How important is money when it comes to college?

[TheCowboy]

Got'cha, and probably a wise decision.

Please don't take offense to this...but with a last name like yours, PRISON, no matter which side of the bars you're on, seems like a place you do NOT wanna be!

:laugh2: True that.

Hoov, very good advice. I think the general agreement here is that UNT is not worth $100,000 and being about $75,000+ of debt. Yet it is my decision to actually agree with that. Very true and understandable.

 

[Hoov]

:laugh2: True that.

Hoov, very good advice. I think the general agreement here is that UNT is not worth $100,000 and being about $75,000+ of debt. Yet it is my decision to actually agree with that. Very true and understandable.

BTW - my father is a mech engineer and he loves his work. He retired for about 2 months and then went back as a consultant. He's in his early 70's and still working 3 days a week. I keep asking him when he'll really retire and he keeps saying "in a few years" - thats been going on for almost 10 years now.

 

[Hoofbite]

Take minimal hours to be a full time student and pick up some online CC hours for the prerequisite courses that you won't want to take on campus.

Wester Civ and other stuff like that are awful if you actually have to show up to class for them.

I took a number of courses online, like $300 flat for the credits and they transferred right over. Write a couple of papers and knock out a couple of books and you're done. There's no good reason to pay a couple hundred dollars per credit hour for courses you won't enjoy and have no interest in.

I actually transferred Spanish courses from another online school because I hated having to take Spanish on campus. Phone call in conversations and it was just cake.

Go to the website of the college you want and just search for community colleges that will transfer credits. Some have limitations based on the course but usually you can find most stuff.

 

[Future]

I'm in college debt up to my ears right now, but I wouldn't trade the experience I had at school (Ithaca College) for anything. Going to a 2 year and then transferring in is a great idea, but by doing so, I think people miss out on a lot of the college experience. I was lucky because I met and lived with the guys who are now my best friends freshman year. I can't imagine having nearly the same experience having entered as a junior.

While it wasn't necessarily true for me - mostly b/c I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life - better schools will have great job placement programs. So in the long run "an education is an education" I think, but when it comes to getting a job right away, coming from a great program is extremely helpful. Using IC as an example....their school of communications is one of the top 2 or 3 in the country. Everyone who graduates from it with a decent GPA has a job almost immediately. There are kids with similar degrees from SUNY schools working landscaping, so I'd definitley say that the college matters.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

I'm not a recruiter and generally steer clear of pushing those that haven't mentioned it first, that direction. But, you might wanna do some investigating in to what's available for you.

I went into the Marine Corps as an officer after 3 1/2 years at UT. Decommissioned just shy of 10 yrs.

Used my benefits to retrain at two different schools, at something I'd become interested in. Then long-story-short, semi-retired in my early 40's.

I'd of probably stayed full-career in The Corps, but as things turned out, I'm just as happy and have reaped the benefits of both military and civilian lives.

 

[TheCowboy]

As much as I hate waiting four more years to move to Texas, I think it will be better for myself in the long run to not go to college in Texas and wait it out.

My plan- Community college (2 years total cost $6,000) then off to University at Buffalo (About 26K for two years) and leaves me at a $32K college expense vs. UNT at a $100K cost.

I hope a New York Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering will be fine in the Texas Job market. After college maybe rent an apartment, get a car and then start looking for jobs. Well, four more years to go. :laugh2:

 

[Tabascocat]

As much as I hate waiting four more years to move to Texas, I think it will be better for myself in the long run to not go to college in Texas and wait it out.

My plan- Community college (2 years total cost $6,000) then off to University at Buffalo (About 26K for two years) and leaves me at a $32K college expense vs. UNT at a $100K cost.

I hope a New York Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering will be fine in the Texas Job market. After college maybe rent an apartment, get a car and then start looking for jobs. Well, four more years to go. :laugh2:

I wish you luck, especially to graduate in four years. That takes major dedication and discipline. It took me almost seven years, but I never went to class, joined Pi Kappa Alpha, partied too much and played baseball.

If I was in danger of failing or on the C/D border, I dropped the class and re-took it. Of course I had dad paying for my education, but that stopped after year five, then I took it seriously and graduated with a 3.4 GPA, still not sure how I pulled that off.

No matter what path you take, just make sure you reach the destination, it will pay off in the long run.

 

[danielofthesaints]

As much as I hate waiting four more years to move to Texas, I think it will be better for myself in the long run to not go to college in Texas and wait it out.

My plan- Community college (2 years total cost $6,000) then off to University at Buffalo (About 26K for two years) and leaves me at a $32K college expense vs. UNT at a $100K cost.

I hope a New York Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering will be fine in the Texas Job market. After college maybe rent an apartment, get a car and then start looking for jobs. Well, four more years to go. :laugh2:

good decision

 

[kapolani]

Unless you can get a job getting paid at least 100k out of school it won't be worth it.

That is an incredible amount of money to owe fresh out of college.

I graduated in 2001. I was in the military prior to that. I started at a local community college. Once I got out of the military I continued with comm college to get my 2 year. Transferred to a 4 year college right after.

I didn't go to MIT, but I did go to a school that has a solid CompSci department (WWU).

My grand total in student loans after graduating was approx 12k. I got a job right out of school getting paid 62k a year. Made the minimum payments and paid off my loan about 4 years ago.

After 10 years of working people in my field can make north of 100k.

Do not waste your money going to an expensive school to major in basket weaving/philosophy etc. I'm working with VT, MIT guys and we make roughly the same money.

It really doesn't matter where you go anymore.

 

[burmafrd]

those that seem to shrug off paying student loans really do not get it.

Student loans are loans- you have to pay them off or there will be serious consequences.

