<p>I guess I don’t see what the OOS schools are offering you except that they aren’t in-state. It doesn’t seem like you are picking the schools for something specific offered but just because they aren’t in HI. That’s fine if you have the money, but doesn’t make sense if you are trying to get the cheapest deal. There are many schools on the WICHE list, but some don’t take transfers, some are 2 year schools, so those are all out for you. Several others are in remote areas so will have added transportation costs (on top of the travel to Hawaii, you’ll have to get to the major airport). Is majoring in biology in AZ or MT or NY better or cheaper than your options in HI?</p>
<p>Do I understand this very clearly: you are $6000 short of what you have calculated as your COA? That means after everything your parents and you can reasonably pay out of savings, current earnings and what the school has offered you in their package including your student loans, you still are short of making this work by $500 a month. </p>
<p>The only solution to this is for your parents to take out a loan in that amount, you are saying. Their credit is good enough that they can take out a loan with a better interest rate than PLUS. The problem with that is that they will have to start paying on that loan right away, which means that is an additional expenditure each month, and you are saying they are tapped out right now. I don’t know of many loans that are not going to require some payment after taking it out within a short period thereafter. The other problem is that if something happens to you, they’ll still owe on that loan. With PLUS there is an insurance feature built in–if anything happens to the one parent who takes out the loan, or the student on whose behalf the loan is made, the loan is forgiven. The loan can be stalled in terms of repayment until 6 months after you are no longer a full time student, just as yours are, though payment has to be made even when you are in med or grad school. The PLUS interest paid may be deductible from taxes as well. All considerations to make. Whether they borrow this money or not, is entirely a decision they have to make, and you are best in the position to add your own observations as to whether this is a risky move for them financially or not.</p>
<p>When parents are clearly not needy, and make the decisions for cash flow reasons to borrow, it’s one thing. But when they are clearly strapped, and another loan could be a true problem, it’s something that an adult student might want to consider. What your personal family situation in this regard is, only you can decide after discussions with them. </p>
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Usually much cheaper to travel when booked in advance. Ticket prices do change unpredictably but are usually within the range of a few hundred dollars more (or less depending on time of booking/reservation), in my experience anyway. I have these extra few hundred accounted for for both trips. </p>
<p>There are also alternatives to solely air transportation if ticket prices are out of reach. While it would take longer to travel, I could probably take a combination of air and ground transportation toward the west coast for much cheaper, and then catch a flight from CA to HI. :)</p>
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Covered under my parents.</p>
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Are you talking about the $6k? That’s the amount I’d need after everything is considered. </p>
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Is this for future advice, if I decide to apply one more time? I’ve already applied to a few schools and the closest I’ve gotten to attending was for the NY school. The rest of the options I had were much more expensive. </p>
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@busyperson Have to admit, I did not take being sick into account. Haven’t been sick in a while, but I don’t remember it costing a significant amount for doctor visits, etc. and think I’d have it covered. I do agree though, that I should take unexpected health-related expenses into consideration. :)</p>
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@twoinanddone Sensing that you haven’t grown up on an island and lived there for most of your life? 
Born and raised in HI, AND rarely having the opportunity to leave the state for extended periods, I feel the need to seek new experiences. As mentioned in an earlier post, my college list this past spring was made with the hope that they’d be financially feasible options for me to consider attending (in addition to smaller considerations/reasons that I researched before sending in an app).</p>
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The purpose of this thread was to seek if these OOS options exist. I’ve heard of students who attend schools that give good aid and graduate with little debt. I was hoping these schools would be viable options for me, but because no one mentioned them as options, I’m guessing not. :(</p>
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Yes. </p>
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They’re aware of the loan concerns you have. I’ve also spoken to them about loan repayment. I think I have a better idea of their financial situation than they’re willing to admit and that was also something to consider. </p>
<p>As of this hour, I think I’ve made a firm decision for my next move. Thanks all, for your contribution to this thread. :)</p>
<p>Just a comment on health insurance - you say you will be covered under your parents’ plan - - but you should 1) call the member services department for your health insurance and specifically ask if you are 100% covered if you go to school in New York, and what is the procedure for getting health care costs covered/reimbursed in New York, and 2) call the school and explain you are covered under your parents’ plan in HI, but ask if they require you to have some sort of in-state health insurance plan as well (if so, what is the cost).</p>
<p>Also for insurance, check that the doctors and hospitals will be in-network for your plan, Makes a big difference. As noted above, the school will have to approve your plan meets their requirements.</p>
<p>FYI: a trip to the ER can be very costly and not all that unusual for college students. In my daughter’s circle of friends one tore her ACL, another had 1 ER trip and she had two. Just make sure that there is room in the budget that one unexpected expense (health, broken computer, unexpected travel plan) won’t cause you to withdraw for financial reasons.</p>
<p>Thanks @Madison85 and @noname87. </p>
<p>There are some additional charges that are not included (or higher than the estimation) in CoA calculation. For instance, certain major would have more lab fees and the text book would be much more expensive than average. Also, certain school has different upperclassmen tuition rate and policy that may not be considered in your CoA calculation. For example, UMich charges upperclassmen rate ($1000-$2000 more per semester) to whoever that have 55 credits or more even if you are in sophomore (or sometimes second semester in freshmen) when you have a lot of AP credits. </p>