Not so popular ways as to pay for College

Paying for College
21

There are precious few four-year colleges that will accept a 2.3 GPA student at all much less for CS as @happy1 suggested. Best path forward would be as suggested to attend CC, get As, transfer to local flagship uni.

Because getting As in CC is as challenging or more so than in HS, you may want to take a gap year or two first. Gapping will allow you to mature mentally, physically, and will help you figure out what you might want to do with your CS degree (or any other degree you decide to seek.). Gapping could mean working near home, volunteering near home, joining Americorps FEMA or NCCC, working for Student Conservation Association internships–some of which are paid and they take you to all sorts of locations, you could WOOFF (organic farming) etc etc etc. In the end you will develop yourself emotionally and become more focused before attempting school again. When you’re ready to get As, then go back to college, not before. You’ll know when you’re ready.

22

hi @VishG28 - glad you’re thinking about this all.
we have 4 kids, so trust me, we’ve thought a lot about how to get through college with just a normal income.

some of our ideas:

look at schools that give **automatic merit **. This means scholarships for good grades and ACT scores or national merit PSAT scores from junior year. study hard and do well in HS!

your ** in-state schools ** are often less than out of state (OOS). that’s because your family pays taxes to that state. Maybe there are public schools in Minnesota that have good automatic scholarship opps. I’d look around.

**get a job during summer **and save. This summer is all nuts, but plan on it in the future if nothing happens this year. Then you can have savings going in to college for books, etc. Work a little in college too if needed.

the costs you see listed at colleges often include full R&B; and most freshmen are required to pay that if they don’t live in that college town, or very close to it. R&B is expensive; and once you get a bit older, you can cut those costs by living off campus.

If you parents really won’t help pay, will they really consider taking out the parent loans? it’s a loan on THEM, not you. I know we don’t take out parent loans for our 4 kids.

**AP credits, dual enrollment **are often an easy way to mean less classes are needed at the higher college rate. This helps the most if your college charges you by the credit hour; rather than by the semester.

Some kids take the year after high school as a **gap year **to work and save and learn from new opportunities. That might be an option; to save for the next year.

Money back from taxes: right now the govt is giving back money to families if their kid has qualified education expenses (like tuition and fees; not room and board) and if the family makes <160K. Your parents can potentially get up to $2500 a year back for your expenses. Maybe they’d float that amount to you during the year, and then recoup after filed taxes. (called AOTC)

just to let you know, lots and lots of kids don’t get to go to college away from home. that’s a treat. My kid is not going to one of the colleges that he got into even though it’s his favorite because it costs too much. He felt down for awhile; but now he’s excited for his college that’s giving him automatic merit.

Good luck! this forum has LOTS of good advice.

23

The federal direct loan for undergrads - yes, even pre-med - is $5500. Don’t need a credit score, don’t even need a parent to sign for it, but that’s the max, $5500. As a sophomore you can borrow $6500.

Private student loans require you to qualify. A credit score may be necessary, but so is an income to repay the loan.

Grad students and med students can borrow more, but not undergrads. U of Minn is a good choice. You should be able to get some merit money. Your parents’ income will still be used (against you) for need based FA.

24

Not with a 2.3 GPA. I highly doubt they’d even get into the Twin Cities campus with that.

But, MN does have a good grant program that goes up to something like 120K in income. We actually got more state grant than Pell at UMN.

25

@cshell2 I meet all the guaranteed admission requirements for ASU which has the 43rd best school of engineering (I want to major in computer science) but the main reason I want to go to the U of M is because tuition there will be around 30k while at ASU it will be around 50k. I’m working to get a ACT score in high 20s or low 30s from my earlier 24 to “make up” for my low GPA. The road for me isn’t at an end, there’s just a lot of turns I missed.

26

@Mwfan1921 What my parents are recommending is: They are willing to co-sign a loan. I’m going to be majoring in computer science so average salary straight out of college with a undergrad is around high 60s. They are suggesting after my undergrad I live with them for a bit as that will help me pay the student loans. After only 3-4 years of experience that figure goes up to mid 80s -low 90s

27

Test scores don’t make up for low GPAs.

What happens if you don’t get a job near your parents after graduation? Are they going to make the loan payments if you can’t afford it?

28

@VishG28 - I did not mean to imply your road was at an end due to the 2.3 GPA. I personally had a horrific high school record and went on to graduate from college with honors. It’s just that your options are more limited is all and UMN admission is probably not going to happen right now.

Borrowing 200K for undergrad is just ridiculous and they’re not going to let you do that anyhow . What is more likely going to happen is you get through a year or two and the lenders cut you off. Then you’re stuck with no degree and a big loan.

If you were my son, I would advise you to go to community college for a year or two, (paying cash) kick ass there and apply to an in-state option as a transfer student. Meanwhile you’re working part time (and as much as you can in the Summer) to offset some of the cost of those last two years at the 4 year school.

