Where I want to go vs. what makes sense

College Search & Selection
1

In an effort to make my decision on which college I want to attend, I’ve run into a roadblock.

Both my parents went to Florida State and we lived in Tallahassee for the first 12 years of my life. Before we moved, we did the FL prepaid program, meaning I have a full four year tuition at any public college in Florida already paid. Nothing new would be coming out of pocket in terms of tuition. Decisions come out on Thursday, and I’m not guaranteed admission, but I think my chances are good.

However, my dream school is Chapman University in California. I’ve been admitted with a $28,000 a year merit scholarship (which is a dent in the total cost, but it’s still very expensive). It ticked all my boxes, even some I didn’t know I had. I love the location and the campus itself, and I really enjoyed my time visiting. I didn’t feel this at FSU, it’s much, much larger and I know I might feel pressured to join a sorority to have a social life.

My parents are understanding of the situation I’m in, but we’ve had an honest talk about the financials of it all. I will not get any money from FAFSA, but we still can’t afford to send me through that college without loans. I’d have to incur a significant debt that I’d be paying off for years and years. So the question is: is it worth it?

(some more details that might help answer it)
I plan to study political science with a concentration in public policy.
I have no guarantee that I’ll go to grad school, so settling for my Bachelor’s and waiting it out for grad school might be pointless.
I have honors college opportunities at both schools.
I’ll be entering college with about 15 hours of DE/AP credits, so that saves $$ on the last semester that I can skip out on.
I really want a related internship, and it seems like my only option in Tallahassee is the Florida Senate/general state government (which isn’t bad, it just seems limited in terms of opportunity)
My biggest dream for my college is to be in a big city, big city=more opportunity in my mind I guess, but that’s something I loved about Chapman. It’s 45 mins out of downtown LA, but it really doesn’t feel like it.
I don’t want to live in CA, so if I’m not there for college, I’ll probably never experience it that in depth.
I would not die if I had to go to FSU, but I would not be considering it so much if the tuition break was not a factor. It’s just not my first choice.

I have an important decision to make, so an help would be greatly appreciated :slight_smile:

2

Your parents are giving you a huge gift by having a debt free college option. There is no way I’d recommend you take out loans when you don’t have to.

Your location for college will not dictate where you can do your summer internships. My D is in the middle of corn and soy fields in Indiana and she and her friends have internships all over the country (and in the world in some cases).

You’ll also have the flexibility of studying abroad since you wont have to worry about loans.

Big cities will be there after graduation and FWIW, 45 minutes outside of LA is FAR with their traffic ; )

My advice is to start getting excited about FSU - join the admitted students social media group, look up clubs and activities that interest you, etc… Honors college will make the experience even better.

Congratulations!

3

How much would you need to borrow? Significant debt is never a good idea.

We pre-paid tuition at University of Illinois for both of our kids. Wow it would have been great if they went there but S19 did not and D21 has no interest either. We still got a significant return on that investment and can use those funds to help pay for college. I assume you’ve looked into how much that plan is worth if you use it for Chapman.

We were able to also save in 529 plans so our kids won’t have to take any loans. I think we would have been comfortable with them taking up to maybe $25,000 total for four years if we hadn’t saved enough, but I don’t think we would have been supportive of much higher loans.

What do your parents think? Have you looked closely enough at FSU to give it a fair shake? Dig deep into the department you’re interested in?

4

I think it depends on how much debt you are really talking about. I think the standard $27k that kids like you are allowed to take is manageable upon college graduation. I had much more than that decades ago and I did it just fine. If your parents will have to take out a Parent Plus loan on top of that, I would not do it. There are plenty of other ways to get involved at FSU without joining the Greek System. I would encourage you to explore those options. It is a great school and I am sure that you could find ways to be happy there.

5

You can only take out ~$27k in loans over 4 years. Your parents would have to take out the rest of co-sign for you. So you can’t afford Chapman. This is a no-brainer. Go to a Florida college. There are plenty of opportunities to intern in DC regardless of where you go to school, if that’s what you want to do. Political science majors need very little debt because jobs often pay little to nothing, at least starting out.

6

@momofsenior1 Studying abroad is definitely in the mix of big deciding factors, as I absolutely wouldn’t get to if I went to Chapman. Thank you for the advice, it’s getting harder and harder and to hear it from someone outside my family is very helpful and greatly appreciated!

7

@homerdog Probably around $100,000…which sounds worse and worse the more I say it. My parents are extremely supportive and want me to be happy, but also to face the reality money and what I must incur in order to make it happen. I’ve just been having so much trouble putting logic over my selfish interests, so it’s nice to hear from someone in an similar situation. Thank you very much!

8

@marsillygoat Please don’t take offense but why did you even apply to Chapman if you knew it would cost you $100k? I agree with the other posters. What a great thing that your parents had the forethought to pre-pay in Florida. Start looking into all of the ways you can make FSU your own!

Our niece was in this predicament. Prepay at UIUC and parents could only afford maybe $10k on top of that. She wasn’t thrilled but she is making the most of it. Freshman year was hard but she’s a sophomore now and is having a very good experience inside and outside of class. Her mom is happy but also bummed because now she hardly ever comes home or calls because UIUC feels like home and she’s happy. LOL!

