She won’t mind living at home, plus LA is crazy expensive now. She knows that.
If we see her working her tail off to reach this goal and she’s a bit short, I’ll happily cover the difference to make this a reality for her. It’ll take ALOT of grit and determination though!
Once she accepts SC and turns down UCSB,and you make a statement like that, how can you stop - even if she’s not living up to the terms you set ?
What’s her plan this fall ? Just work or still school ?
You know the right answer. You mentioned it in your first post. But now you are trying to justify like your daughter has already decided. I get it. It’s very hard to say no to our kids. My daughter steamrolls me daily although she knew the college budget and understood that schools that came in above were instantly eliminated.
I am also concerned that maybe she doesn’t really know what business is - academically - based on earlier comments in the thread.
Grit, determination, luck, good health.
For all parties. Good luck to all of you.
Well, she was going back and forth but was acting like UCSB was the one, then last few days it switched. Then this long weekend hit and she’s been out the whole time - so no discussion on anything yet, aside from me telling her I’m not co-signing after you guys told me of that requirement.
When I originally posted, my main concern was her having $60k debt when she didn’t need it. It goes down to $15k if she can grind and make $25k, plus live at home during college. I still think that’s the wrong decision and will lay everything out for her. If she still decides its USC, at least $15k debt is reasonable.
Also, she’s already taken Econ, Accounting, stats, etc at her cc… she did well in those classes but I think the UC weeder classes for Econ discouraged her from continuing on because she just doesn’t have the passion or even interest in it.
I have a hard time believing a student with no current job will be able to NET close to $25k in five and a half months. But if that if your family decision I can only wish you all luck.
Just curious - you mentioned a boyfriend - do you think that plays a role?
Hard to tell the parking fees for commuters - looks like monthly. You may look at that.
I just worry that any student commuting loses campus life ahd I imagine that’s one of the great appeals of SC. I mean, if you’re just going to class, why go to a residential private ? Obviously her choice. But I don’t see and you noted your own experiences - how do you obtain that inclusiveness - clubs, study groups, parties, late night pizza runs and more.
Last suggestion - please go through the business curriculum with her before making such a large investment. It may not line up with what she thinks based on earlier comments
I was in Costco the other week. Ran into a retiree from my last job here in Nashville. He had two kids at SC full pay. I asked how they’re doing.
One just changed jobs after two years. Now making $45k. Sports marketing of some sort.
The other graduated. Traveling. Will worry about life later. He was worried now 
Well not sure how you get the $$ commitment from your kid to make $25k in the next six months but we hashed this subject well.
Finally let me remind you that loans come with fees. So you borrow $25k but they are giving you less. It’s not just interest you pay but origination fees up front.
I wish you luck and hope she finds her path.
I agree wholeheartedly with everyone else here: $60k for a bachelor’s degree is a terrible idea that will be a millstone around her neck (and the parents as cosigners).
This side note about not like stats or math is a bit of a red flag for both marketing and management - is it possible she likes the idea of those fields rather than knowing what the day to day work is like…?
In management she’s going to be running numbers every day, she’s going to need to understand P&L sheets, inventory, margins, labor costs, lease evaluations, etc. etc. In marketing she’s going to need to be able to measure and compare the metrics on campaigns to know if they’re effective and to show those numbers to her clients and recognize mathematically what effects the marketing is and isn’t having on the business. Data analytics is a tremendous amount of marketing now.
Management is math, and even “creatives” in marketing need to have a real facility with numbers.
dang - you are fast! really appreciate your time replying.
The boyfriend plays a role but I think my daughter’s ambition is more her focus. She just thinks USC will offer her a better career, which I agree with - but not $100k better!
Living at home during college sucks - you won’t get the wonderful college experience. But if she wants USC, that’ll be her reality.
Netting $25k. I don’t know what kind of job she’ll have to do that, but I bet it won’t including going out of town for long weekends.
My daughter is working all weekend at Starbucks even though these aren’t her normal days. There is some event in town and it is all hands on deck. Most jobs college kids have aren’t that glamorous.
I think you really need to sit down with pencil and paper to show her how the money is going to work. She needs to understand that she’s going to be working, making a lot of money, and not getting to spend any of it on herself - no new clothes, no coffees, no going away for the weekend. When she graduates and has ‘only’ $15k in loans which has become $20k with interest, the no coffee and no new clothes lifestyle will continue unless she continues to live at home.
