What Should I do?

<p>I’m just saying, make a 4 year plan, not a 1 year plan so that you aren’t hosed later. Figure out the money and how much debt it will realistically be and ask the bank how much they qualify for. Working 7 days a week, for instance, is not part of a realistic plan. It is possible to get high paying internships in CS but they are competitive and you can’t count on it, esp in your early years.</p>

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<p>Uhhh . . . you are perhaps assuming that tuition won’t go up at least a thousand each year?</p>

<p>As I suggested earlier, carefully review the requirements to qualify for a PLUS loan, review your parents’ financial situation, and just don’t go into this unless you’re darned sure they’ll continue to qualify.</p>

<p>Ok i am unsure but can parent plus loan payments be deferred until I graduate? If they dont qualify, then don’t I become a independent student therefore i can borrow more subsidized/ unsubsidized loans?</p>

<p>If your parents do not qualify for a Plus, you do get additional Direct loan monies…but you do NOT become independent for financial aid purposes. Do not confuse the two.</p>

<p>Qualifying for a Plus is not hard. But it is in your parents names, and they might not be thrilled about taki g out these loans. Ask them. This is YOUR family’s decision.</p>

<p>I asked them and they’re encouraging to me stay, and telling me not to stress about it. They just told me to work hard to achieve the 4.0. I’m promissing them that i will do my best and that I will get a job when i come out of college to get rid of some of the loans.</p>

<p>sz - I commend you for coming out and asking your question. You were feeling stressed and anxious. In my personal experience, the best way to combat anxiety is with straightforward information. You’ve gotten lots of good advice here to sort through.</p>

<p>I’d like to reiterate what BrownParent said: look at all four years and how this will play out. Write it out year by year, giving yourself at least a 5% increase in tuition from year to year. Once you see it, all written out, you can review with your parents and see if they still think it’s a good idea.</p>

<p>As a cautionary tale, let me just add that my husband and I have been in IT most of our lives. He was RIF’ed in 2002, when his department was eliminated in a takeover. It took nearly a year for him to find another position. It took five years to get back to his before RIF pay. And I think he was in the IT field for about 20 years before he hit $100K. While IT does have good salaries, there are also external forces that can keep salaries low. Geography matters, what niche in the IT field you choose matters, where you start your career and your starting pay itself will matter a lot to your earnings later in life.</p>

<p>I’m just saying you don’t know where life will lead you. You might be making $100K in five years. Or you might not. There are no guarantees, and your road will be unique. You seem to feel very adamant about going to UConn. So with all the information you have, you now can make the best decision, with your head and your heart. A strong desire and hard work are the biggest determinants of success. In the IT field, you need a lot of flexibility and the ability to learn quickly, re-learn, re-tool with new tools and techniques. If you’re not learning something new, you are getting behind. If this is appealing to you, that is a good indication you may have what it takes. Good luck!</p>

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<p>I just had brunch today with the smartest engineer I know (and I know quite a few, he graduated from Michigan with me way back). Found out over breakfast that he went to CC and transferred in Junior year. He was a 4.0 in his years at Michigan – so he played in the “big leagues” very successfully even after two years at a CC. He has a great job and has had a very successful career. This attitude that a CS major can only make it after four years at a university is crazy. Heck, of all fields, CS is one where jobs are available with an associate degree. It is as much a “what have you done for me lately” field as I have ever seen, not one based on where all four years of your degree were completed.</p>

<p>This is a lot of debt, IMHO. Especially for a kid from a first generation college family.</p>

<p>OP, I do have to ask why your parents aren’t helping you out. If you did not get work study, you either applied late for your FA or your family makes enough to give you a hand. Hardly any kid pays for college all by themselves today – and the FA calculations assume they are helping you out. If they can help out and you are just refusing them, I’d suggest that another option is to swallow some of that pride and take some money from them (can they do $5,000 a year? That would help keep your loans down…).</p>

<p>*Quote:
He’s going to major in computer science at his Flasgship school, he’s going to make about $60K/yr to start.
*</p>

<p>We have NO IDEA if this student is ever going to complete a CS degree. CRD, you went to MIT where everyone was brilliant and could easily finish challenging degrees. Do you have any idea of how many frosh start out in challenging majors and soon learn that they don’t have the math, science, whatever skills to finish? </p>

<p>And, even if he did finish, the higher the salary, the likely the higher the rents. We certainly know that young singles with good incomes get hit hard with taxes, so lets not fool ourselves into thinking that this student will be bringing home anything close to $60k per year. </p>

<p>Besides…if his parents will have trouble qualifying for FOUR years of loans, then it’s MUCH smarter to take that risk for the LAST TWO years…not NOW. CRD…you should at least know that much.</p>

<p>This student should start out a CC</p>

<p>*Quote:
I don’t know a single bright kid who goes to community college first.
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<p>Well, I guess some people travel in more elite circles. I, on the other hand, have lived a more “down to earth” life and know plenty of such people. If you grew up in Calif and went to a UC, you’d have known plenty of these bright folks who went on to very successful careers.</p>

<p>OP, when you focus on making the financial work, remember you also have to make the academic work out, too. CS comes easy to some and is more intense for others. Projects, study groups, even challenges from other core classes, may add to study time requirements. This is why work study is effective- hours are usually flexible and there can be consideration for those projects and exam schedules. Outside employment doesn’t offer that. Right now, you don’t have w/s set up. Maybe you can, maybe not.</p>

