<p>SMART has a year for year pay back working for the government and you do not get it until sophomore year, but you can start the application in August for fall of 2014.</p>
<p>First tell us if you do have programming skills.</p>
<p>What sort of financial situation are the parents in here? Are they lowish income and this is a ridiculous endeavor, or are they realistically able to handle borrowing $60K in PLUS loans? It makes NO sense they would borrow that kind of money just so you have an opportunity to pay them back later, rather than just help you pay part of it now. Unless, they simply do not understand the ramifications. </p>
<p>Really, all you’re offering is a wink and a shrug to repay them. Basically, it means nothing to your parents. It is THEIR credit and life that will be ruined if something goes wrong here. You need to make 100% sure that they understand 1) They are 100% liable, period. No matter what you promise to do or repay, these loans are their problem. 2) PLUS loans do not go away in bankruptcy. They will sit around and cause all sorts of problems until they are repaid. Also, please think about the fact that you could be leaving them to possible destitution in retirement if you cannot repay them. Of course it’s ok to accept help from parents, but only if you know they are capable of doing it. Sometimes parents what to help their children so badly, they don’t think clearly. It’s your job to make sure the WHOLE FAMILY is making a justifiable and rational decision. It’s one thing for you to chance your own financial future, but make sure you’re parents are fully informed that they are also chancing their financial future unless they can repay themselves.</p>
<p>These same warnings apply to you for your student portions of the loans. </p>
<p>I understand this is really difficult with the time constraint and expectations, but you cannot ever take it back if you go to UCONN now and something goes wrong. Remember, if you go to a CC and transfer to UCONN, your diploma is exactly the same as if you’d gone their for the whole time. No one need ever know you ever went to CC. If you take even half the energy you’re committing to spend in order to attend UCONN and use it for CC instead, you would simply blow everyone at CC outta the water!</p>
<p>The “majors”, huh? 
What does that mean exactly? Very amusing.</p>
<p>For someone as bright as yourself, who went to MIT after all, I am surprised by your close-mindedness and narrow point of view when it comes to community colleges. I am not surprised about your professor friends’ points of view, of course. They certainly have some turf to protect and some retirement funds yet to be financed by all of the school loans, don’t they? My PhD engineer husband knows a lot of professors, too, and respects them, but as smart as they are, they would not do very well within the reality of his industry, which is cutting edge and has no patience for people who prefer the safer environment of academia. It is a put up or shut up industry, requiring smarts beyond the classroom experience. There are engineers from Stanford, there are engineers who never finished their degrees - the fact is that smart smart people make it regardless of where they went to school or whom were their classroom peers. That cannot be a comforting thought to those who put so much stock into their alma maters, but that is the truth. The wonderful thing about the computer science industry is that is still so open to people of all backgrounds - as long as they have the brains and the ambition.</p>
<p>The OP should go into this with a full understanding of the costs, to himself and to his parents. Write it all down on a piece of paper and hang it where he will see it every day, as a way to spur on a dogged pursuit of total excellence. His grades will matter for those essential internships and even for that first computer science job. Someday in the future, when his employer wants to send him to get his Masters or his PhD (and will pay for it, too, so don’t go straight to grad school!), he will need an undergraduate record free of any C’s - it’s only As and rare, if any, Bs from here on out. If he is up to the task, and gets those superior grades, and makes certain to get internships, and has a job lined up before he graduates, then the school loan debt will not turn into a tragedy. He will certainly earn an income that will be more than sufficient to pay the monthly payments. He needs to immediately start searching for scholarship money (like the SMART already mentioned, and others) because the less his parents take out in Plus loans, the better. I wish he had mentioned whether he could live at home and still attend UConn - that would be the best of all worlds, because the actual in-state tuition at UConn is not so bad at just $9256 a year.</p>
