- Sep 28, 2004
- 1,805
- 0
- 76
I'm 17, a senior in high school right now, but my junior and senior year I have taken all my classes at the community college through the state's Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) program. When I graduate from highschool this spring I'll have my (free) 2-year degree. This is good because now I only have to pay for my final 2 (maybe 2.5) years of college. It sucks because unlike everyone else I will have to go into a major right away.
Two years ago I thought I knew that I was going to major in something with computers: MIS or a just a general IT program. About 9 months ago I got burnt out 'working' on computers and I've decided that I definately don't want to get a degree that will land me a job fixing other people's computer problems for 8 hours a day.
About the same time I burnt out on computers, I got my first dSLR. Since then, I've seriously gotten into photography. There is nothing I enjoy more than shooting sporting events. I go to all the games I can get to (my class schedule at the community college has made it tricky, that will change when next semester starts) and take pictures for My Website where parents can buy prints of their kids. Most of my spending money from working for the past 6 months or so, plus the $1000 I won on ebay, has gone to buying equipment; I'm up to about $2500 worth.I'm going to sports that I wouldn't have considered going to before (girls soccer, volleyball) so that I can take pictures. I love everything about photography, I can see myself shooting sports for the rest of my life and not getting tired of it.
College registration season is upon me; this is where the problems arise. I got a 29 on my ACT, my GPA is 3.25. When I graduate this spring I will have about $6500 in my savings. My dad has agreed to pay for $6000 for tuition, so I'll have $12500 to pay for college....I think you can guess where this is going.
My dad wants me to stay at home and go through the business administration program that the community college I currently take classes is offering. This would take 2 years to complete and would cost about $12000 total. He says that a degree is a degree and that it isn't worth it to go to a big expensive school. If I stay here I'll be able to work for him and not have to take out a loan. By the time I graduate I'll have enough money saved up for a decent car and I can then go do whatever I want. My problem with this plan is that I'm afraid that if I don't get out of town now then I never will. There are no opportunities here: the town (Austin, MN) is basically here because Hormel has a plant and corporate offices here. There are no opportunities in town, and there is very little growth.
I've narrowed down my colleges to just a few, either way I will be majoring in Marketing so that I have a good foundation for a lot of potential jobs:
1. UW Madison - This is where I really want to go. It's a great school in a great city. A couple of my classmates have already decided on it so I will have a roommate and a ride home when necessary. The biggest draw is that The Badger Herald, the independent student-run paper there, is one of the top college papers in the nation. I emailed one of the photographers currently working on the paper and he said it's an amazing job. I would get to shoot D1 sports at, according to ESPN, the best college sports town in the country. It just seems to me like the opportunities I would gain from shooting at the paper would be invaluable. I would get the chance to shoot football games next to guys from SI and the Associated Press as well as all the big Wisconsin papers. I think the contacts I'd make would alone be worth the extra money it costs to go to Madison.
It costs about $17,500 a year between Tuition/Books/Room&Food/ plus transportation money and 2 grand for miscallaneous expenses. I figure that if I get a part time job at $7 an hour and I put in 10 hours a week I can make close to $3000 in the 9 months of the year that I am in school. This means that I would still be looking at a $17,500-$20,000 student loan to pay for college. My dad is extremely opposed to taking out a loan and going into debt.
2. UW River Falls or La Crosse - These are smaller schools that are closer to home. Both of their newspapers are near non-existant but I would save about $4000 a year over going to Madison. River Falls is only 30 minutes from the minneapolis/st paul area so I would have access to the benefits of the city and suburbs as far as future job opportunities go. La Crosse is a decent-sized city at just over 50,000 people and almost 100,000 in the metro area. My education wouldn't be quite as good but I'm sure the classes would be easier. Going to either of these would cut my loan size in half.
Cliffs
1. Im graduating highschool this spring with my 2 year degree. I need to go to college in the fall. I love photography but I'll be going for Marketing because I dig it and it's a good general degree.
2. I have $12500 to pay for college
3. Dad wants me to stay in town and get a degree at the community college, I'll live at home and won't have any debt but I don't think I'll ever have any opportunities.
4. I want to go to Madison where I could shoot for one of the best student papers in the nation and go to an awesome school/city but I would end up with $20,000 in student loans
5. I could go to a smaller UW school and cut the student loan in half but I wouldn't get to work for a great paper or live in Madison.
6. Help
?
Should I forget about photography and listen to my dad? Should I go to Madison and go into $20,000 of debt? Save some money and go to one of the smaller schools?
