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Thread: Student Loans worth it ?

  1. #11
    Skarl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jules View Post
    Yeah, when I met with the admissions people from the college I want to go to they said its because with AP credits I'm not taking the basic level science classes that I could take at a community college. They gave me a list of the classes I'd most likely take freshman and sophomore year and some weren't offered at the community college near me anyways.
    That's strange. I took AP and IB classes (almost a decade ago, wow) and didn't have any problem getting credits to transfer from state-to-state and institution-to-institution. Sounds kinda like a pride things with your folks not wanting you to go to community college. Assuming they'll be paying for your education: it's ironic to me that you're concerned with being frugal. I thought you were concerned with not being six-figures in debt when you graduate... so I must've misunderstood something somewhere. x_o; Sorry!

  2. #12
    Jules's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skarl View Post
    That's strange. I took AP and IB classes (almost a decade ago, wow) and didn't have any problem getting credits to transfer from state-to-state and institution-to-institution. Sounds kinda like a pride things with your folks not wanting you to go to community college. Assuming they'll be paying for your education: it's ironic to me that you're concerned with being frugal. I thought you were concerned with not being six-figures in debt when you graduate... so I must've misunderstood something somewhere. x_o; Sorry!
    It's definitely a pride thing for my parents, they think I'm a lot smarter than I am. My dad actually thinks I can get into Princeton and I'm the one who's like, no dad, I really can't. They're paying for $20,000 a year for college, so if I went to a school that cost $60,000 a year, after 4 years, I'd be around $160,000 in debt. My mom wants me to go to Rutgers because it's so cheap and they'd accept community college credits, but I just really don't want to. I don't really have problems with taking out student loans if I have to, my only concern is I just don't know if its worth it just to go to my dream school when there are cheaper options.

  3. #13

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    I personally am going to a much cheaper community college for my first two years, then plan to transfer out. No one pays attention to where you started, just where you graduated from. /: So much cheaper for me in the long run. Just as long as you check with the school you want to transfer to that the community college's credits transfer, you're good. Don't talk to the community college about it though, they might just want you to go there. Talk to the colleges you plan to transfer to.

  4. #14
    Skarl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jules View Post
    I just don't know if its worth it just to go to my dream school when there are cheaper options.
    Go anywhere that will transfer to your dream school that is cheaper, but finish out your degree at your ideal institution? That way your piece of paper says, "dream school loves me blahblahblah" but your transcript -- that no one will care about once you have your degree -- says, "I went to cheaper institution(s) to make this happen because I'm grown and frugal." If you want to be frugal. If not, go for it and maybe cry about it in 4-8 years when ya finish whatever degree you're after.

    ---------- Post added at 09:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by sree View Post
    Talk to the colleges you plan to transfer to.
    Very wise advice. Talk to the company you want to work for, too!

    My ex wanted to design video games so badly and almost fell for that Phoenix online stuff (which transfers no where) because he felt like they wanted him since they pursued him.

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    sree (11-18-2013)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skarl View Post
    Very wise advice. Talk to the company you want to work for, too!

    My ex wanted to design video games so badly and almost fell for that Phoenix online stuff (which transfers no where) because he felt like they wanted him since they pursued him.
    I keep hearing about people getting cheated by online colleges, so I did my best to research. The school I'm going to is affiliated with my hopeful college's system and it's guaranteed to transfer, rather than my chancing it with other colleges.

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    Skarl (11-18-2013)

  8. #16
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    I'd say it depends on what you want to do. It's a general rule of thumb that if you want to go to a professional school (especially med school) you shouldn't do your prereq's at a community college. This is generally seen as "taking the easy way out" because it's easier. It's just very frowned upon by most people that answer "chances threads" for med school. A university would also better prepare you for MCATs because in theory the material should be "harder".

    I think you should ONLY go to a private school for undergrad if you get some where very impressive in your field. One of my biggest regrets is turning down NYU. I applied there as a finance major (#2 program in the nation - and they knocked 2/3rds of the tuition off). I know personally people that have walked out of NYU's business programs and gotten internships on wall street and secured jobs there.
    I don't see the benefit of going to private schools that can't give you connections like that, just a waste of money.

  9. #17
    Jules's Avatar
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    @(you need an account to see links) basically answered my question. NYU is one my dream schools but it's so expensive, but everyone tells me it would be a bad idea to do two years of community college and then go to nyu and try to get into med school. I don't know, I have the grades to get in but I have no clue if that's worth it

  10. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sociopath View Post
    I'd say it depends on what you want to do. It's a general rule of thumb that if you want to go to a professional school (especially med school) you shouldn't do your prereq's at a community college. This is generally seen as "taking the easy way out" because it's easier. It's just very frowned upon by most people that answer "chances threads" for med school. A university would also better prepare you for MCATs because in theory the material should be "harder".
    Really? Most of the people I've talked to who are in pretty legit grad school have done their prereqs at community colleges, due to costs and loans. And I went to my state's university for a semester, the classes hardness are pretty much the same as the community college's.

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    Skarl (11-18-2013)

  12. #19

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    To answer the original question:



    Aside from your credit history, it also depends on your current income level/financial dependency, as well as the jurisdiction of your State's student loan policies (if you're going for government loans instead of private bank loans). If you haven't already estimated out a loan amount or breakdown of its distribution, you should try that or apply anyways.

    I don't know how they process loans in your area, but here, they will send you an initial form for you to sign to confirm loan acceptance, so there is no commitment until you've seen all the details and agree to terms of the loan yourself. If you or your parents (if dependent) are in a low-income bracket, you're more likely to receive higher loan amounts, as well as free government aid.

    The whole point is to test if you may receive any free $$$ through government grants, bursaries, or scholarships, which you wouldn't have a shot at all if you never applied.
    But I'm not American (if OP is), so it may be done differently in your area (esp. if your State is going through rough times); at least skim the policies before making a judgment.

    In my first year of school, 2/3rds of my total payout was in the form of non-repayable frees, though it dropped more and more with each successive year of study, .

    ---

    If you or your family is well off, you'll probably receive little to nothing in terms of these benefits, but it's still a good idea to look these things up.

  13. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by sree View Post
    the classes hardness are pretty much the same as the community college's.
    What's humorous to me is that the institution I attend now rags on the 2-year school that recommends students to it for not being rigorous... but I'm the only student in one of my classes to have an A and I rank in the top percentile in all of those in which I'm enrolled. While the facility I go to now isn't a cake walk by any means, it is definitely easier than the college I originally attended in '06.

    I think these opinions are sometimes subjective and that the student's effort and vigor for their studies has more impact on their performance on exams / at life than folks allow credit for when analyzing these aspects of our educational system (also, this is clearly the best run-on sentence of all time. I am leaving it. ).
    Last edited by Skarl; 11-18-2013 at 10:20 PM.

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