Money for College

Centaur said:
Myself, I put myself through college by working part time during the school year, and full time during summers. It was no piece of cake, but it worked.

Same here, but I was lucky enough to get work during the school year at the College I went to. I also got my AA at a JC before going on to my BS.

If I had my druthers I would have gone into debt and attended the best school I was accepted at, but I ended up at SDSU instead of Northwestern because of family obligations. I don't regret my choices but often wonder what my life would be like if I had gone off to Chicago.
 
I'd say it depends somewhat on the major you are getting. In some fields the college you attend doesn't make that much difference. However, generally speaking, I'm on the side of going to the best university you can, work as little as possible to keep your grades high and consider any indebtednes you acquire as the best investment you ever made.

Bob, my daughter went to the University of Texas, worked full time and graduated in four years (and managed to maintain an impressivelly active social life) :D . She was a very exceptional young lady, however, and was very motivated. Just saying it can be done.

Jack
 
I feel somewhat qualified to answer this. I'm a sophomore at Winona State University, and I pay for school entirely on my own and do my own financial aid as well.

First, if you could give me an idea of what your grades/extracurricular activities/community service/sports type things are, it'd help a lot.

Second, if you want to go to a community college and then transfer, consider these things-

1. If you don't know what you want to do and where you want to go afterwards, it may take you even longer, because you if you don't know what you want to do, you can't take courses you know you'll need to transfer into a program, and if you don't know where you want to go, you can't know for sure how your credits will transfer.
2. Financial aid for transfer students SUCKS. I know, I am one. I transferred from Indiana University to Winona State because IU costs twice as much, but even though I rank in the top one percent of students at both schools, WSU wouldn't give me a dime in academic scholarships or grants- because I was a transfer and most of those types of scholarships are awarded to freshmen, and this is almost universally true due to the way federal and state aid is doled out to universities. So if you're relying on academic aid, DO NOT go the community college route.
3. Consider that if you go to a two year school and transfer, you will be transferring into a four year where you don't know anyone and probably don't have too many friends. This should not deter you if you can get a killer deal by transferring, but it is a consideration.

Third, your high school's guidance office should have counselors who can help you, especially with local scholarships. I got $3400 from local scholarships, and $2400 each year now, all because the guidance office for my high school had applications and help available for local programs. Check it out, competition is lower than on the big scholarships like on Fastweb. Go there, and sign up, but don't rely on it. Also, beware anyone who wants to charge you to search for scholarships. That equals scam.

Fourth, on the military as a means of paying for college. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE NON-MATERIAL REASONS FOR JOINING THE MILITARY, DO NOT USE IT TO PAY FOR COLLEGE. It will be hell for you unless you want to do it in the first place, and it's not all about the college money. If you want to find out what your reasons are for joining, try ROTC. If you apply for and get a scholarship, which is competitive but not outrageously so, you have your entire freshman year to figure out whether or not it's for you. If you don't have a scholarship and take ROTC, you have two years to decide for Air Force, but you can take all the Army classes without contracting up through the senior classes. If you do contract with ROTC, they pay you every month, tax-free, so you don't have to work, and if you're frugal, that money will last. As a junior for me next year when I contract Army, it'll be almost $400 a month from ROTC. Additionally, I'm enlisting ROTC-SMP option in the National Guard, which means I have basic and infantry AIT this summer, get GI Bill and Guard pay until I contract ROTC. There's a lot more I could say about that, but I don't feel like typing pages and pages. IM me on AIM at skeanerudolph or MSN at skeaneru4088@winona.edu if you want any help with ROTC, college, financial aid, or whatever, I'm pretty good with it.

Fifth, frankly, what school you go to doesn't make a difference in the long run. It gives you a slight edge in the short term, but in the long term, going to a halfway decent state school vs. going to Harvard doesn't really matter. Go to wherever you feel most comfortable.

EDIT: Fixed an embarassing spelling error.
 
Bob W said:
Were you able to graduate on schedule with that method? I know people who worked through college and it cost them extra semesters or even years. What's a little low-interest debt compared to the loss of a year's post-graduation pay?

Just wondering.
-Bob

I did not graduate on time. But it wasn't due to my working schedule.

Interesting statistic:

As of 2005, overall (puplic & private universtites combined) 51.8% of college students graduate from a four year institution within FIVE years.


