how valid is this college advice

[EmperorNero]

"don't worry about expensive colleges, you can always get financial aid later."

1) I've heard that tip several times already. I'm considering and out of state school and the total cost per year is around $20,000 (tuition/room & board/ books) versus about $5000 if I attend a college near here and commute. is it easy to get $20,000 in financial aid (in forms of grants, scholarships, etc) as the quote above implies? I'm willing to put some efforts into finding scholarships and my academic career is pretty good but with some huge pitfalls...but I guess still pretty good overall.

2) to get an idea of how much people are getting, what are your guys' college costs per year (tuition, room and board, books) and how much was it was paid in financial aids and scholarships?

 

[goshdarnindie]

Unless your going to be rich right away, don't buy it. I am lucky to be finished with school debt free with an engineering degree. Most people I know with a lot of financial aid are poor for a really long time. If you want to be poor, why go to college? It all depends on how reasonable it is. Figure out what you think you will make in four years, minus taxes, apt. and util, food, car, all that crap, and see if you can make the payments on a loan, and still put money away for the big things (like a house).

 

[Cattlegod]

i go to michigan tech univ., im a junior in computer engineering.

my school costs about 12.5k i am a resident assistant.

5.2k comes from being an RA
6k from federal loans
1.2k from scholarships

i didn't bother to sign up or get any scholarships, the one there was given to me for some reason by the school.

i figure im going to be 20k in the hole when i graduate. that should be easy to pay off considering i will be making 50-60k starting with not a bill to my name other than the loans, and i'll be living at home for a while after.

so in my opinion, load up on the loans

 

[Azraele]

I think what people mean when they say this is to not worry about the cost if the school's good for you.

My advice to you is to do your homework. Balance cost with the school and ask friends/family for advice. Don't be afraid to pay more for a better school.

 

[iamwiz82]

i'm taking out about 40k in loans over the next 3 years to pay off college. My school is 22k a year, so i figure i can afford to pay the rest. Dont get a big loan if you dont think you can pay it off. I should have a pretty good job once i get out of college, since my University is pretty well respected.

 

[bdcrisp]

I go to a very cheap state university, graduating soon. As i move on to med. school next year, I'll be glad i didn't pay the tuition of something like Harvard for four years. If you want to learn about financing your education you should look at need-based financial aid, grants from local and corporate businesses, freshman scholarships, major-specific scholarships / grants, and federal direct loans.

 

[Capn]

My school costs 35k and the school only gave me 16k of aid, my parents make about 66k combined a year. Luckily I have another scholarship to fill the rest of the need, but I'm an exception, don't count on one.

 

[slanginhard]

claim yourself as an independent, with a real small income, it would help if you have a kid too. You'll get more money than you'll know what to do with, thats what my friends do, but they dont even go to school, they just get the money and take some classes where you learn how to use the computer at CC.

 

[geofftate]

Well, there are a lot of factors involved. How "good" is your state college as opposed to the other institution you want to go to? Is it worth the $ difference TO YOU and to your future? Is it that important to get away from home? How strong are your academics -- can you expect merit-based scholarship consideration? Private universities are usually quick to hand out financial aid (quicker that state schools), but their expense is a lot more to begin with. Importants is how much do your parents make? Even if they won't pay for your education, if you are considered their dependant, your govt aid will be very limited if they make too much to qualify. Some govt funding is a given, though, such as pell grants, student loans, etc.

You really have to do research for your own specific situation. Your guidance counselor should be able to help (if you're in high school), otherwise there is a LOT of information online. With enough persistence, you should be able to work out a managable plan. I chose to stay in-state, but to dorm at the school -- so I compromised financially. I was lucky, though, because my state school is a good one and my parents were willing to pay for my education (as long as I kept it under budget). I was unable to get a satisfactory financial package (parents make too much money; good academics, but not superior; etc) and decided I'd rather be debt-free than take out large loans. I don't regret it.

 

[iamwiz82]

bdcrisp makes a good point. Dont bother spending tons on a big name school if you are gonna go off to med. school or other post bachelor degree. Its not worth it. Also, you might want to go to a community college for the core classes, math science, etc, to get them out of the way cheap. Just make sure that your college will transfer them in.

 

[Urinal Mint]

Large public universities are the only way to fly. Dude, you're in Ohio... go to Ohio State for god's sake. Good school, lots of hot chicks, and a decent football team. You'll have a blast!

 

[vthorts]

My fees are around 20K a year. All of it is loans, but as a dependent I can only get about 5K a year of loans in my name. The rest is though my parents. I will only be about 25K in debt after college, but my parents will be over 50k, and I will pay for those when I get a decent job after college. And make sure you have a little money to have fun. I don't have enough to blow it on what I want, but I know people that are so cheap they don't do a thing. It's college have fun while you still can!!