I fully agree this is not a decision to be taken lightly and I don’t think there is a “right” or “wrong” answer. OP has to be introspective and aware of the inherent risks.
I was significantly in debt when I graduated decades ago and it forced me into more lucrative career choices. Thankfully I have enjoyed the professional journey but I can appreciate just how daunting debt can be. I didn’t have the financial flexibility to pursue a variety of less remunerative jobs and unfortunately neither will OP if they “go big”.
OP is being forced into very adult decisions and I hope they have the support necessary to fully consider options and ramifications.
Thanks everyone for replying. Sorry for replying late. It helps so much and I read and discussed everyone of y’alls answers with my parents (with arguments…). My parents showed me their financials and they can pretty much pay for my tuition. My dad is saying that I will slowly pay him back the 100k for the two years of college, but in reality they can pay for my tuition. Saying this, IU is completely the right answer. However, what I now started to argue was about transferring, which is a completely different situation.
I feel like staying at Bama and getting another shot at the top universities (ivies, NU, Uchicago, ND, georgetown, etc) would be better than staying at IU. Tuition would be overall lower (than only IU, as I stay a year or two at Bama), and I get a chance at the best of the best, as transfer rates are generally better than first year rates. What do y’all think?
I know this is a completely different question that probably applies to completely different people, so I understand if some of yall don’t have the answer to this. I welcome all answers, and I again appreciate everyones effort into helping out my future.
If it’s a “loan” between you and your parents, and they don’t have to take out actual loans to cover it, that’s quite different. There’s still opportunity cost, and you have to consider potential strain on your relationship if you were to have difficulty paying them as agreed, but if everyone’s on the same page and you’re not hemorrhaging interest for PLUS loans, that’s not as worrisome as the scenario I was envisioning.
This is not the case at many of the Ivies and other elite schools. Many of these schools have very low attrition, so they have few transfer spots to fill and often earmark them for nontraditional applicants (i.e. military veterans, FGLI community college applicants). Wherever you go, be willing to finish there, because that could very well be the outcome.
If your parents can cleanly afford IU without going into their retirement or mortgaging the house then you have your answer only after coming to terms and making a contract between you and your parents. Know what they expect out of you with repayments. There have been people I have heard about having major conflicts in these situations. But I guess if you don’t sign anything… Well…lol.
And a huge no. Don’t assume you will get in later somewhere else. Your opportunities are in front of you.
We paid an extra $100,000 for our kid to go OOS. I would love to have that back now actually. Lol. Again, don’t take your parents word on it. Let them show you. Your going into business. Don’t sssume. Lots of parents tell their kids “don’t worry” but yet their taking out high interest loans. Don’t do that to your parents.
For some reason, Cornell and Vanderbilt have significantly higher transfer acceptance rates than their freshman acceptance rate, along with some other high level schools. But I do agree with you and understand that I should pick a school that I am fine for attending all four years.
Re: Cornell, a lot of those spots are allocated to NY community college students. And assuming the program you would want would be Dyson, that’s another whole layer of competitiveness. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s certainly not to be counted upon.
And yes, there are some schools that are more transfer-friendly.
But IMHO, you should choose your path based on the assumption that you’ll be there four years. If you get part-way through sophomore year and decide that you want to float some transfer apps, do that… but the potential for transferring shouldn’t be part of your current decision. It’s kind of a red herring at this point.
Actually, except at Vanderbilt, it’s MUCH harder to transfer to prestigious schools because so few students leave (transfer spots are created by students who transfer elsewhere or drop out, of which there are few at highly selective universities.)
Wrt Cornell, some of the colleges are “state related contract colleges”, ie., in a partnership with the state of New York. NYS residents pay lower tuition and transfer spots are reserved for them. Unless you’re a NYS resident this doesn’t apply to you (and priority is given to NYSCCs).
In addition, the best financial aid is reserved for freshmen.
I’m confused - it was Bama at $5K vs. Indiana at $55K - and your dad is - sorry - not living in the real world if he thinks you can easily pay off a $100K loan. Maybe one person out of a thousand lands a position to do that.
To net $100K, you are borrowing $105K.
You have $1274 a month for ten years - just sitting around? Plus your rent - let’s say $2K. More if in NY. And your car - let’s say $800-$1K a month.
And now you’re talking about transferring to a $90K school? So since you have to borrow the last two years - that’s even more than $100K.
Hmmmm - I’m just not seeing how any of this is realistic.
Again, you are taking a huge risk with this strategy - and there is an infintesimal chance of it paying off.
One strangling themselves financially is typically a recipe for disaster.
My parents are taking on the loan. He pretty much told me not to worry about the money, and showed me his actual financials, cause I still worry.
What I have come to know is that we can pay for my tuition. 50k is more easily doable, says my dad, because it wasn’t the 75k he was prepared for when saving for Ivy League level colleges. If I transfer, which I now think is not a very seeable idea, then we would pay 3 to 2 years of that transfer university, which could be the same as 4 years of IU.
We were prepared for paying 75k for a T20 university. But since I didn’t get into them, we are deciding between IU and Bama.
But nevertheless, if I attend IU, we are borrowing 100k, for the final two years.
Just make sure you have a plan for this loan. You cannot borrow this amount. Either your parents will need to co-sign, or they will need to take this loan. To be a qualified loan recipient, you need a JOB with sufficient income and sufficient collateral that if you can’t lay back the loan, the banks will have something to attach. If you have THAT much extra money yourself, you wouldn’t need a loan.
They will borrow the money. What i THINK is that they can pay for the loan, but I am paying back just to accelerate the process. I am not sure, I will ask them about this.
I will also check for instate for UGA. I think one of my friends got instate for them, and she goes to my school.