student loan maximum for CS degree

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hey all!</p>

<p>What should be the MAXIMUM amount of student loans I should borrow? </p>

<p>I’m trying to obtain a Comp. Sci. degree for software development, but I’m paying for everything on my own. I’ll be a transfer student and believe I’ll be admitted as a junior (Fall 2013). If I’m able to get all of my classes, I should be able to finish within 2 years…</p>

<p>I’m also thinking of staying on campus because there is too much family drama at home, so commuting is not an option. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Nobody here can provide a full answer to that question. I’d sincerely recommend that you talk to a financial advisor or financial planner, look at your situation, and decide what makes sense.</p>

<p>That said, you will need to consider how much debt you need to incur, as well as your ability to repay, when deciding whether taking out a loan is a good idea. Assuming that your main concern is financial stability and security, your goal should be to incur as little debt as possible, and to pay it off as quickly as possible. What this means in practical terms:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Plan on working through school to make as much money as possible. Private tutoring, or tutoring through the school, can provide a good source of revenue if you’re knowledgeable. Work at a bookstore or a grocery store or at Taco Bell. The more money you are able to make while in school, the less you will need to take out in loans.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t drag it out. Take as many classes as you can while maintaining your grades, your health, and your sanity (alternative: choose two of three, and make sure grades is one). You want to get to making more money faster, and you’ll almost certainly make more if you’re able to get a job as a CS graduate.</p></li>
<li><p>Look for opportunities to intern. You will typically make more money at these than at odd and part-time jobs, and having intern experience will increase your chances of getting a job, as well as making you more competitive for high-paying jobs.</p></li>
<li><p>Before taking out a loan, understand the principal and interest, and when you need to start paying, and how much you need to pay. Estimate what your income will be, deduct estimated expenses, and determine how repayment fits in to your budget. In general, you should overestimate your costs and expenses, and underestimate your future earnings. Be pessimistic, and you won’t be disappointed.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>A word about costs: you will have more of these than you think. Tax, housing, car insurance, health insurance, food, household goods, furniture, etc. will add up. Probably assume that you’ll have less than half your net salary, in the best case, to use towards paying debt.</p>

3

<p>I recently read another forum where one poster suggested that your total student loan debt should not exceed 1/2 of your majors average starting salary. Computer science is one of the highest paying degrees, with about $55,000 annually (starting salary). This would mean that your loans shouldn’t exceed $22,500 for four years. I think this rule applies more towards liberal art majors, though.</p>

<p>Honestly, it depends on a lot of factors. The school you’re planning to attend, is it affordable, Ivy League priced, or somewhere in between? Have you saved anything up so far? Are you going to move back in with your family to use a larger portion of your income to pay the loans? There is no definitive answer, except that one shouldn’t get loans well beyond their means.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the responses guys and sorry this reply is so late.</p>

<p>I just thought there would be a rule of thumb to follow in regards to student loans. I don’t have anything saved up for school, but my parents just told me they’ll try to help. Its still unclear how much exactly they’ll be willing to pay since my parents have issues at the moment. I was going to question them more once I get the admittance letters from the CSU’s and UC’s in a few months to have a better idea of how much I’ll be needing. I was planning on working while attending schools to help pay for the interest I accrue and banking on student loans to get me through once I transfer in. Any help my parents could give would just be extra.</p>

<p>I’m still unsure about which school to attend, but so far, I’m really considering ASU (I’m a CA resident). With ASU in mind, I’ve come up with an estimate of about $70k with financial aid for 3 years (just in case it takes a bit longer). I am still waiting for CSU’s and UC’s responses to come in. Is that lucrative for my major?</p>

5

<p>70k for 3 years at ASU is too much. You can find off campus housing within walking distance for 400-500 bucks a month. After your first year, become a AZ resident. You could pay substantially less with scholarships and grants, so it all depends. </p>

<p>Overall it depends on you. You might get an internship that pays 10-20 bucks an hour over the summer or even during the school year. You could only take 3 classes at a time to work or you can go to school full time and use loan money. </p>

<p>The money is an investment towards getting a degree that will improve your financial situation. Try to graduate as soon as you can with the best grades that you can. With your major you will make more than enough to pay off your school loans over your lifetime. </p>

<p>If you are that debt adverse than try to stay in state; apply to a few out of state schools for safeties in case you don’t get in. You won’t really know how much you will have to pay until you get financial aid packages from your acceptances.</p>