<p>The good news is that the OP is at the very least pursuing a potentially lucrative degree. And the fact that he has a desire to pay his parents back, and has concern for their financial well-being? Well, that to me, is the sign of someone really playing in the majors. Congratulations and best of luck.</p>
<p>OP is looking at this from the front end. He sees costs, has the first Plus, the “potential” to work a job and manage school, maybe work 100 hours in summer, maybe come out with a CS degree. All that is the design considerations phase. I don’t see he absorbs the back-end real life numbers. We don’t know if CS is a realistic pursuit (we’re not getting info that shows this is something he is ready for.) Staffords will be 27k, Plus will add up and we linked the loan calculator at least twice, showed how interest adds to these “front end” numbers, the issues with defererral.</p>
<p>Of course if he is ready, mature and determined. I just don’t see we have that info. Sorry. It is his decision, but we are in the dark about his specifics.</p>
<p>No I do not have programming skills just yet but hopefully I will be able to learn as im taking some of the classes. The reason why my parents are encouraging me to stay is that she is afraid future employers would frown upon CC if they see that I went to CC first. Stafford Loans of 27K+ do not concern me as much as the parent plus. I just want to do my best to decrease that as much as I can. I’m slightly convinced about CC if I can get to where I want to be and If i save alot more… But I’m not sure if that effects the employer’s decision.</p>
<p>Employers do not care if you go to CC first.</p>
<p>*Quote:
Sure a lot can go wrong for anybody, but these are all federal loans with provisions for hardship.</p>
<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>Are there “provisions for hardship” with Parent Plus loans? If so, what are they? I’ve never heard that low-income parents with huge Plus loans get some kind of break. </p>
<p>I’m not concerned whether the student can afford the Stafford loans, I’m concerned that he won’t be able to afford to pay back his parents’ Plus loans…or at least do so w/o living on PBJ sandwiches for 10+ years.</p>
<p>As I’ve written many times, nearly my entire family is in the techie world (engineers, CS) - even my nieces and nephews (which I have over 40). My 6-year employed Google CS nephew with a masters, just bought his first home. There’s no way he’d have been able to do this if he had $1000 a month student loan payments hanging over his head. Luckily, he was able to live at home while he saved for the down payment. (He wouldn’t have been able to save or pay big loans if he were also paying living expenses)</p>
<p>We have NO IDEA if this student will get a job where he could live at home and put “rent money” towards these huge loans. </p>
<p>OP…please don’t do this. I know that your parents are excited about you preparing for a wonderful career which is why they are naively supporting this road to staggering debt. It is NOT too late to start at a CC. Call/go to your local CC today and find out what you need to do to enroll. The Plus loans will get cancelled because they won’t be used at UConn.</p>
<p>Do employers care if I go to CC first and will I know more or know less compare the students in Uconn when I transfer? The Most nearby CC is three rivers. I tried calling the admissions office 2 times already since they open at 8 and the lady isn’t there.</p>
<p>I found the detailed curriculum on the UConn website
<a href=“http://www.cse.uconn.edu/cms/images/PDFs/SelectionGuide_cs13-14.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cse.uconn.edu/cms/images/PDFs/SelectionGuide_cs13-14.pdf</a>
It looks impressive and quite rigorous. </p>
<p>I challenge you to find a Connecticut community college that can match the Freshman and Sophomore curriculum at UCONN. I haven’t checked them all, but the ones I checked didn’t even come close. There are 7 particular computer science classes taken in years 1 and 2. </p>
<p>Why put yourself behind? Would you really save any money? I don’t think you would be prepared to earn as much during the summer after your sophomore year at the CC.</p>
<p>I also doubt that the ones at the CC would be as abstract and rigorous.</p>
<p>CDR, I’m baffled as to why you’re acting like you have a horse in this race. I really don’t think you’re being realistic which is unfair to the OP. Or maybe you’re actually that biased against CCs…my mind is blown here. </p>
<p>Sz, no - your employer does not care where you get gen eds. If you went to Three Rivers CC for 2 years and then finished your last 2 years at UCONN, your diploma will read UCONN. Even your transcript from UCONN should reflect credits transferred without even saying where they came from. Personally, my U of A transcript didn’t say the name of my community college anywhere.</p>