9

Thank you everyone. I think I understand the obviously superior option, I guess I just needed a couple more people outside my family to push me in the direction that is clearly more realistic and will work out better for my family. I don’t want all this debt on my family after they’ve done so much for me on in this college search process. I appreciate your help :slight_smile: hopefully I’ll get into to FSU this week and won’t be stressing for much longer

10

I think your opportunities will be no less at FSU. It is very good for political science, and you should think of its location in the state capitol as an opportunity more than a limiting factor, as you can still go to DC etc… for semester or summer internships. Also, you will have more money for housing at those summer internships because you won’t be taking out the same kind of loans (if any) at FSU. Graduating without significant debt means you can take that low paying political staffer job or work at an advocacy group in the city of your choice, without having to worry as much about your salary. Your social life at FSU will not be limited to Greek life. Live in the honors dorm and you will immediately make friends with smart, ambitious young women and men who choose not to go through rush. My son is a sophomore honors student at FSU. Some of his good friends are in fraternities/sororities but most are not. My daughter went to college and still lives in L.A. and sure it is a fun place to live, but expensive. If your goal is to live in a city like L.A. after college, the best way to afford it is to make a sound financial decision now as part of your plan to get there.

11

@homerdog When searching for college, I definitely wasn’t realistic about the cost, as I think I was pretty blinded by the process. The logic is clearly there and of course I ignored it, and it’s biting me in the butt now that I’m here. I’ll hopefully be able to make the most out of FSU and enjoy the opportunity I’ve been given!

12

Several months ago there was a discussion about FSU study abroad for freshmen. While I do not recommend studying abroad during one’s freshman year, it revealed that FSU offers great opportunities to study abroad.

Los Angeles & Southern California will always be there for graduate school & professional/career options .

13

hey marsillygoat - just want you to know that there are thousands upon thousands of kids who have dream colleges and acceptances - but can’t afford them. You are not alone. My own kid would LOVE to go to school in Colorado; but the loans are too much. ($30K/yr). He’s looking at schools in his price range; and starting to get excited. I do hope you are happy with your decisions.

on a completely random note, my dad just told me last week about his experiences at Chapman in the 60s as an art major. It made me laugh. It included him keeping a chicken in his dorm room for awhile!

14

You seem like a thoughtful, practical, humble young woman. Please go into politics - we need you desperately.

15

So, hard truth about your path: the #1 thing you need is internships / work experience, and that is almost always unpaid or with a tiny stipend (while you are a student) and grossly underpaid (when you are a new graduate). Any amount of debt payments will make it really hard to take the opportunities that are the most tempting but often the least remunerative.

So, work your study away options. I don’t know FSU’s policies- but you should figure them out right from the start. I know that FSU has a ton of internship options in DC, and there are a bunch of international opportunities.I know students (not at FSU, but at similar places) who have done multiple study away semesters (one had terms in DC, Argentina and Spain; another went to both Miami and Australia). Your pre-paid fees can be applied to the study abroad costs- do the math for specific progams, but it can be a straight wash.

And, fwiw, Chapman won’t get you anywhere that you can’t go w/ FSU :slight_smile:

16

Debt destroys lives.

Better to start one’s career with a focus on something other than student debt.

Debt is the opposite of freedom.

17

If there’s a choice between “want” vs “rational choice,” then you really can’t go wrong with the rational choice. These are the kinds of decisions we make everyday when we’re “adulting.”

18

It sounds like FSU is a true safety: a place you can go where you can afford it and you won’t spend four years looking back at your choice. It’s a great thing to have in hand.

Less helpfully, I offer a third option :wink: set aside Chapman but keep looking at other schools where you might get enough aid to afford them. Remember, there are thousands of schools, many are still taking apps, and your list of criteria is not particularly restrictive. Poke around a little more.

19

While I appreciate Chapman for many things and some wonderful opportunities, proximity to Los Angeles and DTLA is certainly not one of them.

At best (which is typically only at 6:00 am on a Sunday) the drive will take an hour. Since any internships you’d do would be during weekday business hours, the drive - and yes, you will need a car - will take you about 1.5 hours each way. In addition to the time, don’t forget to factor in gasoline and parking, about another $35-40.00 per trip.

If you had said that you were a film major, then Chapman could make some sense if it was close to being affordable, as it’s more difficult to replicate what the Dodge School has to offer. Since you have stated that politics/policy is your major, then the school options in Florida probably make more sense for undergrad.
Save your money for grad school.

I echo what someone above said, you sounds like a reasonable, thoughtful person. Exactly who we want in the politics/policy field.

Best of luck.

20

“Probably around $100,000…which sounds worse and worse the more I say it.”

I may be beating a dead horse at this point, but yes $100,000 is way too much debt. This would be very difficult to pay off and would have a huge impact on your life after graduation.

For majors which will obviously lead to a good job immediately after graduation (computer science, nursing, engineering, …) a small amount of debt is okay. For most other majors recent university graduates frequently make barely enough money to live on. My older daughter who graduated relatively recently is very glad that she took on no debt at all, and is barely making enough to live on without help from Mom and Dad.

“hopefully I’ll get into to FSU this week”

Let us know when you hear back. I will keep my fingers crossed for you (figuratively, since literally would impact my typing ability).

Good luck. It sounds like you are thinking about this very sensibly.