Southern Illinois University, Western Illinoiis University, Northern Illinois University…all have good teacher preparation programs…and are a fraction of the cost of $55,000 a year that one would pay at Loyola.
Another question for posters to answer…is there something special about Loyola’s education program that would make it worth all these extra costs? Can others speak to the quality of an education major at the various Illinois colleges?
And what is required by Illinois to become a teacher? Is there a master’s degree required before becoming certified? So if OP scrimped and saved and worked like crazy to get an undergrad degree, would it result in an immediate certification and employability, or would there still have to be more scrimping and saving to get the masters degree before being able to teach?
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=809
Loyola meets about 80% of need
- meaning you will have a donut hole of about 20% of the cost ($40,000 over 4 years)
25% of the parents or more take out expensive PLUS loans which is a red flag the school isn’t affordable
Appreciate your creativity. Talk with teachers you know and get AFFORDABLE school options from them. Loyola doesn’t seem great for you financially.
@ClarinetDad16 NO…Loyola meets an average of 80% of need. This does NOT mean that this student will have 80% of his need met.
And remember, for some students “need” is a $5500 Direct Loan. For others it is a far larger amount.
@powercropper as long as the college meets the requirements for certification within the state,math at is what is important…most important. A secondary school teacher will likely have to get his degree in biology with the education courses layered on top of that. In most states, that is what is required now.
The public universities I listed above in Illinois all have teacher preparation programs. The OP would be wise to look at these much lower cost options.
They have alternative paths to certification, and a masters degree is not initially required.
However, many states are requiring that teachers have a degree in the subject they are teaching, and a masters will allow teachers more job choices, as well as higher pay. Since it is likely to be something that will be pursued within ten years of gainng certification, it seems reasonable & prudent to keep those costs in mind.
@powercropper Loyola has a great education program and is by far my favorite in Illinois. One of the biggest pluses is that I would be conferred two degrees upon graduation MS in Secondary Education and BS in biology, giving me more options than a secondary ed degree with a concentration in biology. I like Loyola the most for this reason and Chicago. All other Illinois publics do the concentration route, which if teaching doesn’t work out (I hear this happens often, hopefully not to me) I would be able to use my bio degree to get a job at a lab somewhere.
@mom2collegekids Yeah it pays weekly. Loyola does not detract from aid unless there is a significant reward and it is merit aid, which all of my awards are relatively small and financial (sans Golden Apple). Also, the 34K-21K I quoted is probably a mix of loans need based and merit aid. I didn’t realize how small the award typically is, I just looked up the max and assumed I COULD get half, but I was aware of it not being a given like the pell grant.
I know of the academic reputation of pretty much all of my instate publics by now (a few of you have posted on pretty much all of my threads) and I will certainly consider all of those schools, but Loyola is by far my favorite and if I an get it to work by any means I will. Based on the feedback i have assessed that this COULD work, but I probably would have to take out more loans than I previously thought. Also, if I get the simplified asset review on the FAFSA then my savings won’t go into grant calculations and I could get the max still even with my extra 5k, right?
I’m a teacher.
I went to community college for 2 years, and got my Associate’s in math. Then I transferred to a local university and got my Bachelor’s. I graduated with state certification and a job offer in hand.
