Basically I want to go to the University of Kentucky in Lexington or a few Out-of-state universities but I live in Nassau County, NY so they want me to go there even though their programs I want to go into aren’t the best (Radio and Travel/Tourism) and their main reason is “I’m taking the same classes” which I’m really not it’s different with every college and the cost factor, which I don’t care about, I will gladly pay for my education with 529s and FAFSA and loans over the next several years, or 10-15 years and because my mom doesn’t want me to go too far but that’s with all parents…idk what to do, they keep pressuring me and bringing it up, the more they do, it’s basically saying don’t go… plus I want the like “4 year college experience” with dorms and fraternities and good sports and to make friends. am I wrong for being like pissed off at them and this whole situation
Going into large debt for college is not a good idea. Loans greater than $5,500 first year will require a cosigner (usually a parent) or be parent loans, so your parent(s) obviously have an interest in avoiding you going to a college that is too expensive.
You cannot afford college without a full ride or their help.
Would they be willing to afford a NY State school? If so, if you could find an OOS at the same cost, would they pay for that?
Radio and TV is a tough field no matter where you go - and tourism is not - a course of study - that necessarily requires college.
I hope you get to where you want - but in reality, it costs to go somewhere. You can’t even spend the 529 - that’s up to your parents - and FAFSA is a document to determine a need # and gives access to the $5500 loan.
Talk to them about what they’re willing to pay. There are some colleges that are inexpensive, depending on stats - or full pay like W Carolina at $20K per year.
Or go to CC and transfer in two years.
Good luck.
SUNY Oswego has an excellent radio & TV broadcasting program. Al Roker, Steve Levy, Linda Cohn all came from there. They have great facilities, and you can get involved on day 1. I was on the radio there way back in the day.
Why go into debt for this major when you an excellent in-state resource?
So if I wanted to go to University of Kentucky, but my parents wouldn’t pay for it because it is out-of-state tuition, I would do National Student Exchange. NSE is an exchange program that allows up to a full year of exchange at any of the other ~200 participating institutions. Credits transfer seamlessly, and you pay no more than what you are paying already at your home institution. It’s a great deal.
You can start the exchange as soon as you have completed 1 year of credits. A couple of schools near you participate including SUNY Stony Brook and CUNY Queens. So maybe you could enroll in 1 of these and get a year’s worth of credits (getting your Gen Ed out of the way) and then start your exchange.
A lot of fun and sporty SEC schools like Kentucky and Alabama participate: National Student Exchange - Campuses / Location
Best wishes!
ETA: you are not supposed to use NSE as a way to completely transfer to one of the exchange schools, but some students do it I believe. Here would be an example: Buckle down and get 1-2 years of credits at the inexpensive home institution. Then do your 1 year at University of Kentucky through NSE paying the low NSE cost. Then transfer to University of Kentucky for your last 1-2 years. This last portion would be expensive (normal out of state tuition) but their on-line classes are cheaper, so maybe you could save some money by taking some of those while still living in Kentucky?
Also, I don’t really know how Greek life works, but maybe you could join a frat with a chapter down in your exchange school, so that you would have some potential social connections there? Like Kappa Sig has chapters at both CUNY Queens and Kentucky.
I’m having some trouble with your OP, because it’s one run on sentence. It would be far easier to understand if it had some punctuation.
Anyway…it sounds like cost is a factor. You mention loans so I’ll start there. Your loan limit in your name is $5500 for your freshman year, and that’s it.
FAFSA is a financial aid form and that’s it. By completing it, you are eligible for the Direct Loan (that’s that $5500 for freshman year) and maybe a portion of the Pell Grant depending on your family finances.
What do you plan to do with “travel and tourism”.
Please keep in mind that your parents don’t want you or them to go into debt. Try to keep an open mind about more affordable options.
Ask your parents what they WILL contribute annually for your college education…perhaps keep your mind open to your instate options. There are many SUNY schools and CUNY which might meet their price point.
If you give this hive some info, like your budget, GPA, SAT or ACT score, class rank, etc…perhaps they can give you some suggestions. Please use the Chance me format!
Out of state tuition, dorm, and food for U of Kentucky is 59k a year. How do you intend to pay $236,000 as an 18 year old? Who will give you a loan? How will you earn spending money for other needed items for the dorm? Are you working? If so how much do you make a year?
Unfortunately it sounds like UK is unaffordable. Many many people cannot attend a particular college they like due to finances. And many parents do set some geographic constraints on where they will support their children attending college – these may be for financial reasons, personal preferences, family obligations, etc. You are not alone.
Time to be practical and move on. Are SUNY schools affordable? If so, a place like SUNY Buffalo might offer the big school environment you seem to want.
If CC is the only viable option then grab it. Make the most of your time at the CC. Don’t just show up for class and go home – get involved in campus life, study at the library there, etc. Take CC seriously and set yourself up to transfer in two years to an affordable and desirable college.
Just because your parents wont pay 60k for OOS, doesnt mean comm coll. Look at your SUNY schools. That system has everything.
Going into $236,000 of debt for a degree at UK for a degree in Radio and/or Travel/Tourism is not a wise financial decision.
Right now you might be happy to take on loans to fund your education. Fortunately there is however a very strict limit on how much debt you can take on without a cosigner.
After you graduate from university and have a job in radio or in travel/tourism, and you are trying to get by on a day to day basis, you will be very glad if you do not have any loans. You will also regret it if you did take on significant loans.
It is easier to “not care” when it is not your money. Whoever is paying for your education does have the right to care, and to set a budget limit. Most students when considering which college or university to attend have to take the cost into consideration. Living within your budget is a big part of life.
