<p>I’m currently a CCNY student majoring in Computer Engineering. I just started my second semester 3 days ago. When I got into CCNY, my intention was never to graduate from there, and it still is. I like it at City College and I think it’s a decent school to attend, but its not a degree that stands out when you’re applying for a job (at least as far as I’m aware). I am planning on transferring to a more prestigious school (Columbia has always been my goal) that will look good on my resume. Here’s my question: how do I pay for a college with tuition has high as that of Columbia (nearly 50k per year)? Tuition is a major problem for me because I am not getting any tuition support from my parents simply because they can’t afford it. I was even accepted into NYU Polytech but I went with CCNY instead because of its low tuition, which my financial aid covers most of.
How do student at universities such as Columbia who DON’T come from the upper crust of the population afford it there? Other than FAFSA, what loans and grants are there to help pay it? I don’t want to take out loans and keep paying them until I’m in my late 30s or 40s.</p>
<p>Most grants come from the colleges themselves. You could run the net price calculator for Columbia with your parent’s info to see if you would get any need based aid. Although the calculators may or may not be accurate for transfer students… but it is better than no info.</p>
<p>For computer engineering, you are best advised to find an ABET accredited program which you can afford. Graduating form a more “prestigious” school just for the resume won’t be a good reason to go into debt as long as your degree is ABET accredited. CCNY has a long and distinguished list of alumni with Nobel Laureates and prominent engineers and scientists (look it up on Wikipedia) so a Computer Engineering degree form CCNY is perfeclty acceptable and should get you a good job. Focus on getting internships and you will be fine.</p>
<p>Most families who are lower income are awarded some need-based aid from the colleges themselves. Grants, as intparent said. Colleges award varying degrees of need-based aid. Some will meet 100% of the need as determined by the FAFSA and the college’s own methodology (in our case, the individual amounts were very close to the FAFSA Estimated Family Contribution.) Note that the EFC is not what your family actually CAN afford to pay, usually. But if a college claims to meet full need (which Columbia does for freshman admits) they will either make up the difference between COA and your EFC themselves, or after substracting work-study and the federal maximum loans available to you. (So that’s like $30k over 4 years, not too bad.) </p>
<p>Do you know what your family’s federal (FAFSA) EFC is?</p>
<p>The Columbia web site states:
Transfer Students: Columbia is need blind when admitting transfer students. However, Columbia has a limited financial aid budget for transfer students. As a result, we are unable to meet the full need of all transfer admits. All complete applications at the time of Admission will be considered for financial aid.</p>
<p>So it sounds like there is some aid available for transfers, but they won’t necessarily meet your full need. </p>
<p>@xraymancs well I just checked ABET and apparently, Columbia isn’t there for computer engineering… I guess it would be a bummer of I transferred there. Thanks for giving me a heads-up. I’m really surprised at the amount of important details such as the one you mentioned that they simply don’t teach us in High School.</p>
<p>@staceyneil & @intparent I didn’t know that at all. With CCNY, the tuition is pretty low and like I said FAFSA covers most of it, so I had no way of knowing that colleges provide aid depending on income. Seriously, thank you.</p>
<p>My question is pretty much answered, but I guess I should look into a different school now that I found out Columbia isn’t ABET-accredited for computer engineering.</p>
<p>FAFSA doesn’t actually provide any aid itself – it helps identify what federal aid (eg, Pell Grant) and federal loans you are eligible for. Each college has their own way of calculating need based aid, and many require forms beyond the FAFSA (CSS Profile is commonly requested). The Net Price Calculator helps you identify what aid they might provide, although it is more aimed at freshman.</p>
<p>For Computer Science an ABET accreditation is not necessary but if you are specifically interested in CPE then yes, make sure you have that.</p>
<p>Assuming you are attending City College I wouldn’t change at all. It IS ABET accredited and as @xraymancs stated that accreditation is what counts. Your future employer won’t care where you come from if you have an accredited engineering background. They don’t pay Columbia grads more to do the same job as City College grads.</p>