Is It Worth It? Indiana University Bloomington - Page 2

twinmom · 12-01-2007, 10:09 PM

Bristol, CT is about 14 hours or almost 900 miles from Bloomington, Indiana!

DespSeekPhd · 12-01-2007, 10:58 PM

And don't expect to snowboard or ski in Bloomington - it may be colder than Cali, but it's southern Indiana. That means occasional cold, not much snow. And even if there was snow - no mountains. None nearby. Nada.

SoCal18 · 12-01-2007, 11:17 PM

Paoli Peaks -- Less than 1 hour from campus.

And IU to Bristol, CT may be 900 miles, but it's still within range...It's only 3 states away.

DespSeekPhd · 12-01-2007, 11:25 PM

Paoli Peaks is a fake ski hill. You can go to those almost anywhere. Really. They aren't special.

And you need to check your US map. CT is in no way 3 states away - no matter which way you drive.

Anyway, it sounds to me as if you already have your mind made up. But do visit both campuses and speak to professors and students there before you send off your deposit.

twinmom · 12-02-2007, 09:04 AM

Connecticut is a world away from Indiana.

dbwes · 12-02-2007, 10:10 AM

Connecticut is indeed a world away from Indiana and is an incredibly expensive place to live. Indiana is NOT about skiing. The above posters are correct.
Some of the other things you say about Indiana are undoubtedly true -- the great college town and sports. I'm a little worried about the fact that you haven't even visited Indiana, however, and that you have in many ways idealized or mythologized the place. NO school is perfect. You will have good days and bad days at Indiana. One problem with state schools is that they are overwhelmingly attended by in-state students (of course) and students from neighboring states. This MAY end up feeling weird to you.
That said, I think it's great you want to spread your wings and experience another area of the country.
Bottom line -- I don't think any school is worth a huge amount of debt when there are other options available. There are parents on this board that would disagree.
It's funny -- there are kids all over this country who are dying to go to California schools and would kill to have that option.
What happened to U of Portland? Didn't they give you a lot of money?

boysx3 · 12-02-2007, 10:20 AM

SoCal,
Indiana is quite generous with merit scholarships for out of state students. The award comes with the letter of acceptance.

Last year my S#2--not a stellar student but a good student with good but not great scores--got an award from Indiana which made the cost of attendance about the same as if he had gone to Miami Ohio in- state. He ultimately chose to go to a smaller out of state private.But in the end he had a hard time making the decision between Indiana and the school he chose.

oregonianmom · 12-02-2007, 10:39 AM

Even if you get the top OOS merit scholarship ($8000 per year), IU still ends up costing about $22,000 a year for tuition and room & board. I think you need to visit to decide for yourself, but as a parent, I'd say a $65K debt would NOT be worth it. I understand your wanting to go somewhere else for college. My S is the same way, and won't apply to any in-state schools even though it would much less expensive. There's more to the equation than the money, but overall I think taking on $65K in debt as a new grad will put a huge crimp in your lifestyle for a long time.

SoCal18 · 12-02-2007, 11:31 AM

I don't know why the Connecticut distance is bothering so many people....let's just say IU is closer to Bristol, than California. And who cares if they make snow, it's still there, and plenty of people use it. I don't need to go to Aspen to have a good time snowboarding.

At IU ~40% are OOS students. At SDSU only ~5% are. So there is definitely more geographically diversity at IU.

And don't worry about if I get scholarships and tuition, I already figured out the costs of these, and I have came to the conclusion that I will most likely have 65k in loans. But I could probably take off 15k from that if I decide to get an on-campus job or something like that.

And I did get in UPortland -- and after my scholarship, financial aid, my parents, and my college account, the school should be very inexpensive. But I'm waiting to hear back from Pepperdine and LMU (which are great with financial aid), before I decide which private school I like the best.

Then I will compare UMiami, SDSU, Indiana, and Pepperdine/LMU/UPortland. But I'm assuming rejection from UMiami and Pepperdine, leaving me with SDSU, Indiana, LMU/Portland. Then I will decide from there....

Thanks for all of the opinions. I am truly worried about the debt, but I feel when you combine IU's business program (supposedly 98% of finance majors get jobs by graduation, and their $52k avg. starting salary -- which is 4k higher than the national average), Cost of living is cheaper in the Midwest and the Northeast, and even though CT is expensive, there isn't any state taxes.

But in the end, I'm planning to visit IU, and if it's everything I expected it to be....than I will know the loans are worth it.

Thanks

younghoss · 12-02-2007, 11:55 AM

I'll offer an opinion based mostly on the financial scenario you presented. If you go to the significantly more expensive school, and graduate at about 25, and then finish paying off college debt at 50, what exactly about that tempts you? Good heavens, you'd expect to retire at 60 or 65, you want to pay school debt until you are 50? I feel that soon after you get a job, and then pay out that college debt every month you'd soon despise that debt. Even if it is true that graduating from the more expensive school would earn a higher starting salary, you'd end up losing due to paying out additional school debt and if you live in Conn, higher living costs.
Remember school costs are an investment(if you're paying your own way), what will bring you the best return? The school you choose should give you the opportunity to provide you with a higher standard of living- big school debt subtracts from that standard.

SoCal18 · 12-02-2007, 12:57 PM

A payment of roughly $800/month would eliminate the debt in less than 10 years. And there are numerous financial tricks to decrease the capital at a much faster rate. And considering the average IU grad makes roughly $400/month more than the national average. And the average apartment in LA is at least $500/month more than an apartment in Bristol, CT. And compared to the Midwest the difference is even bigger. Also state taxes in California are much higher.

All of this makes me think that IU is worth the extra loans, but since I don't have a job, and have never payed a bill, my opinion may be a bit skewed.

What do you think?

And I just wanted to add that if I graduated in the regular four years...I would be 21 at graduation.

dstark · 12-02-2007, 01:08 PM

I think if you have to make payments of $800 a month after graduating, you are going to lose all flexibility in how you live. You are going to have to get a good paying job in a place you can afford. You are going to be under pressure.

If you don't have any loans, you will be free to take chances, have fun, live on a beach or close to a beach for a couple of years with friends, travel, choose jobs that are just fun, go to grad school, etc.

When you graduate, you will be young. Be free. Take chances. Try a variety of things. Don't be a wage slave.

dstark · 12-02-2007, 01:42 PM

If you want Indiana really bad, look into beng a RA. That will cut your costs, what, $25,000? Then you are down to $40,000 in loans. Work in the summers and or tutor during the school year. That could cut the loans to $20,000.

Doable. (Don't forget travel costs).

emeraldkity4 · 12-02-2007, 01:43 PM

my niece attended Indiana at Bloomington a few years ago.
She is a washington resident, but as her dad ( my brother) lived in some little town upstate, she had free tuition. ( he is also a vet)
She liked it, but Indiana is much less diverse than her area of Wa, and it was a big change, she ultimately came back to graduate from a Wa school.

I would be sure and visit, especially if you are even considering taking out big loans

SoCal18 · 12-02-2007, 01:49 PM

dstark - I really appreciate your comments.

"If you don't have any loans, you will be free to take chances, have fun, live on a beach or close to a beach for a couple of years with friends, travel, choose jobs that are just fun, go to grad school, etc."

That is why I'm still not sure.

But I know I could easily decrease my loans depending on numerous things. If I can get a paid internship in the summer or just have a summer job. Also I think I want to be a tour guide. But yeah there are plenty of opportunities to decrease that 65k. Also my parents may take out some PLUS loans so I don't graduate with too much debt.

So I guess time will tell. Thanks again...you guys have been really helpful.