Freshman daughter wants to transfer from NAU (full ride scholarship) to ASU (40k in loans). (degree, reputation)
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I am a concerned dad that is dealing with a situation where my freshman daughter wants to leave Northern Arizona University after this semester where she has a full ride for 4 years in scholarships and grants to attend Arizona State where she will end up with at least $30,000 in student loans by the time she graduates. Her major for both schools will be biology with emphasis in wildlife conservation and ecology (a major that I know is hard to get a job in after graduation) and a minor in Spanish. I just don't want her to be in debt by that amount in student loans without getting a job in her field of study or a matter of fact any kind of job in the biological sciences field. What is really the killer here is she wants to transfer because she feels ASU has better school spirit, they can do more for her academically and will be more enjoyable to attend. Bored at NAU. I think its more related to a ASU male student athlete swimmer she met while on winter break but she won't admit it of course. What's a dad going to do in this situation? Just let her go and find out for herself the consequences of making a bad choice or continue to try to convince her that this would be a incomprehensible decision at least in my opinion anyway which may strain our relationship for years to come. Anyone have any opinions in regards to this? She is a great student who has done well all through high school and her 1st year of college and never considered ASU last year when we where looking at schools to attend. My wife and I just want her to get a good education without loans to deal with later. Thanks.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Tough one. This was my major and it is a tough field, indeed, but it is a great field too.
30k isn't much. How much better is the ASU program? I'm in a different region so I don't know the reputation of those two schools.
Not sure what you can do other than lay it out for her and let her make her own mistakes. Or at least try to string it out a little until the fling with the swimmer falls apart
Don't let is strain your relationship though, especially if she is paying for the schooling.
Why did she never consider Arizona State before? While some people say $30k "isn't much" it is.
My daughter wanted to change high schools during sophomore year. She had a couple friends from the cross town school and thought that her life would be better but in the end she stayed put and just doubled her social outlets since the other school wasn't that far away. Maybe your daughter can be encouraged to do the same? I would be upset if one of my kids upended their life plan for a guy/girl because that's rarely a good reason to do anything at age 18. Maybe she can study at NAU and party as ASU on occasion.
Maybe you could convince her to stay one more year. If she still feels the same way after her second year, agree that she should transfer. Hopefully it will blow over by then.
Also, do the math with her regarding the $30K or more plus interest she may have to borrow. Use a financial calculator to show her what the payment will be every month for the term of the loan. Show her how much of a dent that will make in her take home pay. Throw in rent, a car payment (if that applies), food, clothing, utilities, health insurance and give her the full picture of what it means to have to pay that loan off.
I wonder if the swimmer is at ASU on athletic scholarship. Would he give up his scholarship to transfer to her?
I am a concerned dad that is dealing with a situation where my freshman daughter wants to leave Northern Arizona University after this semester where she has a full ride for 4 years in scholarships and grants to attend Arizona State where she will end up with at least $30,000 in student loans by the time she graduates. Her major for both schools will be biology with emphasis in wildlife conservation and ecology (a major that I know is hard to get a job in after graduation) and a minor in Spanish. I just don't want her to be in debt by that amount in student loans without getting a job in her field of study or a matter of fact any kind of job in the biological sciences field. What is really the killer here is she wants to transfer because she feels ASU has better school spirit, they can do more for her academically and will be more enjoyable to attend. Bored at NAU. I think its more related to a ASU male student athlete swimmer she met while on winter break but she won't admit it of course. What's a dad going to do in this situation? Just let her go and find out for herself the consequences of making a bad choice or continue to try to convince her that this would be a incomprehensible decision at least in my opinion anyway which may strain our relationship for years to come. Anyone have any opinions in regards to this? She is a great student who has done well all through high school and her 1st year of college and never considered ASU last year when we where looking at schools to attend. My wife and I just want her to get a good education without loans to deal with later. Thanks.
She's about to make a pretty stupid decision, because she does not understand the impact of those loans. It's hard to understand when you've never actually had to work and support yourself. ASU is not that great a school - certainly not 30K worth. If you can stop her, then do it. Otherwise, she will regret her decision eventually. Unfortunately, if you do manage to stop her, she'll probably blame you for something anyway, since she won't know the bullet she dodged. Maybe you can show her somehow what those payments look like in terms of job salaries and what you have left after rent, utilities, food, etc. If she could see that the payment will basically make it impossible for her to do anything but work, and what's worse, she will lose out on many opportunities in her field because she has to make money to pay the loan. A lot of really cool stuff in her field involves not making a lot of money for a while and being able to go live in a cabin or on a boat and swim with whales or whatever, and you can't do any of that if you end up having to take a hideously boring admin assistant job just to keep up your payments. I know first hand how loans can impact your career, and even pretty much ruin it. So if you can possibly make her see reason, do it.
To add to what I just said - most good jobs in wildlife biology require a graduate degree, often a PhD. So she is probably going to incur some loans - maybe a lot of loans - for that. Starting out 30K in debt already could actually mean her loan total will be astronomical when it's all finished.
With current interest rates (4.66% for undergrads), on a 10 year payment plan the net amount repaid on 30k borrowed would be about 38k, with monthly payments of $316.
It would actually be a smidge higher than that since at least some of the loans would be unsubsidized and would accrue interest while she's in school - I didn't factor that growth in which is minimal overall but still notable.
Location: SF Bay Area /on the banks of Waikaea Canal
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Quote:
Originally Posted by timberline742
. How much better is the ASU program? I'm in a different region so I don't know the reputation of those two schools..
Timberline - since you and I are/were in similar fields (I was forestry - disliked those wildlife population dynamics classes) NAU is THE natural resource management school in the SW. University of Arizona lost it's SAF accredited Watershed Management degree decades ago and ASU, with exception of wildland fire historian Stephen Pyne, has nothing in the way of resource management.
Not commenting on the OP's situation , just 'say'in about what the OP's daughter wants to pursue her academic interests.
Being a semester and some into her school year, I think the "grass is greener" might be applying here as well. I like the suggestion that she try one more year where she is with the understanding that she gives it a fair shot by participating in some clubs, activities, etc. If she really wants to transfer because of a boy, hopefully that need will be gone by this time next year. I'm sure you could ask people here and come up with 100's of examples of people they know that transferred because of a boy/girl or picked a college because their boyfriend/girlfriend attended and it did not work out....not that she will listen because she's 18/19 and knows everything.
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