You ask if you’re wrong to be upset?
No, that feeling is felt by thousands (millions?) of college-going students each year who don’t get the college experience they most desire. These emotions are real and understandable.
But the key is to get over it. The world is filled with people who went to CC and excelled, including Governor Wes Moore of Maryland, who still wears his CC graduation ring. BUT, they made the most of their CC experience. Don’t let your bitterness cause you to lose out on an excellent junior and senior year.
I don’t know how you will “gladly pay for your education with 529s and FAFSA’s and loans over the next several years”because you need your parents for each and everyone of those options.
They have to provide their tax information;
they have to provide their signatures;
and they have to sign for any loans going over $5000 a year.
You, as an 18-year-old don’t have a credit history that will give you $236,000 for four years. No bank or loan shark is going to loan you a quarter of $1 million.
NEWSFLASH!!! Radio and travel is not a strong future industry, and the pay is very low. If you were to get a decent paying job, you’re going to have to spend a lot of years earning minimum wage, learning the tricks of the trade and the ins and outs of that field.
I’m in California. Our very stubborn eldest child attended SUNY Buffalo. She attended there because they gave her a full ride. She got into top schools but she chose Buffalo because they have an amazing assortment of really good programs.
She was trying to get into an upstate medical school because she thought she wanted to be a physician. She ended up changing majors and became an electrical and computer software engineer.
She is making a lot of money. She would’ve made a lot of money going to our UCs, but she’s smart-she took the first free ride and never looked back.
My husband is a UC and Stanford grad and he was impressed with SUNY Buffalo and their engineering department. We both agreed that it’s a very underrated school but they have phenomenal professors and a really good student support system with their tutoring.
My advice to you is to “man up or “woman up” and learn to be an adult. apply to the SUNY schools. I can absolutely attest to Buffalo having four years of housing in the dorms.
She lived in “Red Jacket” during her first year. Her dorm room was a single and was very popular on the housing tours because the tour guides knew that there was this crazy California girl with surf and Hawaiian decor in her room. She had a mini surfboard hanging on her wall. Her aunt from Maui shipped Hawaiian tiki’s to our daughter. Her comforter was Kathy Ireland plumeria spread. She had a great time there.
As I’m sure you are aware, you can finish community college with an associate’s degree (usually after two years) and then transfer to a four-year college as an incoming junior and get your bachelor’s degree from that university. Some states have “articulation agreements” between the community colleges and the public universities that specify which CC credits will transfer to the four-year college without a problem.
Will your parents be supportive of your transferring to a four-year college after you finish your associate’s degree at a community college?
This cannot be stressed enough. It’s also a very “who you know” type of industry. Getting a foot in the door often means being a production assistant and running errands and then years of working your way up through small markets for low pay. Not an industry to go into massive college debt for.
Depends what you want to do in radio /tv. If it’s to be on air, you have a phone. Combined with taking an intro course in wroti g for radio or tv, you have the equipment to practice practice practice. Want to do play by play, take your phone to a local hs game, sit in the stands, and learn your craft.
Very few make it. Give yourself that edge.
You parents are right when they tell you that you are taking the same classes. Employers are not going to give more value to classes taken at UofK over your local school.
Is it a financial issue for your parents or is it the distance they don’t like?
If financial, there isn’t really much you can do because you won’t be able to get more than 5K per year in loans as a student, without mom and dad cosigning. If it’s distance, I would suggest going easy on them. As a mom who is saying goodbye to all 3 of my boys next week as they all leave for college - it’s VERY hard and emotional for us. Maybe if you have a heart to heart with them and respectfully discuss why you want UK so badly, they might come around.
But by no means should you go into tens of thousands in debt for your degree. Listen to mom and dad - they have some wisdom under their belt and when it’s all said and done, you want a good relationship with them and they want what is best for you.
I don’t know what you are going to do in Radio/TV (produce, broadcaster, writer?) but it is still a growing field so offerings at colleges in your area could change in the next two years. My friend is a journalist, was in print for 25+ years, then taught for 4, then went into radio/producer. She had to learn it all over again in her 50s. The people she hires have very different skills than they did even 5 years ago. They are still covering politics, but it is just different in print than on the radio. Her writing skills are still used as every story that is aired also has to be written for the online version.
I’m sitting here watching Court TV and that’s a whole different type of reporting/broadcasting.
If your parents don’t understand how Nassau CC is different than KY, show them. Get a listing of courses, what they teach, how they work, lab opportunities. Show them the required courses for the degrees. Show them what classes you might be missing (if there are any) if you transfer after a year or two, and what you’d have to do to catch up (another semester? another year?).
There is a Young Sheldon episode where he makes a video “Why Sheldon Cooper should go to college” to convince his mother that he was ready (at age 11) to go to the local college. He got recommendations from his teachers, the courses he would take, how he’d do it. You need to put in the time to convince them which school is best for you.
The first question is KY affordable for the OP’s family without significant loans/hardship…if it isn’t, no video, spreadsheet, etc. can make it happen. If the parents don’t want the student to travel so far from home for a specific reason, then KY may also be a non-starter. The OP first needs to understand the reason behind his/her parent’s thinking.
I don’t know if KY, at what looks like close to $60k/year for OOS students, is particularly well known for its Communications Department, but that is for the OP to research. As I noted above, I imagine there are more affordable SUNY schools (ex. Buffalo) that, if affordable, can likely offer a similar curriculum and a four year experience. Otherwise a CC student can work towards a transfer to a SUNY school.