I’m a second year Penn State student. The college gave me money to go to an alternative campus. Because of federal loans I was able to afford it. however I was not applicable for the PLUS loan because of credit score. I transferred my campus to Penn State since those are the classes I need for Nuclear engineering and the cost after pell grant and subsidized/unsubsidized loans is $20k per semester. What can I say to my mom to convince her that it’s not worth it. She always talks about the book ‘rich dad poor dad’ as a reason for why it’s okay to take that much money? Besides scholarships I would have to take a loan and I’ll be fucked if I do. What options do I have?
Be careful assuming you can get a cheaper package with the same educational outcomes by leaving PSU. If I was in your shoes, I would take the 40k in total debt, get that engineering degree, then continue to live like a college kid for a few years to pay it down.
It’s 40k for just one year. I’ll have to get loans for all the rest 2 years as well which is 80k.
What are your alternatives? What other options do you have to get a bachelor’s of Engineering? Often times transfer applicants get surprised when they see that the FA is worse.
I’m thinking going to community college at my mom’s house to go for applied science
You already completed one year of school, so you could only do one year at CC anyway. Then you’d have to re-apply to PSU and gamble on another aid package. Doesn’t sound worth it to me.
Just tell PSU you need more money and see what they do. Unlikely to work since you already matriculated, but who knows.
Do you think you can go to a far cheaper school for now instead? I did 2 years at community college and 2 more at a non state University. Saves a lot of money compared to state school.
I’m thinking about going into applied science at community college and making money from that. It’s just hard to explain to my mom that I don’t need a degree from Penn State
This is of course anecdotal. But myself having never gone to a state school I still have the same scientist role currently that I would have had with a state school degree. It’s okay to not finish up there for sure. I would encourage you to try this option.
If possible, go to Europe. Study for free and as a bonus, you can gain some life experience and new perspectives.
https://erudera.com/resources/countries-with-free-education-for-international-students/