So you get out of school already deep in debt. If some here think that is no big deal they do not live in the real world.


Honestly, is having a good time and being somewhat happy for 4 years worth spending a tense 10 years or so afterwards paying the piper? Think on that.

Smart thing to do if you are NOT sure of what you want to do is start out at community college. Unless you are going pre med or pre law or something like that the courses you take there will be identical to what you will take at a regular university.

Then as a junior you can transfer to a university. And guess what? Your diploma will have the University's name on it. Just like someone who spent four years there.

Another thing to think about. I watched a lot of kids who had never been way from home go nuts at Iowa when I was there. Almost did the same thing myself. A lot of them flunked out.

At a community college you can stay at home and gradually grow up and figure things out. By the time you transfer you are two years older and wiser.

 

[Seven]

those that seem to shrug off paying student loans really do not get it.

Student loans are loans- you have to pay them off or there will be serious consequences.

So you get out of school already deep in debt. If some here think that is no big deal they do not live in the real world.


Honestly, is having a good time and being somewhat happy for 4 years worth spending a tense 10 years or so afterwards paying the piper? Think on that.

Smart thing to do if you are NOT sure of what you want to do is start out at community college. Unless you are going pre med or pre law or something like that the courses you take there will be identical to what you will take at a regular university.

Then as a junior you can transfer to a university. And guess what? Your diploma will have the University's name on it. Just like someone who spent four years there.

Another thing to think about. I watched a lot of kids who had never been way from home go nuts at Iowa when I was there. Almost did the same thing myself. A lot of them flunked out.

At a community college you can stay at home and gradually grow up and figure things out. By the time you transfer you are two years older and wiser.

Sound advice.........especially the bolden portion.

 

[muck4doo]

Son graduates from Baylor next month. The ROTC he joined in helped very much. He knew I couldn't do it by myself, or his mom with her new "well to do" husband.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

Son graduates from Baylor next month. The ROTC he joined in helped very much. He knew I couldn't do it by myself, or his mom with her new "well to do" husband.

I wish I could have joined. Medical problems made it impossible.

 

[CowboyWay]

Do you know anyone in Texas now? If so fly to Texas and go get a drivers license by using their address. By the time you are ready to go to UNT you will qualify for in state tuition. All the admissions people aregoing to look at is the date your texas license was issued if it is one year old, you are considered a resident.

It's what I did and it saved me about 50 grand.

 

[NorthTexan95]

Nearly 20 years ago (geez, I'm getting old) I did the same thing: 2 years at a community college and then transferred to UNT.

* You don't have to graduate in debt. I worked during the school year and summers and took me five and a half years to graduate but I left with very, very little debt. I just had to balance the schedule so that I didn't take too many time intensive classes at the same time. However, I do realize that college is more expensive these days so your mileage may vary. My point is you can work while at school, take an extra year or so to graduate, and come out much better financially. It's something to consider.

* Your final GPA will be based only on the classes you took at the final school. This hurt me because I didn't get the benefit of those easy (easier) freshman/sophmore classes to enhance my GPA. Instead, my final GPA is only based on my grades from Junior/Senior level classes. I did take some difficult classes at the community college but it didn't balance out the loss of the easier classes. The net effect is that my final GPA is a little lower than it would have been if I had gone to UNT the entire time.

* My first year at UNT I lived in the dorm and immediately got plugged in with a college group (BSU or BSM). By living in the dorm for a year and being engaged with other college students outside of class I don't believe I missed any of the "college" experience. I feel like I got the best of the college experience while also saving money by going to a community college.

 

[jcollins28]

I just paid my sons deposit for St John's University. It's expensive, but he was accepted into their law program which is one of the top 25 law programs. He has a grant that will help and will be commissioning for the Air Force. With all of that he will still need to take out some loans to help cover the cost.

 

[CF74]

Hey everyone I need some life help here. I am in a dilemma. One of the things I wanted to do in life was to move to Texas. And going to college at the University of North Texas seems in order right now. However, the cost for one year with all the fees, grants and financial aid included is $25,000 for one full year. Times that for four years (only need a 4 year degree) leaves me at $100,000.

My second option that I am pondering right now is going to a local community college. For two years I could get my associates degree for about $6,500 in those two years. For the next two years after that I could transfer to a school such as Buffalo for around $25,000 for two years and get my bachelors. We have a total of $25,000 in the college savings fund.

My question to you guys is the importance of money when it comes to college. Is it better to be happy, but in debt when you graduate (yes about $75,000) or attain the same degree, not be too happy but at a much cheaper price?

I know most will say go for the college experience, but is the college experience worth the money and debt?

How important is food, a roof over your head, and maybe having your own transportation? I'd say save some money and go to a community college for 2 years, then transfer to a big school...

 

[kapolani]

I just paid my sons deposit for St John's University. It's expensive, but he was accepted into their law program which is one of the top 25 law programs. He has a grant that will help and will be commissioning for the Air Force. With all of that he will still need to take out some loans to help cover the cost.

Law...

Ouch. I have a couple of friends that got out of law school recently. It's not the cash cow it used to be. They are both working jobs that have nothing to do with law - because there aren't any jobs.

In fact law has to be one of the worst professions to get into right now.

 

[JBond]

The worst part is that all the excitement that I built up that I was going to Texas and told everyone about now is nothing if I go to a community college.

Don't let a bruised ego get in the way of a good decision. Save the money. A lesson life has taught me a couple of times.

 

[CoCo]

My heart aches for kids who are encouraged to "get the college experience" via student loans. They start their adult life immediately saddled with debt and did so naively without real understanding as to what they'd be facing later.

As an adult, you'll want options and choices. Financial freedom to the degree you can achieve it increases that liklihood.