@NASA2014 I am really just worried as to my parents will just call me a disgrace
why would they call you a disgrace? Going to CC will 1) save you money and your parents 2) you can get all your prereqs done and 3) small classes. I went to CC and I met my math mentor and to this day I still talk to him.
Is this for real? A 2.3 GPA, want to major in a very difficult subject (CS) not even in college yet but claim to have an “internship” , parents that can but “don’t want to “ pay for college (well, who does) think you can take out an UG loan for $120K+ , and (a) even if you could, with a co-signer, and (b) even if you graduate in CS, you think this is a good plan? Sorry, its just not passing the smell test.
Did you talk to them? I simply cannot imagine any parent asking their children to give up their life just so they did not give birth to the disgrace to the family. But you sure will become a disgrace when you became bankrupt or even homeless for that 200k that you might be never able to pay unless you become bill gates.
CS is competitive, but it is not impossible. go to a CC, or even self-study. You are much more likely to succeed either way than a 200k loan.
You don’t need to go to CC. In MN there are a bunch of good state schools that are fairly cheap, take most applicants and will get you headed where you want to go. Winona and Mankato and St Cloud and a slew of others in the system are cheaper tuition than the Twin Cities campus, cheaper places to live, offer the degree you want and will take a 2.3 GPA. Winona costs $19k for everything including a laptop, while St Cloud and Mankato are $19k and $21k without the computer.
Don’t borrow $200k on the assumption you’re going to magically become someone you’ve never been. There’s nothing wrong with a 2.3 and 24 ACT, but be honest about how likely it is you’re going to flip some switch and be 50% more effective. Take your body of work to a school that is home to a bunch of kids just like you and get a degree you can afford. If you want the prestige of a better school then transfer, but around here those are fine programs and employers will hire you.
I graduated from Winona and love that school. So did my ex…who double-majored in Math and CS. He has a very good job in IT with a large company. It’s a really nice school in a beautiful town with lots of college students (two universities in a small town).
DS20 would have attended there if they had the engineering major he wanted.
There’s nothing disgraceful about going to, say, Normandale Community College for a couple of years and then transferring to the U, or to Mankato, or to North Dakota State, etc. It’s a smart financial decision, and lots of students do it.
How is going to CC (which many smart kids with limited money do to save money) more disgraceful than a 2.3 GPA?
@jym626 @PurpleTitan The thing is my freshman and sophomore year, I slacked, didn’t care which hit my GPA. In my junior year (current) I have started trying and it’s 3.6, is that something that can give colleges a message that I can do well when I try?
What’s your cumulative GPA? Paying for college will be a challenge if you’re not eligible for need based aid and your parents won’t pay. A 2.3 GPA won’t get you any merit aid. Are there any schools within commuting distance of your home?
Sure, doing well if you try is better, but I still don’t see how going to CC is more disgraceful than your freshman and sophomore year performance. Are your parents so out of the loop that they wouldn’t expect you to land at CC (at best) after your grades freshman and sophomore years?
@austinmshauri its at about 7.1 on the 12 point scale which high schools use
@PurpleTitan They know that I can easily get into CC, what they are concerned about is how hard the transfer will be from CC to the University of Minnesota which is about 35 mins away from my house. They don’t want me to go to smaller universities as since they aren’t popular there won’t be a lot of recruiting from there
“In my junior year (current) I have started trying and it’s 3.6, is that something that can give colleges a message that I can do well when I try?”
It will help more if you can string together multiple consecutive semesters of good grades.
If you go to community college for two years, then when you go to transfer to a 4 year university they will look at your community college grades that will matter significantly more than your high school grades. However they will still look at your high school grades.
If you want to transfer after only one year in community college then at the time that you apply to transfer you will have only one semester of community college grades. This will make your high school grades more important.
Either way if you have strong grades for your last two years of high school and for your classes at community college then universities will understand that you got your act together half way through high school. They are humans and primarily want to admit students who are going to do well in university. Having good grades for your last two years of high school will help you quite a bit either way.
One daughter had a friend in high school who was a very good student but who found her family in an unfortunate financial position when she was a senior in high school. She was accepted to some good universities but could only afford a community college close to her father’s home. She went to community college for two years and did very well, and got a merit scholarship to the closest good in-state public university, which is still close enough for her to live with her dad (who is a very nice and very responsible person – I met him multiple times in school functions). I ran into her a couple of months ago (pre coronavirus) at a store very near here. I was very impressed with how she has done and how she has overcome a tough situation. She is going to graduate with valuable degree from a good university with a very modest debt – which is something that you should aim to do also. If I were her father I would be very proud of her, and I am confident that her father is very proud of her.
There is no shame in attending community college for two years. Economically it sounds like it is probably the right thing to do in this case.
“what they are concerned about is how hard the transfer will be from CC to the University of Minnesota which is about 35 mins away from my house.”
Two years of good grades in high school plus a few more semesters of good grades in community college will help you a great deal in terms of improving your chances.
Indeed. And many state flagships have automatic transfer agreements with CCs. Look to see if MN has those. Talk with a guidance counselor (HS or, even better, CC, if you can).
Minnesota Transfer Curriculum
To simplify the transfer process, the University of Minnesota, Minnesota state universities, and Minnesota community colleges have developed a Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC). If you complete the MnTC (either within or separate from an Associate in Arts [A.A.] degree) at a participating school and then transfer to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, you have completed the core, theme, and first-year writing portion of the University’s liberal education requirements (you may still need to complete the writing intensive portion of the writing skills requirement.) Such completion must be noted on the official transcript from your school.
I am trying to figure out a way to say this nicely and respectfully: If your parents refuse to help you financially, they have little say in where you go. Yes, they are your parents and you should respect them and take their opinions into account, but to go $200,000 in debt in order to not shame them is ridiculous. And it makes me both sad and angry that they would expect that of you. If’s fine if they don’t want to spend $200,000 on your education, that’s their prerogative, but it’s not OK for them to expect you to do it or guilt you into it.
I think we are all trying, as nicely as possible, to tell you it’s a REALLY bad idea to go that into debt. And you have other options that have been pointed out to you above. I would not just reject the idea of cc. If you go for a couple of years and then transfer, the amount of debt you have is much less AND you still have your degree from Minnesota (which seems important to you). But, I would also strongly consider one of the smaller Minnesota state schools. You can transfer from there if you decide it’s necessary later. Honestly, there is a lot of good things about the smaller schools. You will have a lot of opportunities to shine if you can be a “big fish in a small pond”.
Personally, I would tell your parents you can’t afford Minnesota. If it’s important to them for you to go there, they can help pay for it. If not, you’ll have to look at what you can afford.
^ Right. How did your parents become experts about recruiting at smaller MN colleges, BTW? I ask because I do see plenty of people from those colleges land jobs.
Smaller schools might not have as many companies recruiting from them, but you may get a lot more individualized attention from the placement office as well. I was just glancing at the graduate follow up for Winona (2015 class was the most recent they had online) and 6 months after graduation 34 of the 47 CS grads were employed within their field, there were no unemployed and only 3 were seeking employment within their field (7 did not respond to the survey).
@PrdMomto1 After FAFSA, working part-time during college and even doing internships during summer. What’s the most money I can earn/get?