General Discussion

WCGreen

(45,558 posts) Mon Dec 30, 2013, 10:09 PM Dec 2013

Some advice to those who are getting ready to plan out your College Education...

And this is for people who are going to take on debt in order to earn a degree.

Right out of High School, my dad dropped the bomb that he wasn't going to be able to help me for the foreseeable future. He had his issues. I had planned on heading down 1-71 to become a buckeye. I was disappointed and decided to take transferable classes at the local Community College.

So for three years of part time school, I took all the basic requirements and made certain that the credits would transfer to Ohio State. I also ran for and served on the Student Council, wrote a few articles for the School Paper, dated a few really nice women and made friends I still stay in touch with 35 years later.

But what I did know, because I visited a few friends at Ohio State, was I missed out on Dorm Life. But then again, I didn't have to shell out a couple of thousand dollars to live in the dorm. Oh I paid rent to my mom and moved out for the last year in town. Still, I was able to save up a good amount of money to pay for OSU.

So when it came to head to OSU, all I needed that first year was living expenses and books. I paid tuition with Student Loans. I took a job at a deli for spending money and free food.

My last year and a half at Ohio State, I got a great job with the Ohio House of representative. This was good because only students could work at the House and Senate.

The last two Quarters I came back to Cleveland to finish up at Cleveland State.

Sure I missed out on a lot of stuff that goes along with College life.

I was able to pay down my modest debt within 5 years.

I sacrificed a lot and to this day I wax nostalgic about the girls I could have met if I was not working so much but I ended up with a beautiful and loving woman to slog through (lol) and a lot of my college friends have reached out to me when they found out I was have major health issues.

Just think about what it is you really want from College. Do you want your education be about socializing and making "contacts" or do you want to get an education.

Just plan things out.

5 replies

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Some advice to those who are getting ready to plan out your College Education... (Original Post) WCGreen Dec 2013 OP

You have been there and as a result you know what you're talking about. CaliforniaPeggy Dec 2013 #1

My nephews are planning expensive educations. hollysmom Dec 2013 #2

A community college or "commuter" (state) college may be a good choice! MissB Dec 2013 #3

I went that route ( taking pre reqs at a community college ) darkangel218 Dec 2013 #4

Book rec on the exact issues you raise: FSogol Dec 2013 #5

CaliforniaPeggy

(149,627 posts)

1. You have been there and as a result you know what you're talking about.

Reply to WCGreen (Original post)

Mon Dec 30, 2013, 10:12 PM

Dec 2013

The wise student will listen...

Happy New Year, Chris!

hollysmom

(5,946 posts)

2. My nephews are planning expensive educations.

Reply to WCGreen (Original post)

Mon Dec 30, 2013, 10:15 PM

Dec 2013

I have tried to convince them and their families that Rutgers is a good school and with the discount for residents they can start off ahead of others by not starting in debt and my brother and his wife can retire some day. - he thinks he will never retire and that he will always be healthy - .
It is 13,500 for commuters and 25,100 for living on campus. They have about 80K saved up for their education with 2 more years to save ( thanks to my parents leaving them money and family donations to their college fund). I would hate to see them blow it in one year at another college.

MissB

(15,810 posts)

3. A community college or "commuter" (state) college may be a good choice!

Reply to WCGreen (Original post)

Mon Dec 30, 2013, 11:03 PM

Dec 2013

But costs have gone up dramatically since you (or I) were in college! The state universities here are running $23k/year for instate, and the two "flagship" universities require that freshmen live in the dorms for the first year. The local commuter state university doesn't impose that, and of course neither do the CCs.

But students can still ONLY borrow $5500 in their name for their freshman year (then $6500, then $7500 for the last two years). That's a heck of a gap between $23k and $5500!

High school kids should be looking at AP tests (or CLEP, depending on the state). Those are cheap compared to the cost of taking the equivalent college class. At the local state u, a 4 or 5 on the calculus AB exam will "give" you 8 credits (2 math classes) worth of credit. And the AP tests are much cheaper than tuition.

If kids are able to take dual enrollment while in high school, they should be saving notebooks for each class in case the university that they end up at will consider giving them credit. There isn't a whole lot of uniformity in the naming of college classes, but comparing syllabuses may be an option.

Taking the PSAT as a sophomore in high school for practice is a great strategy as well. Then studying for the PSAT/SAT for junior year and try to get a score high enough to be a national merit scholar finalist (minimum score varies by state). Many colleges give scholarships (some including the cost of tuition) to kids that hit this bar. The minimum SAT score required is usually no big deal if your kid can qualify at the PSAT level.

darkangel218

(13,985 posts)

4. I went that route ( taking pre reqs at a community college )

Reply to WCGreen (Original post)

Mon Dec 30, 2013, 11:11 PM

Dec 2013

The loans I took for my core classes are still incredibly high.

FSogol

(45,488 posts)

5. Book rec on the exact issues you raise:

Reply to WCGreen (Original post)

Mon Dec 30, 2013, 11:12 PM

Dec 2013

"Debt-Free U, How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents" by Zac Bissonnette.

Highly recommend it.

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