I'm sure many of you have been through college, any advice? Did you take out a student loan or do you recommend it? Do you regret the choice of school that you made?
Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks especially to those who took the time to read the whole post, I sincerely appreciate it.
Two years ago I thought I knew that I was going to major in something with computers: MIS or a just a general IT program. About 9 months ago I got burnt out 'working' on computers and I've decided that I definately don't want to get a degree that will land me a job fixing other people's computer problems for 8 hours a day.
About the same time I burnt out on computers, I got my first dSLR. Since then, I've seriously gotten into photography. There is nothing I enjoy more than shooting sporting events. I go to all the games I can get to (my class schedule at the community college has made it tricky, that will change when next semester starts) and take pictures for My Website where parents can buy prints of their kids. Most of my spending money from working for the past 6 months or so, plus the $1000 I won on ebay, has gone to buying equipment; I'm up to about $2500 worth.I'm going to sports that I wouldn't have considered going to before (girls soccer, volleyball) so that I can take pictures. I love everything about photography, I can see myself shooting sports for the rest of my life and not getting tired of it.
College registration season is upon me; this is where the problems arise. I got a 29 on my ACT, my GPA is 3.25. When I graduate this spring I will have about $6500 in my savings. My dad has agreed to pay for $6000 for tuition, so I'll have $12500 to pay for college....I think you can guess where this is going.
My dad wants me to stay at home and go through the business administration program that the community college I currently take classes is offering. This would take 2 years to complete and would cost about $12000 total. He says that a degree is a degree and that it isn't worth it to go to a big expensive school. If I stay here I'll be able to work for him and not have to take out a loan. By the time I graduate I'll have enough money saved up for a decent car and I can then go do whatever I want. My problem with this plan is that I'm afraid that if I don't get out of town now then I never will. There are no opportunities here: the town (Austin, MN) is basically here because Hormel has a plant and corporate offices here. There are no opportunities in town, and there is very little growth.
I've narrowed down my colleges to just a few, either way I will be majoring in Marketing so that I have a good foundation for a lot of potential jobs:
1. UW Madison - This is where I really want to go. It's a great school in a great city. A couple of my classmates have already decided on it so I will have a roommate and a ride home when necessary. The biggest draw is that The Badger Herald, the independent student-run paper there, is one of the top college papers in the nation. I emailed one of the photographers currently working on the paper and he said it's an amazing job. I would get to shoot D1 sports at, according to ESPN, the best college sports town in the country. It just seems to me like the opportunities I would gain from shooting at the paper would be invaluable. I would get the chance to shoot football games next to guys from SI and the Associated Press as well as all the big Wisconsin papers. I think the contacts I'd make would alone be worth the extra money it costs to go to Madison.
It costs about $17,500 a year between Tuition/Books/Room&Food/ plus transportation money and 2 grand for miscallaneous expenses. I figure that if I get a part time job at $7 an hour and I put in 10 hours a week I can make close to $3000 in the 9 months of the year that I am in school. This means that I would still be looking at a $17,500-$20,000 student loan to pay for college. My dad is extremely opposed to taking out a loan and going into debt.
2. UW River Falls or La Crosse - These are smaller schools that are closer to home. Both of their newspapers are near non-existant but I would save about $4000 a year over going to Madison. River Falls is only 30 minutes from the minneapolis/st paul area so I would have access to the benefits of the city and suburbs as far as future job opportunities go. La Crosse is a decent-sized city at just over 50,000 people and almost 100,000 in the metro area. My education wouldn't be quite as good but I'm sure the classes would be easier. Going to either of these would cut my loan size in half.
Cliffs
1. Im graduating highschool this spring with my 2 year degree. I need to go to college in the fall. I love photography but I'll be going for Marketing because I dig it and it's a good general degree.
2. I have $12500 to pay for college
3. Dad wants me to stay in town and get a degree at the community college, I'll live at home and won't have any debt but I don't think I'll ever have any opportunities.
4. I want to go to Madison where I could shoot for one of the best student papers in the nation and go to an awesome school/city but I would end up with $20,000 in student loans
5. I could go to a smaller UW school and cut the student loan in half but I wouldn't get to work for a great paper or live in Madison.
6. Help
Should I forget about photography and listen to my dad? Should I go to Madison and go into $20,000 of debt? Save some money and go to one of the smaller schools?
I'm sure many of you have been through college, any advice? Did you take out a student loan or do you recommend it? Do you regret the choice of school that you made?
Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks especially to those who took the time to read the whole post, I sincerely appreciate it.