I have to say. OP, i appreciate your detailed planning. Others are pointing out the holes, which is good, but I wanted to congratulate you on approaching it in a solid way…
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I plan on becoming a teacher,
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here’s an old post, but you know know that the OOS publics here won’t work
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finished junior year today, and as such I have a pretty good idea of where I stand on my rankings and such. Seeing that this is so, I would like to start narrowing my choices of colleges, as well as add new ones (year did not go as planned). Here is a little about me: -GPA:3.26 -ACT:27 -Underrepresented minority -First Generation student -Volunteerism/community service:50-100 hrs (plan on more) -Work: 1 year at grocery store -Low income (EFC~0) -3 AP classes so far (4 more next year): AP Psych, Ap stats, AP physics, AP fed gov, AP english, AP european history, --APUSH (only APUSH Psych and Physics were taken this year) -Honors classes: 4 -AP Scores: AP bio: 5; AP psych: 5; APUSH: 4 -Tonight I am going to costa rica and volunteering at a turtle research station (self funded, possibly good hook for essay?) -Top 15%-25% at school (percents bot accessible unless requested from counselor) -Interested in becoming High school Biology Teacher (double major in biology and secondary education) -The schools I am most intensely looking at right now are Loyola University Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (bot instate), University of Iowa, Indiana University, ASU (Arizona State), University of Minnesota Twin Cities. What do you think, do i look good for most of the schools on my list? And if you would, try to suggest some schools that would be a good fit for me, considering my scores, gpa, and financial situation. Thank you in advance. <<<
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You want to become a teacher. That’s a profession that isn’t very picky about where people graduate from. Salaries don’t change because of a school name. Your pay is based on level of education and years of experience…no matter if you start at a CC and then commute to a local public…or if you go to some pricey school.
What URM are you?
Are you going to apply to SIU-Edwards? If not, why not?
I think you need to find a school that better meets need.
What CC can you attend?
Or which will give a good scholarship, like those listed in reply #1.
@mom2collegekids Yeah I was actually about to fill out an app for that school and carbondale (among others). They are all good schools, I am not saying they aren’t, but Loyola has everything that I desire (Chicago, double major, environment) and it will always be the top choice.
I’ve been told that the school does not matter all too much with teaching, but at this point in my search it is no longer really about the whole job prospect thing but more of where I really WANT to go. I do understand Loyola is definitely pricey for me, I’m not unrealistic, and if they don’t offer a good package or it won’t work, i’ll look somewhere else.
If you have a masters degree without teaching experience, are you going to be able to get a job?
You have a great plan:). I hope you get enough aid to make it work! (I’d cut the plasma in half in case that doesnt always work out.)
It’s great to see all the planning and the wise thought that if Loyola is too expensive, you will look elsewhere!
Are there any loans that are forgiven if you teach in specific places? NY has a few like that.
If you are a guy, sperm donations are more lucrative than plasma. But they are very picky who they accept and you don’t get paid if your contribution is not of high quality. You need to go to the suburbs for this, also.
Sure, apply to Loyola. But if the money is not forthcoming from the college, be prepared to walk away if you get accepted. You have no way to fund the costs to attend this school. If you have a $30,000 a year gap, you will not be able to fill it by selling plasma. At all.
In addition, you would have $120,000 in debt if y oh somehow find cosigners for loans. That is way too much debt for someone on a teacher’s salary.
Have you heard of North Central College? It’s in Naperville. It costs about $10,000 less than Loyola.
So how will this student pay for a $45,000 a year school?
What type of underrepresented minority?
Are you retaking the ACT?
Not sure if your stats are too low for Questbridge (probably too low for Gates Millenium).
@mommdc I could also go the route of BS bio and BS secondary ed, which is actually what I want to do. I just saw a few people mention masters and accidentally inserted it into my post.
@thumper1 Well of course I wouldn’t be able to fill 30k with plasma donations, nowhere did I even state that, I said at most $5,200 could be made from plasma donations annually. And on top of that, it is very unlikely that I would have to fork over 30k a year anyways, for even if the majority of my plan didn’t work, I am still likely to get at least 13k from institutional scholarships/grants, 5k from pell, 4k from MAP, 4k from myself (working), and 4k from teach grant. That is only 25k, which can srtill be further lowered if I get more money from Loyola. If I did have to take out a bunch of loans (I would never consider a private loan) there are still loan forgiveness programs for teachers which could cancel out any federal loans I take.
PS: Sanders 2016
@Madison85 I am African American and Caucasian and there is a 60/40 chance of me retaking the ACT. I just barely fell out of Gates range last year for they require a 3.3 gpa. I’ve never heard of questbridge so i’ll look into it.
Questbridge National College Match application deadline is September 28.