payed no out of pocket expenses at my community college. However, because there is no map grant in Illinois I will be taking some of my major courses at a community college for the Fall 2017 semester. I am also taking my major course Mechanics of Solids over the summer. So since I am taking summer classes I may just need 2 more years at IIT. Before spring 2018 begins I will be done with 5 classes at my community college which will leave me with 19 more classes at IIT. So that’s 2 years maybe?
If you are a good student with a GPA at least over 3.0 ( hopefully higher) a summer internship could pay veery well. However, you arr likely too late for this summer, though it’s doesn’t hurt to look into it.
I am 20 years old. I’m trying so hard to get a 3.0 right now I am at a 2.5 GPA. However after my summer class it will go up ! So I’m hoping to get a 3.0. At my community college I was at a 3.8 GPA but it reset.
If I could have received the map grant I would have only taken out $2,000 in loans so $4,000 a year. However, it has not passed yet and that is why I will be attending a community college for the upcoming semester.
Why attend community college again when apparently thr credits are not transferring?
Going back to community college seems like an awful idea. $14k per year is incredibly reasonable.
Well at my school certain major courses are offered during the spring and fall semester. So if I attend my school in the Fall semester insetad of my community college I wouldn’t be able to take some as many major courses as I would like.
https://engineering.iit.edu/sites/engineering/files/elements/mmae/pdfs/bsme10_flowchart.pdf