Edit to add:

2004 Data, for an internet souce:

Average cost of a public college: $11.3k

of which, 45% for tuition & fees, 30% for room & board, 19% for transportation & other costs, and 6% for books.
 
Yeah, they say you can graduate in four years easily, but they lie, because they assume that you know exactly what you want to do and that you'll be able to get all the classes you need.
 
Hmm, lots and lots of interesting conversation in this thread. Let me respond in order:

orthogonal, quite honestly I find your opinions to be biased and somewhat elitist. Yes, officers do recieve better pay and benefits than enlisted. They are also saddled with a great deal of responsibility and work much longer hours than most enlisted members with similiar time in service. I worked closely with a lot of officers in my specialty and felt that many of them were very poorly prepared for the duties they were given. The young ones often had no way to relate to their soldiers and many of them looked down at us as inferiors, not as subordinates. We had little respect for those types and it caused a lot of hardship.

Perhaps I'm misreading your posts, but based on them you strike me as having a very little respect for enlisted military (the 'smart' comments in particular lean me in this direction). There are plenty of intelligent people in the enlisted ranks. I have nothing against officers, however I have no desire to be one either. That doesn't mean I look down on them, it just means that I wish to pursue a different path. There is no reason to tell anyone who is considering military service that one rank structure is better than the other; both serve very important functions and some people are far better suited to be NCOs than officers, and vice versa. Forgive me for moving this thread slightly off topic, that isn't my intention, but I feel that it is important to show both sides of this argument. Anyone who is thinking of signing up should look closely at ALL options and choose the one that they feel is most suitable, not just "the officer route because they get paid more" or, "the enlisted route because it's a shorter commitment", or whatever argument you wish to make for or against either. It's not a one-size-fits-all proposition and it's irresponsible to make such a one-sided argument without considering that there are other perspectives.

I don't want to drift this thread off topic because there is a lot of valuable information being presented (good enough that I may take advantage of some of it as well :) ). If anyone would like to discuss off-topic subjects contained in my posts feel free to e-mail or PM me rather than clutter up this thread.
 
Roadrunner said:
And what job would you suggest that a college student is qualified to perform, won't take time away from studies, and that will pay enough to cover tuition? If you have an inside connection feel free to clue the rest of us in.

Well, I can only speak from my personal experience, but with all my "inside connections", I started saving early in high school from various agriculture (read "field hand") jobs, worked in a cotton mill each summer, painted the ceilings in that same cotton mill 10 hours a day on weekends, after two years earned an Air Force scholarship but kept on working. During this time I earned a degree in Electrical Engineering, which isn't exactly an academic breeze. I commuted to Auburn University from home. My cotton mill hand parents contributed by the roof over my head and by feeding me. I was the first member of my family to graduate from high school, let alone college.

Where there is a will, it can be done. I was not handicapped by a lot of excess baggage and excuses.
 
Thanks for all the help everybody. I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread; I've been pretty busy for the last couple of days. I've been filling out applications, writing essays, and getting letters of recommendation.

:)
 
MikeH said:
You left out work.

Yeah, I figured I could get away without working.



Just kidding!!!:D

I do plan on working while I am in school. I am actually doing pretty good right now teaching private piano lessons, and plan on teaching msic lessons through college.
 
Answers to most of the others questions:

I am sure I want to go to college.
The military would not be the right move because I would only be joining to pay for my education.

madcap_magician,

I do have a pretty good idea of what I want to study in college. I don't plan on joining the military; it would only be to pay for college.

My grades are middle to high 90's percentages. I scored a 30 on the ACT. I'm homeschooled, so extracurricular activites are mainly music, reading, (for fun) and hanging out with my friends. I do some community work, but not much.
 
Horned Toad said:
He could join the military for 4 years, get some valuable experience and then go to college. Or check in to what you have to do to be an officer, could be the military would put him through college.

Depending on how much he values his life vs the 30-50k that the military will provide for college. That only covers 2 semesters where I go. Ya loans suck but it's nice to not have any extra holes where they don't belong.

I went to jc for 2 years and transferred, no big deal. My new school(Chapman University ;) ) likes transfer students with real life experience more than snotty fresh out of high school kids.
 
Actually, many non-Ivy league schools like transfer students. Tranferring credits from non-insystem or non-ABET schools can be problematical though.

The first two years of college (the first year, really) seems to have a terrible attrition rate (for good or bad - your opinion).

"Real life" experience? That will come soon enough, whether you like it or not.
 