29

@VishG28

  1. It is an insane idea to borrow money for undergrad school to the tune of $200,000 and anticipate medical school which will be loans, loans and more loans...if you even get that far. You could easily end up with $800,000 in loans if you borrow for living expenses for medical school as well (you won’t be able to work).

Your financial plan is flawed if you think loans for ALL if this make sense.

@WayOutWestMom can explain the realities and finances of medical school.

  1. You have a sub 3.0 GPA. Even if you get a perfect ACT score, it won’t “make up” for your lower GPA.
  2. You need a different plan. I would start with figuring out how to raise that GPA. A 2.3 GPA isn’t going to get you significant merit aid anywhere.
30

@thumper1 I’m not applying to med school, I’ll be majoring in Computer Science. I already have a internship lined up for me but still 200k is a lot. Even is I go to the U of M (my in-state school) I will still need to borrow around 120-140k

31

@cshell2 I wish I could but if I did my parents would just rule me out of the family as a disgrace.

32

Wow. You need to listen to these very experienced posters. Is going bankrupt and paying off hundreds of thousands in loans less disgraceful than your pie in the sky plan which isn’t possible? Your parents need to wake up and smell the coffee and so do you. The time to save face is over. Now you need to work with your reality.

Your GPA is poor. You need to go to CC and prove that you have the potential that you believe you have. Especially in this current climate, in which the economy is tanking with every passing minute, your plan is totally unrealistic and will not work. Swallow your pride, tell your parents that your plan literally can’t work, and go to CC. Or join the military and get your education paid for. Or, learn a trade and go to college part time. At least you will earn some money.

College isn’t impossible for you at all. You can definitely go to college. But it may not happen the way you think it will.

33

Your Med school folks didn’t borrow in their own names $200,000 for undergrad school. They didn’t.

Medical school students can take grad plus loans out up to the cost of attendance. Their Direct Loan amount is also higher…about $40,000 a year. All in the name of the student only.

Don’t try to compare your undergrad loans to medical school loans.

If you take $200,000 in co-signed loans, your payments will be in excess if $2500 a month for ten years. That’s a huge amount…even for an entering engineering grad.

Don’t do it…just don’t. And don’t ask your parents to co-sign these huge loans. In the Thumper family, the answer would have been NO to that too.

ETA…with a $60,000 a year starting salary, your take home will be more like $40,000 a year…you know…,taxes, fica, etc. Your loan repayment will be $30,000 a year of that take home pay if you borrow $200,000…maybe more. So, you will have less than $1000 of income left each month. Hope you won’t need a car, car insurance, or any other living expenses…because you will have a very slim cash flow issue with $200,000 in loans.

34

I do not understand your parents stance on this at all. I cannot fathom being behind a plan that would be setting my child up to struggle financially for possibly their whole life. I mean 200K on 60K income is way beyond a struggle…that’s living in poverty to pay loans. Even 100K would be horrible. It is so not worth it for a degree from ASU! Thankfully, it’s not going to actually happen because contrary to what you seem to believe, they are not lending out that kind of money for undergrad.

There is NOTHING disgraceful about going to community college and transferring. Your degree will still have the 4 year school’s name on it just as if you’d started there freshman year and you’ll save a ton of money. Don’t let yourself be bullied into taking on debt, and don’t make decisions assuming you’ll be making X when you’re done. As you’ve seen with high school, life takes turns, CS may not be for you, COLLEGE may not be for you, jobs may not be there like you thought or the pay may not be as you thought. You may meet the love of your life at college and suddenly the plan of living at home with mom and dad for a decade post graduation to make loan payments doesn’t seem like a great idea anymore at all.

35

You came here for advice so please listen to these very experienced adults. Frankly with a 2.3 GPA and wanting to study computer science, you don’t seem to have the academic discipline to do well at a 4-year college, YET. My suggestion would be to go to your local community college while living at home for two years. Maybe get a part-time job and start saving some money for college. If you get some very good grades, than transfer to your state flagship or similar state college. You have two strikes against you a) lack of academic discipline to get good grades (and probably the reason your parents will not pay for your college), and b) no college savings.

You can do this IF you do it the right way. Taking out 200K for undergrad is very foolish. Going to a community college is going to be your best and really only option.

36

You say you meet the criteria for an auto acceptance to ASU? How will you pay?

37

I agree with the other posts. If you’re paying your own way through college, you’ll need to start at community college. There really isn’t any other way to do it. You’re not going to be able to go out of state, because the tuition is at least double what you’re paying in-state, and financial aid is for state residents. You have an in-state university 45 minutes where you live. That’s a good goal to shoot for in community college.

38

With an interest in computer science, you might not even need a full undergraduate degree. Check the community colleges in Minnesota for both credit and non-credit continuing education programs in subjects like networking, computer hardware, and cybersecurity. The community college near my home in Maryland offers all of those kinds of things, and the students walk straight into good jobs.

39

Learn coding. You don’t need a college degree to learn that.

40

Go to CC (two years) then go to U of M for (two years).

Your old self will thank you for that.