I received this comment from Chelsea on my article on how to pay for college when you’re own. I already emailed her back with some suggestions, but it looks like she could use a lot of ideas. What do you think she should do?
Hello. I am a college student currently taking out 45 grand a year to pay for college. I am a double major in classics and english lit, and will no doubt be starting my publishing career at a measly 30 grand or so a year. My parents make too much money for me to get a cent from the school or the government. While I completely agree with the fact that I appreciate my experience at school much more than others who are having their way paid, I will be living as a college student well after my bachelors degree because my monthly bill will be astronomical (1600 or so). In all reality, your options dont work for everyone. I work 30 hours a week and am taking 17 credit hours this term. The time Im spending working is really fruitless, as it goes towards things such as rent, the cable and the electric etc. I do not spend my money partying as others might and most of the time barely keep my head above water every month. Its unnerving to think that Ill still be living this way 10 years after my graduation. I would consider the military, but it seems to me that a degree in english lit and classics would do me absolutely no good there. I would never use them, and while some may be in these degree programs to “just get a degree” I am not. Id like to use the education I am paying so much for. If I wanted to only “get a degree” I might choose a more rewarding one when it comes to income and not simply doing what I love. I wouldnt mind working “part time” I guess you could say to serve my country and help foot the education bill, but every option seems to have the minor possibility of going overseas. Going overseas surely takes me away from NYC/Boston or any other big publishing city. Are there any more ideas for me? I get tiny amounts of money from the scholarships I find online, and while I know every little bit helps, it sometimes feels fruitless. I just wanted to know if there were any more resources I havent tapped in to. Im soon to be 180,000 in debt and making 30 a year. (Before moving up, obviously) Im at a good school (University of Miami) and dont want to give that “name brand” up for a state school education, which seeing as Im not a Florida resident, would really save me very minimal money in the end while losing the experience at this school that I love. Help??
Every decision one makes has consequences that must be dealt with. Her decision to stay at that school is costing her $45K/year. Her decision to avoid the military removes a potential way to pay for school (and give great stories for later writing). Her “name brand” fixation prevents her from looking at other qualified schools. Something’s going to have to give if she’s going to see some change.
What would you suggest for her? How would you go about fixing the situation if it were you?
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Caveman, I think you’re quite right in stating that every decision has consequences. Ultimately, Chelsea has made certain decisions and has certain priorities (i.e. not going overseas / not joining the military / not swithcing schools) that carry with them certain burdens. I certainly wouldn’t condemn her decisions, either- I’ve made similar ones myself and don’t regret them. However, the reality is that they come at a price and there’s no easy way to avoid it.
It sounds like Chelsea already knows the standard “omg u can save $$ on school” tips, such as looking for scholarships, working part time, etc. Increasing the hours she works might help a little, but unless she decides to supplement her income by working as a drug mule it’s not likely to make any sizeable difference. She could also reduce living expenses as much as possible to save a little more in that category. It’s not going to solve the problem, but it will help a little.
My advice would be this: decide if the decisions you have made (expensive school, expensive city, low starting salary) justify the cost you’re paying for them. If you think they do, continue on as you are, do your best to keep costs low, and accept that the path you have chosen will have long term implications. If not, reevaluate your decisions and find a compromise that better suits your ultimate goals. Good luck!
I was in the military, and while you may not use your degree exactly as you would wish to, you may find jobs that give you ways to remain close to the field such as PR, Base historian, journalism, etc. While not an exact fit, you would be exposed to the media and communication career fields. You may also find that the military has certain loan repayment programs or ROTC, which could pay for part of your schooling now. Be sure to get anything in writing before signing any paperwork.
In addition, there are quite a few public service jobs that will repay your debt (or a portion of your debt) in return for signing a multi-year commitment to work for their organization. There are programs at both the state and national level.
If those options aren’t acceptable to you, then you have a choice: continue paying $45k per year and accept the fact that you will have massive debt when you graduate, or get your degree from a less expensive school. Good luck.
“dont want to give that “name brand” up for a state school education”
Why are you going to such an expensive school if you cannot or are not willing to make changes to afford it? Plenty of people get a good, make that great, education at public or community colleges.
You do know that 95% of people go to colleges that don’t have “brand name” recognition, yet most of them have good jobs, right? In fact, not once since I graduated college 14 years ago has an employer asked or cared where I went to school – only that I did go.
This is like making minimum wage yet leasing a BMW; priorities seem out of whack, and something needs to give – fast. Work more, take less classes per semester so you can pay as you go, change schools – there are a lot of things you could do, but you don’t seem willing to do any of them.
Your current choices are dooming you. The system is playing you for a fool.
My advice:
Quit.
Go get a real degree at a state school, after first spending two years at juco getting the basics. I freakin’ love my state school education. It’s never held me back.
If you want to write, then write. You don’t need a degree for it. I write and I have a real degree (acct) with a real job.
This sound harsh, but you need to wake up to reality and stop living in a dream world.
School loans are not bad debt. Yes, they are a lot of debt, but the rates are fixed and it quite a different kind of debt than credit card debt.