<p>I think you should look at it this way. You can attend UCONN for 4 years under the constant stress of working a lot (which is so hard to do in your major anyway) and wondering if/when your parents will get declined for the loans and you’ll have to leave the school. OR you could attend the CC for the first 2 years and not have to be worried. During your first two years, you will be taking general education requirements. These are the exact same no matter where you go, so why would you pay excessive amounts for the same classes? Your last 2 years at UCONN will be your most valuable. </p>
<p>You can either attend your dream school for four years with lots of risk, or do 2 years of CC + 2 years of dream school and most likely be able to afford other things (dream car, dream house, etc.). Not saying you wouldn’t be able to afford that the first way, but it’s a huge risk.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Because I’m right and I know better. What many of you are proposing for the OP is potentially career killing, and it bothers the heck out of me. </p>
<p>Before you criticize me, go ahead, find a Connecticut CC that has a comparable curriculum to UCONN. The prerequisite tree at UCONN is deep and you can’t wait until you finished your GenEds to start it. Otherwise you are definitely looking at a 5th (or 6th) year. </p>
<p>I think the OP and his parents should invest in his/her future. Don’t worry about working minimum wage while in school, worry about doing well and let the interest accumulate. If your parents can contribute more, they will. If you can, you will. But doing well in this program is your best investment and should be your first priority. You’re laying the foundation for a lucrative 40 year professional career worth millions of dollars. Keep your eye on the prize.</p>
<p>“you are right and you know better”??</p>
<p>These is more than one way to get a bachelors degree. This student needs to get a bachelors degree…and there is more than one way to skin that cat as well. I KNOW I am correct about that.</p>
<p>The student wants a bachelors degree from Uconn. As noted upstream, the courses taken at a community college wIll be applied to that when she transfers to Uconn…and her degree will be from Uconn. </p>
<p>And for the record, my engineer husband says some of the best professors he had were at the community college. They were adjuncts who not only knew the subject matter but also were actively working in the field and thus knew the jobs. And DH also said the students in his CC classes were highly motivated…he attended evening classes while working during the day. His view was that these classes drew a group of students who really wanted to be there, and had a goal to get accepted to a four year school.</p>
<p>We live in CT, and my husband knows the engineering and IT markets well. I asked his opinion, and he said that attending g a community college will not adversely affect this student. Her degree wIll be from UConn and all of her upper level courses will be from UConn. </p>
<p>Getting some decent internships and jobs while in college will certainly help…but this would be the case regardless of where she took her gen ed courses.</p>
<p>My husband’s companies have NEVER given a hiring edge based on where someone got their degree…never. So a student from UConn via CC had the same chance of getting a job as an MIT grad…given that they demonstrated the skills to do the job, and communicate with others, and work as part of a team. </p>
<p>Mom2, her parents will be on the hook for those Plus loans…there is no reduced payment for those. </p>
<p>But as I said upstream…this is the OP’s family’s decision. There are tons of families who decide to use these plus loans…otherwise they would not exist.</p>
<p>Go ahead and find a CT Community College that provides a comparable foundation as UCONN’s CS major. You haven’t done that. Ask your husband to do that. He won’t be able to. </p>
<p>If OP goes to a CC and delays her graduation by a year, she is losing her first year’s salary, and not really saving any money at all.</p>
<p>Do employers care if I go to CC first and</p>
<p>Absolutely not. Employers won’t care a whit. You’ll get paid the SAME no matter what.</p>
<p>*Because I’m right and I know better. What many of you are proposing for the OP is potentially career killing, and it bothers the heck out of me. *</p>
<p>you’ve fallen off your rocker and need help up. It bothers the heck out of the rest of us that without knowing a flip about this student’s stats or anything, you’re recommending strangling debt.</p>
<p>*My husband’s companies have NEVER given a hiring edge based on where someone got their degree…never. So a student from UConn via CC had the same chance of getting a job as an MIT grad…given that they demonstrated the skills to do the job, and communicate with others, and work as part of a team. *</p>
<p>Yup, yup, yup! (oh my, CRD’s gonna need seat belts now to stay in his rocker. 
