<p>I got into Berkeley as a transfer from a 2-year college in WA, but my parents won't let me go because it costs too much. It costs ~50k/year in all (including housing/etc.) since I will be out of state. My dad told me that there is no way student loans would give me close to that much if I will be going for only my last 2 years. And I don't know how to figure out this whole financial student loans stuff. My parents' income won't allow any financial aid for me, but my parents refuse to help me out on paying (which is understandable). </p>
<p>My parents said they would pay for my education if I decide to go to the University of Washington, but if I go to UCB, they would give me ~10k/year. I have had my heart set on Berkeley for the longest time, though. I just don't know how student loans work.</p>
<p>What should I do first in order to find a way to go to Berkeley? Is it that impossible? I'm a math major if that matters, and I might end up working as an actuary to pay off my student loans (and I hear you can make bank as an actuary). But I may want to go to grad school...it's still up in the air, though.</p>
<p>But what are the first steps I should take in order to figure this whole finance stuff out? </p>
<p>And if you guys were in my situation, would you go to UCB or UW?</p>
<p>I wish I could help you with your dilemma, but I honestly know next to nothing about financial aid and loans. I would advise that you go to college where you love.</p>
<p>You’re only an undergrad once… Make it an experience! Go to Berkeley.</p>
<p>In the grand scheme of things, you’ll be able to compensate for the debt. Your major (math) is highly applicable to just about anything in the real world. It’s a very versatile major, and one that should help you land a strong job with or without graduate school.</p>
<p>It’s funny. Everyone says that about a math major, but my parents keep telling me that my major is useless unless it’s in the healthcare field (but then again, they are Asian, haha). I really don’t have a clear idea of what to do with my math major, though. I’m scared that I would not be able to pay off my loans and thus feel stressed throughout my entire time at Berkeley…</p>
<p>But it really was my dream school (or close to it)…</p>
<p>^ It really depends on your major. If you’re a humanities major and looking at this from a monetary perspective, there is no school in the country worth 80k of debt (assuming you have much cheaper alternatives). If you got into HAAS or EECS/CS and this will be your terminal degree, you might be able to justify it.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, some debt is fine but that much debt is significant. You’re better off transferring to UW, doing well and then attending graduate school somewhere better if that’s what you want to do.</p>
<p>if you have very large undergrad loans, you will not have the freedom to take opportunities you want if they don’t pay enough to allow you to continue meeting your loan payments!</p>
<p>I have to pay my way also and gonna take out loans for Berkeley out of state. We only get one chance to live, man! Go to the school you love. I hope I see you there :)</p>
<p>colboy is right. Go to school where your heart is. You worked for it - money shouldn’t hold you back from your dreams…especially when this only happens once (normally). Go to UCB. There are plenty of opportunities to get jobs and do lab work/internships that could also provide supplemental money.</p>
<p>After graduation or within the next couple of years you can figure out what the next step is. Right now, you’re a sophomore, like me, and you should do what you love and go where you want to go.</p>
<p>If UCB is what you love, then go. You’re only young once.</p>
<p>Colboy: How much will it all be for you? And what’s your major? And where are you from?</p>
<p>But…I always hear that where you get your undergrad doesn’t matter that much…and that you’ll probably have the same opportunities with a degree from UCB or UW…and that if you plan on going to grad school then UCB would not be worth it as your undergrad</p>
<p>…but I have spent so much time daydreaming about UCB…</p>
<p>To be frank, resorting “you’re young just do it” thing should be a big red flag – cliches like these pointedly avoid rational discourse. It’s like, “You’re in Vegas, have unprotected sex with a midget hooker. It’s Vegas!”</p>
<p>Underneath, the “you’re young just do it” is “you might live to regret not doing it,” but odds are you’ll regret 80k in debt more than missing a (in all likelihood) marginally better college experience.</p>
<p>It will probably be around 120k all together for me (for undergrad only! :() However, it’s definitely worth it to me. I can’t imagine being miserable at my school for another two years. Once I graduate, I want to either enter the peace corp or just get a job to help pay it off. I’m also planning to work part-time while I’m a student.</p>
<p>I’m a molecular biology major. I think math and science majors are competitive in the job market. I think we can find somewhere to work.</p>
<p>I’m from New Jersey. </p>
<p>If there’s a will, there’s a way. Come on, it’s Berkeley! I know a lot of people who have thousands of undergrad debt and are able to pay it off. Like someone else in this thread said, “Think long term.”</p>
<p>The people in this thread are delusional. No freaking way is it worth 80,000 in loans, especially when you have another great school to go to for free.</p>
<p>look at it from an Economic perspective… you like Berkeley better, but is it an 80k better option than UW? I hate to be the cynic, but I don’t think that where you go to college is the end all be all of life experiences and unless it’s absolutely necessary its probably not worth it to go 80k in debt for a slightly better time in your undergrad studies.</p>
<p>i’m already going to pay for all of ucb through loans (though i’m in-state) so that’s ~50k and if i stay another semester then ~60ishk…what’s another 20k at this point?!? haha, sure, i’d go with ~80k in debt, though i realize it’s probably not the most rational choice lol, in my case though, the only other options i have are no college, or a cheaper university, though my parents have already said they won’t support me (they’re already not giving money, so in this case simply allowing me to live at home after i graduate and fail to find a job :]) unless i attend a UC or better haha, indian parents, what can i do? lol XD</p>
<p>Any campus you go to is going to be an experience. Berkeley has con’s too you know. I wouldn’t put myself in an 80K debt unless I know I’m doing grad school or medical school. IMO: University of Washington.</p>
<p>However, keep in mind that Berkeley has one of the best math programs in the nation. If you can get in there for grad school, the debt will vanish in no time!</p>
<p>Dude, I’m all for people following their heart, pursuing their dreams, but:</p>
<p>1) It’s undergraduate for math. For you to break any ground in your major, you need a master’s at least. Assuming you want to teach.</p>
<p>2) University of Washington is NOT a joke. It’s a great school. You will meet people, you’ll be in a much more academic, diverse and social environment. </p>
<p>3) Jumping into graduate school with an amassed $80,000 of debt is a terrible way to start because: You’re going to assume more debt in graduate school, which costs more than undergraduate. You’re not entering into a major that’s heavy in research, so you won’t get a stipend. </p>
<p>If you go to UW, you’ll graduate with no debt, can go to graduate school debt free, and you might graduate with a Master’s for a relatively small amount of fee. </p>
<p>Do you even know what you want to do with Math? </p>
<p>Knowing what you want to do, is far more important than going to a school that specializes in expanding peoples’ minds. A lack of direction at Berkeley could turn two years into three years, making it $120,000 in debt.</p>