<p>I pay out of pocket and have had personal money saved up from working in highschool and partially during the semesters. I recently got laid off in June but have just enough to get me through to when I am transfering, Fall 2014.</p>
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<p>Have you run the net price calculator on UCLA?
[Financial</a> Aid Estimator](<a href=“http://www.fao.ucla.edu/aid_estimator/]Financial”>http://www.fao.ucla.edu/aid_estimator/)</p>
<p>UAF list price is $32,547 per year out-of-state, $22,888 with WUE. See <a href=“https://www.uaf.edu/finaid/costs/[/url]”>https://www.uaf.edu/finaid/costs/</a> and note the costs for books, misc, and transportation at the bottom of the page to be added to tuition, room, and board.</p>
<p>My advice is to pursue three plans:</p>
<p>1) Explore your in-state options. There are knowledgeable members from CA here who can help. You may be eligible for financial aid. A degree in mechanical or chemical engineering will not prevent you from pursuing a career in the oil industry, if that’s what you want.</p>
<p>2) Apply to UAF and work with the financial aid office to see what kind of support is available. You may get lucky.</p>
<p>3) Think about where you want to live and how you will support yourself if the above options don’t pan out and you need to take a couple of years before continuing your education.</p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>
<p>UNM doesn’t have petroleum engineering, but NM Tech does and is a well-respected program.</p>
<p>NM Tech’s PetE dept.</p>
<p>[Petroleum</a> and Natural Gas Engineering - New Mexico Tech](<a href=“http://infohost.nmt.edu/~petro/]Petroleum”>http://infohost.nmt.edu/~petro/)</p>
<p>Here’s the transfer information page for Tech</p>
<p>[Transfer</a> Students](<a href=“http://www.nmt.edu/transfer-students]Transfer”>http://www.nmt.edu/transfer-students)</p>
<p>NMTech’s OOS tuition and fees for 2013-14 are here:</p>
<p>[Tuition</a> and Fees](<a href=“http://www.nmt.edu/tusition-and-fees]Tuition”>http://www.nmt.edu/tusition-and-fees)</p>
<p>PetE is a WUE-eligible major and Tech accepts transfers.</p>
<p>With WUE scholarship, tuition & fees at Tech would be $9132/year plus room & board (~$7100/year in the dorms, much less if you’re willing to rent an apt in Socorro.)</p>
<p>NM Tech offers transfer scholarships, but Tech has a policy of only 1 scholarship per student–which means if you get the WUE scholarship, you probably won’t be eligible for additional grants.</p>
<p>[Scholarships</a> for Transferring Students](<a href=“http://www.nmt.edu/scholarships/182-scholarships-for-transfering-students]Scholarships”>http://www.nmt.edu/scholarships/182-scholarships-for-transfering-students)</p>
<p>wow, why so cheap compared to others? I’ll look into it even though New Mexico is not ideal. I know beggars cant be choosers but even if I get into a prestigious school for my major such as TAMU. I will be forced to go with the cheapest?? I know there is a trade off when i substitute quality for a cheaper education but how badly will that affect my career prospects?</p>
<p>Doubtful it will since engineering programs have a strict, almost-universal curriculum as per accreditation requirements.</p>
<p>You don’t have a lot of options, and NM Tech sounds like a great fit, especially if you’re interested in petroleum engineering.</p>
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<p>Very small school heavily subsidized by the state’s natural gas and other extractive industries (mostly coal and uranium). These industries pay a tax that goes directly into the state’s higher education fund on each unit of natural resources extracted.</p>
<p>Most of New Mexico’s universities are inexpensive compared to other states because the state is committed to keeping in-state costs low. Plus the COL here is much lower than most places in the US. Of course, salaries are too, but it balances out.</p>
<p>Be cautious about assuming Tech is “of less quality” than TAMU. Kiplinger’s ranks Tech among its top values in education w/r/t to quality vs. cost. Tech send ~30% of its grads to graduate programs and has a national reputation in a number of research fields.</p>
<p>(And it offers the only program in the US where you can earn a degree in Explosives & Demolitions Science. Tech researchers did the forensic investigation on the Boston Bombing’s pressure cooker bombs and presented key evidence to the FBI about the bombs’ manufacture.)</p>
<p><a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/new-mexico-institute-of-mining-and-technology-2654[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/new-mexico-institute-of-mining-and-technology-2654</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the info! I’m going to contact all the financial aid departments the upcoming year and consider all scholarship opportunities. Is there anything else I should consider when looking into these Petroleum Engineering schools? New Mexico tuition is ~1/3 lower than the others on average so I will definitely consider it.</p>
<p>Do your parents earn less than $80k? If so, be sure to apply to some UCs…including some lower UCs that also have MechE or ChemE. </p>
<p>It sounds like you’re going to go thru your savings this year, so you’ll be nearly broke by next summer. For that reason, even an inexpensive school at $15k per year may not be doable since you can only borrow $7500 as a jr.</p>
<p>Are you borrowing money this year? IF not, do so. Borrow the max and keep your savings for shortages for junior and senior years.</p>