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We can talk about this in a general theoretical way but I'm posting the question specifically with my son in mind, in terms of advising him.
He is 21 and you could call him a late bloomer. He graduated HS but has struggled with "what to do" and has gone back and forth with regards to whether or not he wants to go to college, get a four year degree, complete a 2 year vocational program, etc. He's even talked about maybe joining the military. In the meantime he works, lives at home, contributes to the household, but as far as plans, seems kind of "stuck".
I don't have an issue with him living at home, like I said, he contributes, so let's not get sidetracked with that.
Long story short; there is no college fund for him. I am a full time student myself, he will qualify for the full Pell grant and have an EFC of zero. Lately he has been talking about wanting to go to school and live on campus but he is still not sure of his long term educational plans. Personally, I never had that experience and always wished I had but life took a different turn (in the form of having my son) when I was 20 and my college education was put on hold for a good 16 years.
For my son, choosing to live on campus will definitely mean SOME loans. Choosing a community college option instead will mean he can live at home and not have to borrow. Pell will cover it all for him and he won't have to work as much while in school either.
As much as I, personally, romanticize the "traditional college experience" (because I never had it), as someone who went to CC then transferred it is hard for me to see how that experience outweighs the financial realities; the CC price tag is about 1/4 even the lowest cost state school here. Just seems to make the most sense for those first 2 years of gen ed/core classes. It kills me to pay the tuition I pay now after having transferred, especially when it comes to some classes I realize I could have taken at the CC but did not and now I am taking the same exact courses for 4x the money.
The CC option, for full time (15 hours), is about $2000 per academic year and my tuition at the four year school is $9100. With articulation agreements, everything he takes will transfer so that's not a concern as long as he doesn't do what I did (took too many CC hours because of indecision).
So, I have advised him to consider the CC route for now, especially since he is not sure what he plans to do, and then if he has solid plans in a couple of years that include a four year degree, and he hasn't decided on a vocational sort of program instead, he could still opt to do the on-campus thing at that point as a transfer student. Is this a bad idea though? He'd be 23 at that point. I mean, it is all up to him but he is asking me what I think so... I guess he could always transfer, live on campus, then if he hates it or decides it's not worth the money he can change his plans.
What school does he want to go to? Im planning on starting in September at nassau community college and I know a lot of people who have gone to dorm and come back home and don't like it, I've always wanted to go out and dorm but I'm not really ttrying to drown in debt. But idk It just all depends what he school he's looking into and how far from home he wants to go
I would avoid taking out any loans until he has a clearer direction. Wanting to live on campus, but not knowing what he wants to go to school for seems bass ackwards to me.
Why don't you have him go to school with you Sally?
That'd be one of the coolest things ever.
Maybe not for the son! He may be curling up inside at the thought. I loved my college years which were practically free... I say that because they were debt free. Your son, Sally, will be fine going the cc route sans mom. Those 2 years will fly by and time for the junior year will be there. I'm hoping the people who post as if the only education is a school that ranks in the top 20 go fly a kite.
We can talk about this in a general theoretical way but I'm posting the question specifically with my son in mind, in terms of advising him.
He is 21 and you could call him a late bloomer. He graduated HS but has struggled with "what to do" and has gone back and forth with regards to whether or not he wants to go to college, get a four year degree, complete a 2 year vocational program, etc. He's even talked about maybe joining the military. In the meantime he works, lives at home, contributes to the household, but as far as plans, seems kind of "stuck".
I don't have an issue with him living at home, like I said, he contributes, so let's not get sidetracked with that.
Long story short; there is no college fund for him. I am a full time student myself, he will qualify for the full Pell grant and have an EFC of zero. Lately he has been talking about wanting to go to school and live on campus but he is still not sure of his long term educational plans. Personally, I never had that experience and always wished I had but life took a different turn (in the form of having my son) when I was 20 and my college education was put on hold for a good 16 years.
For my son, choosing to live on campus will definitely mean SOME loans. Choosing a community college option instead will mean he can live at home and not have to borrow. Pell will cover it all for him and he won't have to work as much while in school either.
As much as I, personally, romanticize the "traditional college experience" (because I never had it), as someone who went to CC then transferred it is hard for me to see how that experience outweighs the financial realities; the CC price tag is about 1/4 even the lowest cost state school here. Just seems to make the most sense for those first 2 years of gen ed/core classes. It kills me to pay the tuition I pay now after having transferred, especially when it comes to some classes I realize I could have taken at the CC but did not and now I am taking the same exact courses for 4x the money.
