So I am undecided between UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego, as well as UC Irvine.
UCSB - I have to take out like two loans that amount up to $5k
UCSD - I have to take out like a $3k loan
UCI - I have to take out no loans and I have $480 left over, free.
I am currently going in as an Undeclared Undegrad student. I have no idea what atmosphere I want, but I want my college years to be worth it.
My only concern with UCSD would be that it being so close to the Mexican border and I.C.E. waiting in the freeways (coming back from Triton Day I saw two I.C.E. cars in the side of the freeway - also my brother’s GF took me, and she is a U.S. citizen). My mother and brother are both undocumented, so I don’t want them to be stopped. So they are my only real worry if I go to SD bc if they go drop me off, they might get stopped. My mom and brother both claim that they are fine and nothing will happen, but IDK. Is anyone else in my situation?
At UCSB I have to take out the most money, and I cannot really afford it. Even though this was my first choice, this is now my last option. I dunno. My teacher said that taking out loans would be worth it because I will experience college as it is.
Also, in all 3 - I’m dorming.
At this point, I don’t know. I am fine with either but with your experiences/opinions, which should I attend?
Was there anything wrong with Irvine? Unless you really hate it, I don’t see a problem with going there.
Honestly, the ICE thing scares me if your mother and brother are undocumented. I haven’t been down to the San Diego area in years so have no firsthand knowledge, but I was reading about very active ICE checkpoints in the Carlsbad/Encinitas area.
“Honestly, the ICE thing scares me if your mother and brother are undocumented”
I agree.
I have heard that UC Irvine is a very good university. The loans aren’t that bad for the other universities, but graduating from a very good university with no debt at all seems rather attractive to me. Is there any good reason to pick either of the other two universities?
(by the way, don’t get too excited about the $480 – something will come up that needs it)
UC Irvine is a great university. It has more than 600 undocumented students – and it has an office dedicated to helping those students as well as students who may have someone in their family who is undocumented. Many staff and faculty get training to help AB540 students and be sensitive to the challenges faced by students whose relatives are undocumented. Since you are undecided on major, I do not think it’s worth the extra $5K to go to UCSB.
@zana3274 , I would have the same concerns at UCSD. I saw one of your previous threads about this, so I know this has been stressing you out for weeks and I think you might keep worrying about it for the next 4 years. I’m not sure it’s worth it, especially when you have 2 other great options. If you were strongly leaning toward UCSD, that might be different, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. If I were you, I think I’d cross that one off the list and stop thinking about it.
That leaves UCI and UCSB. You say you UCSB would have been your first choice if not for the cost, but you didn’t sound too excited about it in another thread after visiting. You also say you can’t afford it, so I think that’s your answer. It’s just one less thing you’d have to worry about. I don’t think $5K per year is an overwhelming amount of debt. A part time job during the year would probably cover most of that, but I can’t see spending $20K more on a school you’re not $20K more excited about.
A free ride at UCI is an amazing opportunity. You’d have no worries about money, your family visiting, coming to pick you up, etc. You can just focus on academics and having a great college experience.
Not sure that helps, but I tried. Let us know your final decision!
@mom2collegekids - I did not say the OP was undocumented. The point was that programs to help undocumented students also include students whose relatives are undocumented. One of the challenges is the stress that comes from fearing that a relative could be deported. UCI has a program that is sensitive to the concerns of the OP.
Let us know your final decision!