Financial Aid Advice

[carvers4math]

Our oldest son went to a private school out of state and got better federal loans than the four that went to Iowa State. He got a Perkins loan, which I don’t think the feds still do, and subsidized Stafford’s. You would think when we had three at ISU at same time they would get a deal, but apparently we were poor compared to other families at the private school and better off compared to ISU families. All five are done so not sure what this is like now.

Oldest son got $25,000 in scholarships just from high school math contest participation from a corporation. Also got a National Merit Scholarship, not sure why kids skip the PSAT. One of the ISU boys got $5,000 for DOE Science Bowl participation. All five got scholarships of $2,000 a year from an association where their dad works. One got a $5,000 scholarship related to music participation. They were good at finding scholarships based on their interests and talents. You have to kind of dig into what is available outside the little local ones the school counselor mentions.

 

[AlaCyclone]

Just a public service reminder that after graduating from College, a young person can go serve their country in the Armed Forces and have their college loans paid off. I knew plenty of people who did that when I was in the Army. I had friends who graduated from places such as Washington, Arizona State, Wisconsin and Ohio State who did that. Meanwhile, I took the opposite path and paid into and used the G.I. Bill which helped pay my way through Iowa State. Not sure if these two routes have kept up with College Inflation, but it is worth looking into as a way to avoid being burdened with student loan debt.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Just a public service reminder that after graduating from College, a young person can go serve their country in the Armed Forces and have their college loans paid off. I knew plenty of people who did that when I was in the Army. I had friends who graduated from places such as Washington, Arizona State, Wisconsin and Ohio State who did that. Meanwhile, I took the opposite path and paid into and used the G.I. Bill which helped pay my way through Iowa State. Not sure if these two routes have kept up with College Inflation, but it is worth looking into as a way to avoid being burdened with student loan debt.

You shouldn’t have to risk your life just to pay for college. If that’s someone’s choice more power to them and they have my respect/admiration.

 

[AlaCyclone]

You shouldn’t have to risk your life just to pay for college. If that’s someone’s choice more power to them and they have my respect/admiration.

I 100% agree!
FWIW, there are plenty of MOS' that are not life threatening.
Just presenting it as an option.

 

[jsb]

Great financial advice but you lose out on a ton of networking, connections and development going this route. 100% the right financial play but you miss out on a lot doing this.

And back when I went there was a disadvantage to taking some core classes at CC since they didn't always cover what the Iowa State classes covered.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

And back when I went there was a disadvantage to taking some core classes at CC since they didn't always cover what the Iowa State classes covered.

An alternative option is to take the CC classes in the summer. You can graduate early if needed or take a lighter load some semesters. Especially nice if you are doing post grad work as many transfer over as pass/fail credits. Don’t have to take a full course load just one or two a summer for the first two years.

Not perfect but an option

 

[jcyclonee]

Our younger daughter really wanted to go to CU Boulder, and we did take her on a visit there, but $61,000 per year? There was no way.

My daughter that's graduating this year wants to go to NYU. 93K! I don't believe she'll be able to piece together the financing.

 

[AlaCyclone]

My daughter that's graduating this year wants to go to NYU. 93K! I don't believe she'll be able to piece together the financing.

Yikes! I don't know what is more ridiculous.
Schools charging that much per year,
or the suckers willing to pay it.

 

[cyclone13]

And back when I went there was a disadvantage to taking some core classes at CC since they didn't always cover what the Iowa State classes covered.

Same at the U of M here. If you take the Cc route better make sure the classes are transferrable, otherwise it will negate the purpose

 

[cyclone13]

My daughter that's graduating this year wants to go to NYU. 93K! I don't believe she'll be able to piece together the financing.

Depending on the major and your financial situation. Everyone is different. There are reasons people want to go to Carleton College over U of Minnesota for example. As long as you and your daughter have all the information and consider different aspects, I am sure you guys will make a good decision.