Look at any schools that offer work study programs. I went to Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. I paid for the first 2 years and the last 4 years was a full scholarship working for the university through their Teaching Assistant/Fellowship/Management develoment programs. You will work hard but it is worth it.!!!!!!!!!! There must be other schools that offer these programs. Keep looking!!!!.

Jack
 
I know a number of folks who've taken on a staggering amout of debt due to their student loans -- gotten their degree -- then found themselves "underemployed" while waiting for the opportunity to put their degree to good use.

If you choose to rely heavilly upon loans to finance your education, know that you'll be paying them off for a VERY long time. And if something unfortunate occurs in the future, and you find yourself partially disabled or at a financial disadvantage, those "deferments" only go so far.

Student Loans cannot be discharged through bankrupcy, and if you default, not only will you forfeit your tax refunds, but they can dock your pay and attach your bank account. Furthermore, President Bush recently created legislation that allows the banks to seize the Social Security and Disability checks of those who default on their loans.

The economy isn't so great right now, so unless you're highly confident that you'll be able to get stable and well-compensated employment in your chosen field, I'd strongly advise you to avoid taking on excessive student loans . . . and avoid the temptation to apply for all the credit cards you'll be offered as a new student.
 
BlondieAlmostEdge said:
Depending on how much he values his life vs the 30-50k that the military will provide for college. That only covers 2 semesters where I go. Ya loans suck but it's nice to not have any extra holes where they don't belong.

I went to jc for 2 years and transferred, no big deal. My new school(Chapman University ;) ) likes transfer students with real life experience more than snotty fresh out of high school kids.

Chapman? My ex goes there. :o
 
Do you know how to play football or basketball?

Seriously, two jobs after school and loans if your parents can't, or won't, help.

Most state and federal agencies will pay for one class per semester...
 
tyr_shadowblade said:
I know a number of folks who've taken on a staggering amout of debt due to their student loans -- gotten their degree -- then found themselves "underemployed" while waiting for the opportunity to put their degree to good use.

If you choose to rely heavilly upon loans to finance your education, know that you'll be paying them off for a VERY long time. And if something unfortunate occurs in the future, and you find yourself partially disabled or at a financial disadvantage, those "deferments" only go so far.

Student Loans cannot be discharged through bankrupcy, and if you default, not only will you forfeit your tax refunds, but they can dock your pay and attach your bank account. Furthermore, President Bush recently created legislation that allows the banks to seize the Social Security and Disability checks of those who default on their loans.

The economy isn't so great right now, so unless you're highly confident that you'll be able to get stable and well-compensated employment in your chosen field, I'd strongly advise you to avoid taking on excessive student loans . . . and avoid the temptation to apply for all the credit cards you'll be offered as a new student.


I will agree with the above statement. Liberal arts departments are fantastic, and a great part of your education. However, They (unlike say, Business school) never mention that you will someday need a job, and have very little in the way of guidance in finding a paying job with your English lit degree. You need to Look at your employment options very early on. Many science degrees require advanced degrees to get work. maybe some Engineers can chime in here as well. If there is no plan for a job, you will definitely waste some time, either in school or out of school. Look at internship opportunities as well. They were great for me, even though the pay stunk.
 
I grew up in a pretty low income household and my family could have never afforded to send me to the college I went to. So, I knew I would have to do it mostly on my own.

I got a little scholarship help for good grades and I worked my tail off at UPS on the evening shift for all four years(except for my final semester) making good money to help finance my education. That is truly the hardest I have ever worked in my life.

I also chose to go to a very expensive private college, instead of the state's schools, which required me to borrow lots of money from the student loan programs and from the University itself.

Most importantly, I could not afford graduate school back then so I chose a degree that had a high probability of getting me a job upon graduation without the need for graduate school. Unfortunately, there aren't too many degrees that provide a reasonable probability for employment right away and in my opinion, unless you're a trust fund baby with lots of income, are a waste of your time and money.
 
I've got a BSME.

A fair amount of job potential, but usually having nothing to do with the degree.

I'm all for the internship thing, but even there the work usually had little to do with the degree program (I talked to a few who enjoyed the experience) until the third time of employ (if they made it that far). The great thing about internships is that it gets your foot in the door.

The bitch is getting the experience in the work force. It takes a combination of right schooling and experience.

Then you gotta get by the dreaded "personel" monster. That's where connections come in, if ya got 'em. But, I'm going off topic.
 
Back
Top