The first thing I would recommend is not only working part time, but seeing if a campus job is available. Sometimes they offer far better benefits in terms of school opportunities than other non-academic jobs. Also, there are a lots of ways to raise additional income in addition to your full time job once out of school – work a second part time job, sell items on eBay, etc. http://www.moolanomy.com/ has some great articles about earning extra funds.
I wouldn’t change schools if you love it there, but look for ways to add to your income so you can keep your debt down and pay it down faster once you are out. The important thing is to stay focused and be creative. Lots of people are in your situation and find ways to make it work, why should you be one of them?
PT, I agree with your advice, but fail to see how english lit and classics is any more or less “real” of a degree than accounting. You don’t need an english degree to write, but you also don’t need an accounting degree to count.
Hey guys,
First off I want to thank everyone for their responses. I really appreciate all of your ideas. I do have a few things I forgot to mention. I did do my first year at a junior college, however it was out of state and did not save me nearly as much money as it could have due to my own choice to move away from home as soon as possible. It cost me around 12,000, which obviously is a big savings from 45, but still maybe wasnt my best decision. However I cant say I regret it because moving away from home (Albany Ny) taught me so much, and I also met my boyfriend in the town I moved to last year. Please, before you condemn me on making decisions based on another person at such a young age, I do want to stress that we moved to Miami together for the both of us. Not only do I love the school I am at I love Miami, and I love my life here. However, I can absolutely see the benefit in the long run of going home for two more years and dealing with the drawbacks for the financial betterment of my future. The same double degree will cost me 8,000 over two years instead of 80,000 if I attend The University of Albany. However, there is only one school in the Albany area that offers neuroscience, my boyfriends degree, and it is not necessarily known as a research based institution. While I agree that in the end for me the fact that I graduate from Ualbany wont matter so much, it will make a huge difference for James when he applies to med school. A neuroscience degree from the University of Miami is highly respected, while Union isnt known really for the sciences. They are more of a liberal arts school. He might even end up paying more to go to a school with less oppurtunities. Right now he pays a mere 6,000 a year to attend UM, and Union isnt as well known for their scholarships. Id basically be asking him to do a huge disservice to himself and move away from the life we both love here to have less oppurtunity. This might be less of a problem for me if I wasnt so happy where I am. Although, as I say Im happy, it is true that the prospect of trying to live on 1500 a month in NYC (publshing being my career of choice) keeps me up at night, and in the end Im miserable anyway. A good example of this is last night, when I should have been studying for finals but was so wracked with worry and trying to find a way out of the hole I’ve dug for myself I was searching the internet (again) for more options. I talked to James about the prospect of Albany, and true to form he is considering it seriously even though it makes no sense in any way for him. Well be going home to Albany for Christmas, and we’ll be looking at the schools there. Its just very frustrating. I thank all of you for dealing with my ridiculously long posts, and I do understand how my own decisions are condeming me. However, PT, I also would like to know why accounting is more of a degree than English Lit and Classics, or why working in publishing is a “dream world” compared to being an accountant. Dawn I thank you for your reply, I just figured Id let you know I cant get a job on campus becasue 99.9% of them are through the work study program, and my parents make too much money for me to be considered. Apparently the government assumes Im getting millions of dollars a month from them, who knows. I will certainly check out the website you reccomended, probably after finals as I’ve vowed to stop thinking about this until after Tuesday afternoon (my last and most dreaded final) and get some work done. As for the military, I am certainly by no means well educated on all of the oppurtunities. But there is a reason they pay so much to have you join. I am going to check it out in more detail soon, but for right now from what I know, you are handing over your life when you sign the paperwork, and Im really unsure of how that fits in with my plans. From the limited information I have about it, it isnt the right option for me. However like I said I will certainly look into what they offer. Moneygrubbinglawer, I thank you very much for your reply and appreciate your input. It really is going to come down to what Im willing to change, or to deal with my choices as an adult. Thank you all again.
Chelsea
It comes down to prioritizing what you want. I had to make those decisions. I moved back home this time around, decided that a brand name school isn’t worth the cost, and plan to save for a brand name grad school to study urban planning or real estate. I attended a brand name school for undergrad but I never found great value in it. I thought it was an overpriced experience.
Accounting is not more of a degree than English Lit or Classics. A sociology professor I had told me that It’s true accountants may make more money straight out of college but it’s up to the individual to decide how much money they want to make. Accountant and engineers tend to top out after a time. I found an article when I was in college that verified his statement. However, I can see so many advantages blending the liberal arts and business so… that’s what I’m doing. I’m blending so sociology love with finance.
A brand name college doesn’t mean that you’ll have a much better shot to get into grad school/med school.
There are other cities that is heavily involved in publishing like Chicago. You also don’t have to live in the trendiest neighborhoods to enjoy your time in the city.
As someone mentioned, you can freelance on the side. You can freelance now.
The financial aid system is broken. My parents (a non union factory worker and a registered nurse) are very middle class parents that happened to work overtime. The government and my school decided that they earned too much to give us grants but they did extend Stafford loans to me.