 

[carvers4math]

And back when I went there was a disadvantage to taking some core classes at CC since they didn't always cover what the Iowa State classes covered.

My four ISU engineers all knew people that did this and none of them finished in four years. Was not great for the core engineering coursework. Not sure if it has improved.

 

[jsb]

My four ISU engineers all knew people that did this and none of them finished in four years. Was not great for the core engineering coursework. Not sure if it has improved.

Yeah, I have no idea if it’s changed. I still tell people to be very cautious about testing out (using HS AP courses) of classes in your major.

It stinks because saving money is so important when college is expensive. So I understand doing it. But I’d be very cautious.

 

[alarson]

And back when I went there was a disadvantage to taking some core classes at CC since they didn't always cover what the Iowa State classes covered.

They also didn't count towards the GPA. So knocking your easy classes out at a community college lowers your ISU GPA, which for some may be important for things like scholarships that require maintaining that at a certain minimum

 

[FriendlySpartan]

They also didn't count towards the GPA. So knocking your easy classes out at a community college lowers your ISU GPA, which for some may be important for things like scholarships that require maintaining that at a certain minimum

Knocking the hard classes or the ones you struggle with make sense though when the GPA doesn’t transfer and it doesn’t lead to something else. It’s how I did physics 1/2 and the lab

 

[Entropy]

Great financial advice but you lose out on a ton of networking, connections and development going this route. 100% the right financial play but you miss out on a lot doing this.

I think it can be what you make of it.

I’ve had students in the last 5 years who have landed summer gigs at Fermilab, Argonne National Lab, UT-Austin, ISU, U of Iowa Carver School of Med, U of Iowa School of Biomed Engineering, Drexel, Arizona, etc.

There are programs tailored for CC students who want to take the opportunity.

 

[brianhos]

Our younger daughter really wanted to go to CU Boulder, and we did take her on a visit there, but $61,000 per year? There was no way.

Yikes, ISU is only $80ish total.

 

[Joe4Cy]

Our younger daughter really wanted to go to CU Boulder, and we did take her on a visit there, but $61,000 per year? There was no way.

Out of state tuition is ouch, out of curiosity which school if you don’t mind disclosing, also congrats to him!


Not at all! He was accepted to CU-Bolder but that was low on his last. (Phew - we were quoted $64k - yikes!) Wisconsin was his #1, with ISU as a fall-back. Got into WI-Madison and is super excited!

Yeah - we're on double teacher salaries. I always promised him and his younger brother that we'll find a way to make it work.

Thanks everyone - I'm going to digest all this and will keep you posted. And keep sending the advice!

[Edit: formatting]

 

[carvers4math]

Yeah, I have no idea if it’s changed. I still tell people to be very cautious about testing out (using HS AP courses) of classes in your major.

It stinks because saving money is so important when college is expensive. So I understand doing it. But I’d be very cautious.

My ISU boys all moved on from classes they took in high school in AP or dual entollment, but knew a lot of people that retook things like Calculus I for the easy grade. They kind of focused on just getting through and taking classes in other areas that interested them. The kid that had the most AP and dual enrollment went to a school that accepted none of those credits.

 

[cyphoon]

... going to CC for two years and then to an instate public school makes the most fiscal sense.

I went to a CC before transferring to Iowa State, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The pre-engineering program at the CC was setup by Iowa State, so I knew everything would transfer cleanly.

On top of being affordable, I think it was a better education. Calculus in a giant university auditorium is just not an ideal situation. My community college calc class had about 20 students in it.

H

 

[Tailg8er]

Same at the U of M here. If you take the Cc route better make sure the classes are transferrable, otherwise it will negate the purpose

Well duh, that's been the case for all of time basically. And it's a LOT easier now than it once was. My 9th grader has the option to start taking DMACC courses and they specifically tell you the transferability of all of them. Obviously helps if you can narrow your undergrad college choice to a few options.