The CC option, for full time (15 hours), is about $2000 per academic year and my tuition at the four year school is $9100. With articulation agreements, everything he takes will transfer so that's not a concern as long as he doesn't do what I did (took too many CC hours because of indecision).
So, I have advised him to consider the CC route for now, especially since he is not sure what he plans to do, and then if he has solid plans in a couple of years that include a four year degree, and he hasn't decided on a vocational sort of program instead, he could still opt to do the on-campus thing at that point as a transfer student. Is this a bad idea though? He'd be 23 at that point. I mean, it is all up to him but he is asking me what I think so... I guess he could always transfer, live on campus, then if he hates it or decides it's not worth the money he can change his plans.
It is not worth having loans. I'm not even sure "campus life" is a good idea at all for your son. While many students may romanticize their college days, plenty of others are miserable, depressed, lost, confused, lonely, and so on. Those who are not really committed to an education often lose focus early, either because they are partying too much or because they don't have the self-discipline or motivation to work hard on their own, away from parental influence. Those students fail out or drop out and just end up back home. You son sounds like he is still wishy washy about his plans - I think setting off for a pricey teen party heaven is probably not the best idea.
CC is the best route for now. But "a couple of years" is kind of silly - why would it take that long if he is full time (or isn't he)? If he goes full time, he should be able to get 60 credits (transfer amount) in 2 years absolute maximum, hopefully less if he goes to school in summer. Don't make it sound so vague - have a specific time and a specific goal for transferring and stick to it.
You can make a decision about living on campus when you come to that bridge.
Why don't you have him go to school with you Sally?
That'd be one of the coolest things ever.
Ha ha, funny! We have a good relationship. I'd like to keep it that way!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rubi3
Maybe not for the son! He may be curling up inside at the thought. I loved my college years which were practically free... I say that because they were debt free. Your son, Sally, will be fine going the cc route sans mom. Those 2 years will fly by and time for the junior year will be there. I'm hoping the people who post as if the only education is a school that ranks in the top 20 go fly a kite.
But do you think living on campus for the first time at 23 is going to be weird? I know there are threads here about that very topic... It'll be up to him but I wonder if others think 23 is "too late" for that experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by plmokn
I think it is a great question from the original poster. Two ways to get from A to B. A cheap, no frills, way or an expensive college experience way.
I don't know the answer. It's up to you and how much you and he value the traditional college experience.
You might review what you can do with the money not spent on college and look at that as a benefit.
The money is a huge factor for sure. I guess my issue is, I don't know anything about what the "traditional college experience" is really like, having never had it myself, and I am a first generation college student at 42 years old, so I don't have family members who have had that experience either. It's new territory for us both, you know?
Quote:
Originally Posted by marie5v
It is not worth having loans. I'm not even sure "campus life" is a good idea at all for your son. While many students may romanticize their college days, plenty of others are miserable, depressed, lost, confused, lonely, and so on. Those who are not really committed to an education often lose focus early, either because they are partying too much or because they don't have the self-discipline or motivation to work hard on their own, away from parental influence. Those students fail out or drop out and just end up back home. You son sounds like he is still wishy washy about his plans - I think setting off for a pricey teen party heaven is probably not the best idea.
Good points. He is still very undecided. He's not a partier though at all. He has a beer with friends maybe twice a year so I am not really concerned about that. I think he just likes the idea of the whole on-campus dorm thing but hell, like me, that idea comes from movies and television, quite frankly!
Quote:
CC is the best route for now. But "a couple of years" is kind of silly - why would it take that long if he is full time (or isn't he)? If he goes full time, he should be able to get 60 credits (transfer amount) in 2 years absolute maximum, hopefully less if he goes to school in summer. Don't make it sound so vague - have a specific time and a specific goal for transferring and stick to it.
You can make a decision about living on campus when you come to that bridge.
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Re: "couple of years" -- (couple meaning two) -- two years, full time, because he will need to work during summer, and if he's not borrowing anything then Pell only covers the Spring & Fall semesters anyway. At least, last I checked.
I do think / hope that while he is working on freshman basic stuff if he goes the CC route he'll start to get a better feel for what he wants to do long-term, explore various programs available both Associate's and Bachelor's, as well as help him realize his strengths and weaknesses with regard to various subjects.
He can get a bit of the full college experience by living with a roommate in an apartment near San Antonio College. SAC has about $26,000 students, so it's larger than some universities. He can work part-time in order to afford his share of the bills. The leftover Pell grant money (should be around $3,000 after tuition and books) should be enough to supplement his income.
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