<p>I don’t think you understand all the ramifications of the loans. Your parents did qualify for the first Plus, maybe they will for others. Maybe not.</p>

<p>But deferring is not a good solution and not as effective as it sounds. This isn’t about taking 50k, starting payback when you wsh and paying a simple 7% or $3500. Look at this calculator
[Parent</a> PLUS Loan Calculator - Find your monthly payment amount | Calculators by CalcXML](<a href=“Parent PLUS Loan Calculator - Find your monthly payment amount”>Parent PLUS Loan Calculator - Find your monthly payment amount)</p>

<p>I plugged in 12/10/8/8 and it shows 17k in interest alone. Now consider that you are adding the years interest accrues while you defer. The total you pay will exceed 67k, just on Plus. </p>

<p>Better would be that your parents make the scheduled payments and, when you grad, you take over the balance and/or reimburse them for what they paid. </p>

<p>But, I still don’t think we have any idea what your prep is for CS. It’ something you are qualified for, you did well in math-sci, have some relevant experiences?</p>

<p>I get that you want UConn, but you have to wrap your head around this.</p>

<p>Let me try this another way. </p>

<p>Suppose that the OP said that s/he wanted to be a teacher and had a choice of a free ride at UCONN or a free ride at community college. Surely nobody would recommend the community college. Teaching is an honorable profession and taking the free ride a UCONN would be a no brainer. </p>

<p>What I have illustrated is that under very realistic conditions, simply by following the OP’s original plan, the OP is financial better off than the hypothetical teacher at every point is his or her life even with the $80K in debt. </p>

<p>Sure a lot can go wrong for anybody, but these are all federal loans with provisions for hardship. </p>

<p>People are afraid of debt, but calculated risks, when you’ve done the calculation, are sometimes worth taking. This is one of those times.</p>

<p>This is quite a lot of debt, though. And that teacher with the “free ride” offers would probably do just as well finding a job and teaching with the two years of CC as they would with 4 years at U Conn. I mean… U Conn isn’t an Ivy or even one of the top public universities in the country. I think you are putting too much weight on two years mostly spent in large intro classes at U Conn, too. And those years are NOT free to the OP. Coming out with $40K in debt is a LOT more managable than $80K. Plus – lots of students don’t graduate in their initial major. What if the OP can’t cut the CS major or changes their mind, then switches to something less lucrative? Then they would still have 80K in debt.</p>

<p>Are there any suggestions other than CC like how should i tackle these loans. Should I defer them or should I ask my parents to start paying them before the interest accrues to crazy amounts? Honestly even if I take 3 days to work part time. On school days, I attend class for 4 hours, but for the rest i just have to manage my time to study and work. With 24 hours in day, i can put 8 to sleep, 2-4 to class,3 hours to eat/shower. 9 hours to study, and ofc I don’t need 9 hours but i can use the time extra to read a lil ahead and prepare my self. if i manage my time well, I’m sure I can reach my 4.0 goals. Debt is unavoidable… If i keep worrying about it, I will get no where… like my parents said… SO i think I will go to Uconn and get that bachelors degree. Hopefully with work here and there, it wont accrue to 80 grand. My parents said they have backup plans if anything goes wrong. Thanks alot guys for all the suggestions but I think I’ve made up my mind. Computer science isn’t something that I’ve decided on after high school, its something that I’ve been interested in ever since i got my first computer. Math and Science aren’t my weak spots… History and Literature are…</p>

<p>If your parents can afford the payments, then they should make them. If not, then defer. Even if they defer, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t make some extra payments, or borrow less the next year-when you know how much your summer salary is going to be, and how much the new budget is going to be. </p>

<p>Good luck. I think it’s a sound plan.</p>

<p>Can they make payments and take out more parent plus loans? Ofc I will borrow less once I work part time here and there.</p>

<p>CRD…this student wasn’t offered a free ride anywhere. Your comparison to getting a free ride at a CC or UConn as a teacher doesn’t matter.</p>

<p>How about this…student wants to be a teacher and has to be full pay at Uconn or start at a CC and transfer to complete the teaching requirements. I would say…go to the CC first and complete your degree at UConn.</p>

<p>No matter what the profession…taking on unaffordable debt is not wise.</p>

<p>The OPs parents are willing to take the Plus loans. This is their family decision. As long as the parents are able and willing to do this, fine. </p>

<p>How students choose to finance college is a family decision…regardless of the major.</p>

<p>I will add, however, that this seems like a LOT of loans…and I’m hoping the parents can pay at least a little out of current earnings.</p>

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<p>Provisions for hardship??? These are nondischargeable student loans. Nondischargeable - that means that even if the OP files for bankruptcy, they still won’t go away. Can the OP make reduced payments on a temporary basis if he needs to? Absolutely - so long as it doesn’t bother him that interest will continue to accrue . . . quite possibly at a rate in excess of the reduced payments he’s making!</p>

<p>ClassicRockerDad - You’re being pretty cavalier about spending someone else’s money. At least get your facts straight!</p>

<p>Folks with direct loans can take reduced payments if their income is low enough for 20 years after which the balance of their loan is discharged.</p>

<p>But my understanding is there is a tax implication for that unpaid balance!</p>

<p>I have another idea. Go to UCONN and in August of this year, apply for a SMART scholarship with the government AND start applying for internships for next summer. Someone with programming skills has highly desirable skills. Good luck to the OP.</p>

<p>Yes I would like some suggestions on scholarships for undergraduates. I’ve thought about it and plan on applying to a few.</p>