Kids who have had most things provided and only worked for their own spending money really have a shock when they have to pay rent, utilities, groceries, clothing. I remember when my kids and I took a short trip, maybe 2 hours from home, and I said I needed gas. One looked at me and said “But you just bought gas yesterday.” Hmm, yes. The car eats it like you eat the groceries, use the laundry detergent, need new shoes…
She’s a hostess at a fancy breakfast restaurant so she makes decent money for a 19 year old but its just part time so she’ll have to find a 2nd or maybe 3rd job. I think once I explain this to her, honestly USC isn’t gonna look that great anymore.
I do disagree and have the example of my son who just graduated earlier last month posted in the thread earlier
When I started in 1998 in Gardena - so near you - I was in a cohort of four MBAs.
UCLA
Dartmouth
UCR - which was unranked
ASU - that was me -ranked 40th. I turned down UT and IU (ranked 7th at the time, in the 20s today).
We all made $64992. Same with my son today. The Akron engineering is making the same as Purdue. That’s how it works. Rarely do companies pay for the school name and with the advent of online recruiting, it’s much more widespread today…especially the regular jobs to hire from wherever. Hence my sons 20 interviews and 5 offers b4 he stopped at xmas
She might find that right job at USC. She might find it at Cal Poly Pomona or a smaller school where she stands out. There’s no way to know…never will be a way .
USC will have a higher caliber of kids for sure - some will go to high powered firms /IB or family businesses or grad schools like law. And they’ll do well getting into grad school not because they go to SC but for for the same reasons that THEY got into SC. Stellar academic and test taking abilities. It’s why Harvard Law has a Cal State LA and Northridge in their class amongst many other schools people don’t consider elite. Less stellar students overall go to those but the tippy top do in fact go for cost, location, special program or whatever the reason
But ambition - with drive and persistence - maybe USC will give a better outcome but not necessarily. We can disagree there but the retiree I just mentioned spent a boatload and two years out his kid is making $45k (and happy I should add as he’s in sports). Why don’t you ask Marshall for outcomes by major ?
I hope better for your daughter and it’s possible but truth is you are basing this on USC, US News and societal marketing and hope.
Honestly I’m more concerned about her finishing. Hence I keep mentioning for her to look at the curriculum.
Ok.
Done
My husband lived at home during college and attended CC then CSUN because that’s literally all his family could manage. Um… he’s a CPA, MBA and the CFO of a film company. It’s all what you do with the opportunity you have.
After you and D have an in-depth talk and go through numbers and situation in detail (ex. money she would need to earn and a concrete plan to accomplish that, potential monthly debt payments after graduation, a back-up plan if USC becomes unaffordable after a year or so, the benefits of living on campus v at home etc.) please let us know the decision.
I’m just amazed that several posters keep referring to a college with a cost of attendance of $35K as “cheap.”
In California we’re paying nearly 40k a year for public schools. I’m always amazed by how affordable colleges are in some other states.
But the good news is for the elite students, they can often capture those amazing discounts, as yours considered doing.
But it is odd that it’s different states supporting this vs the home state.
But the family has that money. It also includes r&b, which the $60k+ for USC doesn’t.
If there was $300k in the college fund, I think a lot of people would be saying “Go to USC, that’s what the money’s for” but we’re just trying to get the family to the best decision (financially) for the long term. If the family didn’t have the $35k for UCSB, I’m sure we’d be saying “Look at a CSU in your area so she can live at home” or “Have you looked at a UC near LA?”
I’ve followed the entire thread and am aware of all that.
So family had our talk and after laying out all the numbers, my daughter decided USC wouldn’t be worth the grind and the loans, so she’ll go to UCSB and stick with econ instead of changing to comm. She felt that major would provide her with the best career opportunities and will take a cc summer school econ class to prepare her for the weeder class she’ll need to do well on. And also somehow business school was now in consideration since she’ll have some funds for that, but we’ll worry about that another day - I won’t have a problem co-signing that loan - probably…
Thanks to all who offered their advice on this thread and GO GAUCHOS!!
My kids have loans, my 3 daughters have been working since 14 (like their brothers), I encouraged them to get restaurant experience, they all stated as hostesses/cashiers, moved up to servers, my 22 year old bartends in Boston, great way to make a lot of money quickly (she works 2/3 shifts a week to pay for rent and food). Tipped positions are better than non tipped at restaurants.