if your sister has not listed a school with National Merit already as her first choice, I would encourage her to consider calling WSU to see if there is any chance this could still be available for this year. It is possible that WSU still has openings and would consider it (and can’t hurt to call). It is a full tuition award and WSU may be more palatable than UH.
To all specific to the WUE, it is a competitive scholarships and limited at almost all schools (their websites will say). Simply because a school offers it, does not mean it is available. For example, OSU got “rid” of it this past cycle. Turns out they were only giving out maybe 5 of them! I would call to confirm in all cases but in most, it is unlikely to be available for fall admits, spring may be another cycle and a worthy question but for all of them, CALL!
UW is notoriously hard for engineering majors who are not direct admits, both in terms of getting into the program itself and for getting classes/graduating on time.
It would be so much easier if the OP’s parents would agree with us that the loans are a terrible idea and may not even be sustainable to get these kids to graduation day!
This would certainly help the OP (+ sister) move on to the affordable options available.
Honestly, it’s unfortunate that your folks, counselor and the other adults on your life aren’t giving you better guidance. You are being given the info to make informed choices for yourself and your sister and parents. Please, please, please pay attention. The debt you and your family are talking about is toxic and crushing for all of you.
Honestly the schools you are considering don’t have any greater “brand” or networking than UH. It’s just too high a price for too little return.
I can’t remember what the kids need in terms of money, and what the parents will kick-in, but ROUGHLY:
a) A loan of $750,000 at 4% is about $3,550/mo.
b) A loan of $850,000 at 4% is about $4,000/mo
b) A loan of $900,000 at 4% is about $4,250/mo.
That’s not crushing debt in my view, but I’m sure I’m missing many details. The father has income of $16,000/mo., which means he could afford ROUGHLY $5,500-ish/mo with all debt included. Now, the house would have to appraise for $1,000,000+ in big round numbers, but this is Hawaii.
I think it can all be done in theory. But the dad and mom would have to see a mortgage or bank loan officer.
In theory, of course, real estate tends to historically trend upwards So, the HI house should be worth more as years go by. In the last 6 years, the house has gone up by 25%-ish, if the stats are correct.
The dad can always sell the house and pay off the debt to the bank.
I don’t know the dad’s health. But if he’s healthy, willing to refi his home and work for another X amount of years, I still think it’s doable. The rough down and dirty numbers work.
But I’m an optimist and want the kids to go to their dream college.
Parents are already 56 and 62. They need to be preparing for retirement, NOT taking on crushing debt. Sounds like step dad is already paying over $4K/month on a $750K mortgage.
Now, OP states she doesn’t want to be an engineer but thinks that the engineering degree will be helpful for her to go into BUSINESS! It’s not clear what math and physics background OP has to help her in any plan to be accepted into an engineering program. It sounds like this family really needs to sit down and get a sounder financial plan before proceeding.
Engineering is HARD and if one wants business, it’s not clear why one would want a pseudo engineering degree rather than a business degree–skill sets are quite different.
Of course, the last 6 years is coming out of a real estate downturn.
Of course, then that trades renting the money (mortgage interest) for renting a place to live, rather than looking forward to retirement in a presumably paid-for house.
How much would YOU advise a loved one to take out in NEW loans @sushiritto at ages 56 and 62? I’d say $0!we have NOT taken on any debt at 50 or beyond–just increased retirement savings.
This is private info for the OP and her Dad to discuss, but I’d ask him if the dad has life insurance, if so, how much? If not, is he healthy enough to get life insurance.
62 is just not that old to me. Hawaiians are known to live longer than the rest of us. I know and work with people, who are working into their 70’s and even 80’s and enjoy going to work. They feel if they retire, they’ll die, either from boredom or something else.
Getting a new loan at 62 is not a rare occurrence. Sorry, it’s not. It’s not a gamble to me, depending on the entire financial picture, assets, credit report, appraised value of the home, and what the parents are willing to do or not do. Lending is really not that complicated.
A bank will loan money, if the borrower has the ability to make the payments (he’s working making $16,000/mo) and, if not, there’s enough value in the home that the lender can foreclose and be paid back. The house has gone up 25% or whatever in 6 years. The house should have equity that can be refi’ed and cash out.
I agree with all of this except for the University of Alabama. The University of Alabama at HUNTSVILLE would be an option now (except that OP has indicated she’d rather attend the University of Hawaii). The University of Alabama would be an option (with a full tuition scholarship) only if OP took a gap year and reapplied by the December 2017 deadline.
I strongly believe that none of the options currently under consideration (Berkeley, UW, Rochester) are really affordable, and I hope that OP and her family do not put themselves into a precarious financial position by taking on massive debt to try to afford one of them. I’ve said this before upthread, but I’m saying it again because this situation really concerns me more than most typically do on CC.