I can’t advise you to move back home because if your
boyfriend moves back to NY with you, he might have to pay out of state tuition. I’ve learned that it might be better if he stayed at University of Miami. (My brand name school points and laughs at your brand name school. j/k. ) Have you considered attending a private university near home? If you’re a great student, I know private schools tend to be more willing to give grants and scholarships to attract more good transfer students. Even if you don’t move back to Albany, I’m sure there is a state college that has a biology major that has a concentration in neuroscience.
Another piece of advice would be to pursue your degree as fast as you can without sacrificing your GPA so you can get into the workforce sooner.
Also, whatever you do, don’t rack up credit card debt to pay for college. I did that and I’m suffering dearly for it.
What if your boyfriend does decide to go to med school but doesn’t get accepted to any schools that are in any of the major publishing centers of the world? What would you do then?
Sorry for the slightly discombobulated comments. I’m rushing to clean out my room and get ready for next semester. :-P
@Chelsey – Please don’t get caught up in the harshness of my comments. I’m just trying to help you here as I feel you need a bit of a wake up call.
The fact is that accounting is a tangible, skill-based degree (unlike literature) that leads to a license (CPA). Lit is for future grade school teachers and trust fund babies who don’t need jobs.
To clarify, I didn’t say publishing was a dream world. I was saying that taking out all those loans to get that degree and expecting miracles and big incomes is living in a dream world.
Good luck with your college and career. I truly hope you’ll change your course.
Chelsey -
I have a couple of ideas for you –
1. Have you thought about changing your residency? The difference between in-state and out tuition is usually dramatic. You might have to take time off from school and work a full time job to qualify, but it’s worth a try.
2. What kind of job are you working now? You mentioned that you are working 30 hours per week. You might look into pursuing a full time job (even if not in publishing) with an employer that has a tuition reimbursement program. You might have to drop to 12 credit hours per semester to swing a full time job, but 12 hours will still keep your student loans in deferment status.
Good luck on making things work. I finished my degree in August and have empathy for your situation.
Chelsey-
Sounds like you are definetelly locked into UM due to many reasons.
Just a thought, Forget about the double major.
Try to get a full time job that may pay for some college benefits and finish up one of your degrees part time.
Nothing will stope you from pursuing your passion for education while your BF is in Med School
Take a step back & refocus.
When you say “name brand” school, I think Harvard or Yale. Going 180K into debt for University of Miami rather than under 80K for [insert your in-state flagship school here] is not going to substantially affect your job interview chances whatsoever.
Plus, most publishing jobs will be in unaffordable cities where you’ll be lucky to clear $1800 /month after state taxes on that $30K salary. You will likely get in a cycle of increasing credit card debt after graduation if you only have $200 per month for non-student loan expenses. Rent will be 2-8x that in most cities.
Think carefully!
Sounds like you are causing your self a MASSIVE amount of going to an out of state school.
I’m sure your state (New york??) has plenty of fine schools for you to attend at a fraction of the price to boot.
I think it would be MORE responsible for your boyfriends sake to go to a school in your state. If you two are planning on getting married he will acquire your massive debt. If you don’t marry then you have wasted tons of money for nothing. What year are you in right now?
All I can tell you is to work and save at least 10% of your income. You sound like a smart girl and I’m sure that you could go to school for nearly free in your own state.
I meant to add stress and money after MASSIVE…ah well
I may be late to the party, but if your parents really won’t contribute to your schooling, you can emancipate yourself and get aid based on your own meager income.
Also, publishing is not the only choice for English majors! English majors tend to be good writers and hence are in demand for public relations, professional writing in all fields, etc.
I agree with Melissa that you should considering waiting to get in-state rates. Perhaps you can do your basics at the local cc until you’re in-state.
On the other side of the coin, can you do some classes through telecourses/internet until you get instate?
Start freelancing as much as possible if you don’t qualify for work-study. Spread th word among your professors and see if they have any contacts for jobs or projects. By letting them know, they may also see if you can qualify for a little known scholarship. Just keep working on it. Don’t just accept the huge debt.
At the very least, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
You need to put some income to reduce your debt.
Wish you well!
According to US News annual college rankings Miami is ranked 51 (hardly brand name). So why not transfer to SUNY–Binghamton (Ranked 77) where in state tuition is only 6k. I doubt anyone in NY is going to give you any more respect for U of M than SUNY – Binghamton, also I’m sure it will be easier to get in with an NY publishing firm if you are in their state.
State school or not, you need a more useful major. Those jobs are scarce and impossible today.
If you insist on an English major, you could tack on a business minor or a stat minor or something. There are many things that make you more appealing to more general business than classics.
Think about the future of media. I’ll give you a hint. It’s not the old monolithic publishing model. You need more versatile skills.
if her grades are high enough, she should look into an honors program at her school. im in the one at eastern kentucky and they pay for books, and part of tuition. i dont know if helps her but i know that it really helps me with out costing a fortune.