)</p>
<p>I’ve tried calling the CC admissions office but the lady is still not there… They say they open at 8 AM but 2 hours since and no ones picking up. I’ve asked the Uconn’s admission office and they said there are 2 year CC students who graduate in UConn within 4 years but she is not sure if that is true with the Computer Science department… My issue is that Three River’s first 2 years seems to be lacking alot compared to the courses that Uconn provides. It will be alot better if I can find a undergraduate who went to Three River CC who transfered to Uconn, that way I can know for sure if that would be a good option or not.</p>
<p>Three Rivers CC has an associates degree program in CS Technology that looks like it is intended to prepare for transfer to university CS programs. Obviously it’s not exactly the same as UConn’s curriculum, just as UConn’s curriculum would not be exactly the same as another university’s.</p>
<p>[Associate</a> Degree Programs | Three Rivers Community College](<a href=“http://www.trcc.commnet.edu/Div_academics/Admin/AS_Plans_of_Study/Assoc_Prog_of_Study_Webpage/ComputerScienceTechnology_AS.shtml]Associate”>http://www.trcc.commnet.edu/Div_academics/Admin/AS_Plans_of_Study/Assoc_Prog_of_Study_Webpage/ComputerScienceTechnology_AS.shtml)</p>
<p>SZ, please do not feel pressured by or beholden to anyone who contributes to this thread. Consider the facts that have been presented and make an informed decision that is right for you.</p>
<p>SZ…</p>
<p>What are your Math SAT scores? What is your M+CR SAT score (or ACT breakdown/composite) and GPA?</p>
<p>Were you offered any merit from UConn?</p>
<p>Can you drive over to the CC office? they’re probably super busy right now and not taking phone calls.</p>
<p>Nice one mom2collegekids :-). </p>
<p>Seriously though, here’s what I know. </p>
<p>1) This student was admitted to UCONN’s CS major. UConn is quite well respected.
2) This student can afford to attend - loans. We see too many that don’t have these options.
3) There is no viable substitute - no Connecticut CC offers a comparable program except one that is slower and inferior. I know enough about CS to know that it’s not the same as IT, and that the CC programs are not going to be abstract enough to replace what’s done at UCONN. CS is all about methods of abstractions - compartmentalizing your thinking into black boxes that you can use without knowing what’s inside- and not strictly about programming, which in and of itself is quite straightforward. It will be much more difficult to graduate UCONN after 4 years if the first two were at a CC. If the OP falls behind, that only brings more debt and delays (and lowers) the salaries.
4) I haven’t seen any viable applicants for jobs that I hire for that have gone to a CC except as a dual-enrollment student. It’s just not that common to transfer to the flagship and do well enough for me to hire.
5) I don’t care squat about the degree, I care about the capabilities. However, I have only a few seconds to scan a resume, and I notice the school someone attended and how well they did under what kind of competition. When I am scanning resumes to hire, I rank the resumes that seem promising. The candidate still has to “get” the job. It is getting harder for me to find the caliber of candidates that I’ve seen in the past few years.
6) A well adjusted student who works extremely hard will benefit greatly from a higher standard of excellence than that offered by a CC. This standard of excellence will stay with them beyond college.
7) New PhDs in computer science are making over $100K and are founding their own startups and could potentially make millions (or billions). It’s a viable and lucrative thing to consider for the top of the class. Going to a CC would not likely get a student on a track to be competitive for graduate schools because of a poor foundation.</p>