Community College vs. Student Loan

MYOS1634
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:33:37 +0000

IndianGuy3, how much can you afford? (Don"t count on that loan)

It all depends on how much financial aid OP would need. If the OP has enough money and is not applying for financial aid, it can be a good deal but overall need-based scholarships or merit-based scholarships should be cheaper than the CC+ State U w/o aid route.
CC+ State U = $12,000 X2 + $35,000 X2 at a minimum; in California the typical cost for CC is 20-22,000 and the UCs require about $58,000 or the CSUs $35,000. That’s roughly $100,000 over 4 years at a minimum, when some 4-year colleges have scholarships that would keep expenses to that much or less depending on need (Knox, Mount Holyoke, Truman State…) with a potentially better experience - smaller classes, less red tape, etc.
However, that clearly beats the $45,000/year X4 that would be incurred at a private college without scholarship.