6

<p>At a 5% APY compounded monthly, with a loan of $70,000, here are some ballbark payment plans (back of the napkin, get these checked out before you commit to any of them):</p>

<ul>
<li>$2,500/month for ~30 months</li>
<li>$2,000/month for ~38 months</li>
<li>$1,500/month for ~51 months</li>
<li>$1,000/month for ~83 months</li>
</ul>

<p>If that seems like too much, you need to reduce the interest rate or the loan amount.</p>

7

<p>Maintaining a software career is more about keeping in tune with the latest technologies than your degree, so I would not recommend spending a whole lot for a CS degree. You spend big money on college and/or aim for the Top-10 colleges if you plan to major in something with a lot of competition.</p>

<p>Computer science and specifically software engineering always has more job openings than available candidates. No need to spend a bunch of money on an undergrad CS degree.</p>

<p>Hell, after 20+ years in it and watching how the hiring process is, I tell students (who are low on money) to go the 2+2 route. Community colleges have come a LONG way as far as being in sync with the first 2 years of universities. I work and have worked with a TON of software engineers who did 2+2 programs.</p>

8

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<p>Looks like the OP is doing the 2+2 method, and is probably at a CC right now getting ready to transfer as a junior this fall.</p>

<p>Have you tried the net price calculators at UCs and CSUs to get estimates of financial aid?</p>

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<p>Unless the out-of-state schools are very inexpensive at out-of-state net price, it would be hard to consider them safeties for a debt-averse student, since safeties must be affordable.</p>

9

<p>Thanks guys for the insight and advice shared.</p>

<p>Yes, I am currently in a community college and will transfer to finish up the program this coming fall. I already took Lookin4Ward’s advice and began to research how to get residency, which I will be able to do in July/August according to the state’s definition of residency. So, with residency, the tuition becomes $23k per year without parents’ help or financial aid yet. I will be applying as an independent student, but my parents said they were willing to pay for half (of the initial $70k I told them before hand). However, I believe my first semester (or maybe my first year) will be considered non-resident since registration will end by the time I can gain residency. </p>

<p>ucbalumnus: I JUST checked out the net price calculators at UCR, UCI, and CSULA. UCR is about $31k dollars per year and UCI is $29k (living on campus for both for comparison). Cal State LA’s price is about the same price as ASU’s residency price per year. These comparisons are without financial aid yet. </p>

<p>Getting residency in AZ really has me swaying towards ASU…Would the universities in CA be a better choice over ASU? or it doesnt really matter which university I attend (in comparison to helping me land my first job after graduation)? </p>

<p>Not sure if this info will help or not, but my future plan is to move out of CA/AZ and hope to land a job in Seattle or NY (praying, but very doubtful about NY).</p>

10

<p>In #4 you say that you are a California resident, but in #9 you say that you are an Arizona resident? Which is it or neither?</p>

<p>As far as the first job at graduation is concerned, try to find out which companies recruit CS majors at each school’s career center. If your school is not heavily recruited, you will have to be more aggressive in finding and applying to companies for post-graduation jobs.</p>

11

<p>I am a CA resident. However, in #9, I mentioned that I can gain AZ residency in July or August according to AZ DMV as long as I meet their requirements, which I can do by then.</p>

<p>As for the part about the school’s career center… I cant believe I didnt think about that… that was really absent minded of me. Thanks!</p>

12

<p>I don’t think it is as simple as getting a AZ driver’s license. Did you read through the entire set of rules?
<a href=“https://students.asu.edu/residency_classification_guidelines[/url]”>https://students.asu.edu/residency_classification_guidelines&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

13

<p>Thanks for that link BeanTownGirl. It was very informative. </p>

<p>“Provide clear and convincing evidence of intent to establish a domicile in Arizona beyond the circumstance of being a student; overcoming the ABOR directed presumption that no emancipated person has established domicile in Arizona while attending any educational institution in Arizona as a full-time student.” </p>

<p>This really sets it in stone that I won’t be able to get residency I believe…</p>

14

<p>The problem with loans is that they make you blind to the actual value of money.
Think of loan money as real money. Then figure out the maximum amount of money you would spend on that education. If you were funding this out of your own savings, how much would you be willing to spend? I’m sure than unless you’re bad at money, rationing your savings would not be difficult.</p>

15

<p>I’ll be taking out a student for my tuition and living expenses. Hopefully I can get some scholarships.</p>