It’s healthy to get out of your comfort zone. You can always return.
Wichita to Nashville takes about 5.25 hours on Southwest changing in Midway Chicago for roughly $130 each way if you plan in advance. Not so bad.
My D1 went to school far away.
Freshman year we flew with her to move in and rented an SUV. 3 round trips.
Holidays she flew solo (as a passenger, not the pilot, LOL). She flew Southwest and periodically earned free tickets.
She learned how to print out her own boarding pass, how to get a taxi to the airport, how to weigh her bags to insure compliance, check her own bags, how to file a claim when they were lost. She became an experienced traveler at only 18.
After that, much of the stuff went into storage for the summers. Eventually she learned how to rent a U-haul to move stuff, how to rent a storage bin. How to ship stuff UPS.
After graduation, D1 and I drove a cargo van back home with her apartment furnishings over a number of days.
In the scheme of things, flying is not that expensive if you plan well in advance. Neither is storage and shipping. Southwest still has 2 checked bags free.
@psata82: although what you say makes sense, research showed that reality doesn’t bear this out. The freshmen who take the least time to graduate are those who aren’t sure of their major before starting college - either they have a field or two in mind but are open, or are totally undeclared. Therefore, they give themselves time to explore and figure out what they’re good at. Students who arrive with a fixed major in mind are highly likely to be changing it, and the more they think they have to stick to this major regardless of interest or results (“because that’s what they decided and they’re not quitters”) the longer it takes to graduate.
Considering that 3/4th freshmen who come in with a major in mind end up changing, those who admit to being undeclared and willing to explore may just be more self aware
46 students from Kansas are freshmen at Vanderbilt: certainly, there could be some shared driving with shared expenses for OP and a couple others at vacation time?
Even if the extra $1,500 had to be taken in PLUS loans, it’s hardly a huge amount. It’s vastly different from the usual situation, when parents are talking 10 or 20k in Parent PLUS loans.
Hopefully, OP would work during the summer after freshman year, earning more than in Kansas, so that this amount might even be reduced or nullified.
Missing out on Vanderbilt because of about $1,500 really wouldn’t make sense.
MYOS, I do not understand your calculations for this student. I don’t think he gets a $5000 scholarship from the state of Kentucky if he attends Vanderbilt – how are you subtracting that $5,500 off of his costs, then coming up with a mere extra $1,500 to attend Vanderbilt for him? If that were the case, sure, go. But those numbers don’t obtain for me. I may be missing something re: Vanderbilt financial aid structuring; if so, I am happy to learn.
I feel like there are many speculations and estimates going on, which may or may not play out over the years. All we know for certain now is that if he comes up with roughly $2,500 work study (likely, not certain), he’s on the table this upcoming year for 22,152. Hopefully parents contribute $10K towards that; again, not certain, and not clear how it will affect his family dynamic. Plus travel costs / any extras Vanderbilt may require overall. KU is $13,766 on the table per year, reduced travel, possible parental contribution, possible work contribution.
@Anhydrite: Vanderbilt does not package loans. It means that the costs are $22,150 after grant/scholarships,all inclusive except for travel costs (COA at Vanderbilt is all-inclusive, and it budgets $2,780 for personal expenses, as well as $1370 for books, both of which can be trimmed considerably by renting books or buying them used, by not going out and enjoying the free entertainment on campus, etc. Lower income kids certainly do NOT spend $4,000 a year on books and entertainment/“Miscellaneous” ie., toothpaste and beer.)
The parents can pay $10-11,000. That leaves about $11,000. OP can take on federal loans ($5,500, which she has a right to, and which are not packaged in the financial aid), that leaves $5,500. By being frugal (ie. sharing a ride, etc.) OP should easily trim $500. Now, $5,000 are left. OP can work, part time starting now, full time in the summer. It seems reasonable that OP can earn $2,500-3,500 between May and August, even at minimum wage (3 months at $900, plus two weeks in August and/or any part time hours for now should easily reach $3,000 and if OP works 3 months for 1,100 - not impossible at all - plus 2 weeks in August, then most of the amount is covered even without a loan.) That’s why I estimate the loan parents would have to take as $1,500. It could be a bit less or more, but that’s pretty much the extent of it.
@CluelessinKS: how much would your parents and you have to pay directly to Vanderbilt, versus books and other estimates which depend on your own choices? Can you email them and ask how much you’d have to pay per semester (or per month if on the 10 month plan) directly to Vanderbilt?
By the way there’s a no-interest, 10-month payment plan https://finance.vanderbilt.edu/stuaccts/payments/options-fall.php
OK, thanks MYOS. Now your logic is clear. That $1,500 PLUS loan per year for the parents is a pretty tight estimate, but may be possible.
This always depends upon the individual family situation, but I do think if the means are available, it is not unreasonable for parents to (roughly) match the loan burden that a student would have to take on. (Frankly, I’m not a fan of student loans for undergraduate education at all, but that’s another discussion).
It is still up to the OP if that extra burden is worth taking on for Vanderbilt.
Update: I appealed to Vanderbilt’s financial aid and they were able to give me an additional $5,000 in grant money. So, I would now be paying around $19k/year - minus work study ($2300) + plus travel costs. This has helped me feel a lot better about choosing Vanderbilt, because I now feel as if I could be taking out no more than $7k/year in personal loans (with parents co-signing.) Thank you so much, @MYOS1634 for your advice on the appeal to the financial aid department.
19K - (parents’ contribution 10K + 5.5K in federal loans + a part time job starting now 2.5-3K ) and it’s very doable
Congratulations and don’t forget to keep us updated!
@cluelessinKS it’s a ton of work, but don’t forget the independent scholarships! I’ve gotten 5,000 so far, and haven’t heard back from most of mine. But it can make a difference especially if you put you’re going to Vanderbilt!
@dancelance Oh, I haven’t forgotten! I’ve filled out a lot already and I haven’t heard back from most, but I know I’ll at least have $1500 in outside scholarships for this upcoming year! But thank you for the reminder, as I clearly need to keep working at it!
Thank you all so much for the kind words! I am very excited and I now feel as if my nerves towards Vandy are normal college nerves, as opposed to fear of enormous debt!
