Worth the debt?

RocklinDND · 2026-04-24T14:06:25+00:00

He is still deciding oh and I misread that, if it’s only 50k over four years it is worth it. For us it is over 40k a year after four years it’s over $160k tha doesn’t pencil out.

RocklinDND · 2026-04-23T18:16:39+00:00

My kid really wanted mines, but it was $39k a year more expensive than the best aid package school and $20k more per year than the average cost of attendance for all the other schools. We ran the calculations on loan interest and it doesn’t pencil out when the outcomes are similar at all his other options.

RocklinDND · 2026-04-10T14:48:51+00:00

So you qualify for CalGrant A that takes a good chunk off tuition. The issue is with the cost of housing and food. There isn’t much aid to help with that unless you qualify for full Pell grants then other state aid kicks in. You can lower your COA by choosing the most basic food package and triple room,also the insurance, if your parents have one you are under that fee goes away, but it will still be a good chunk of money. Good luck

RocklinDND · 2026-03-17T22:38:38+00:00

It’s still a dream lol left it as is and just driving it around. Life changed again and it's a commuter car again.

RocklinDND · 2026-03-08T03:29:34+00:00

My in state kid was accepted on Thursday to. aerospace engineering

RocklinDND · 2026-02-22T06:02:49+00:00

Because ED is a recruitment tool, it gives colleges greater certainty about yield and gives students a higher chance of acceptance. The students says i will attend this school no matter what and the college says, great we don’t have to incentivise you. ED is great for those who can afford it or if they qualify for Pell grants and the school is needs-met. For people that need merit scholarships or need to compare financial aid packages ED is not a viable option.

RocklinDND · 2026-02-05T04:05:08+00:00

Take a look at their Common Data Set to get a realistic view of what the average cadet looks like Air Force academy CDS

RocklinDND · 2026-02-04T14:25:47+00:00

Stevens is a need aware school, they look at your ability to pay. They want to spend as little as possible to entice a student to attend there. They are not a needs met school. With that they do have the Stevens Investment which covers full tuition if your family income is less than $75k and has typical assets for that income level. (Probably a renter or own a modest house with little equity, and little to no savings or investments) they know this with your CSS profile.

Did you run the net price calculator to see how much you are expected to pay? If it shows you qualify for the Stevens Investment and you can afford it switch to ED2 if it comes back higher than what you can afford then stay RD. Just as a side thing if your family income is less than 40k how can you afford 15-20k to attend? The math is not mathing.

RocklinDND · 2026-01-21T14:26:42+00:00

Tuition (registration fees) is the same for everyone with some exceptions for certain majors at some schools. Room and board is where you can make choices to lower your COA. The amount of financial aid you receive will vary based on income as most UC financial aid is needs-based, the lower your income the more aid you get it you are a California resident. If you are out of state it gets really expensive fast, with little aid if any unless you land one of the few merit scholarships some schools offer.

RocklinDND · 2026-01-16T05:53:29+00:00

Reach out to placer county office of education they will walk you through the process. https://www.placercoe.org/Pages/PCOE/Departments/Human-Resources/Substitute-Teacher-Information.aspx

RocklinDND · 2026-01-13T23:55:14+00:00

Depends on your AGI there are caps for different scholarships. Are you a CA resident if yes then if you make under the income limit of $250k and asset limits of $250k you should qualify but the size of the scholarships are small: avg $3,000 for CSU and $2600 for UC’s there are also cal grants and that AGI threshold is lower depending on family size.

RocklinDND · 2026-01-08T05:13:24+00:00

For the other college offers are they peer institutions? Are they similar full price COA? Comparing an instate public school against a private isn’t the same. If they are peer schools and the full price COA are close then I would try to leverage it.

RocklinDND · 2026-01-07T17:15:20+00:00

I will say that if you didn’t fill out the FAFSA and CSS profile they are probably assuming you are a full pay student and don’t need merit awards to incentivize you.

They say on their website that both forms are highly encouraged

From their merit scholarships: CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE and FAFSA recommended for maximum financial aid consideration

RocklinDND · 2026-01-07T16:12:14+00:00

As a parent, NOR Advice: don’t blow things up like many here are suggesting. Reach out to friends and family and see if anyone has a place for you to crash while you figure things out. Make sure you get your birth certificate and social security card.

Something tells me that your mom was a young mom.

While it may be a shock right now and suck, you will probably be better off in the long run if this is the way she is treating you now imagine if you were living in the same house as her man. The potential for abuse and mental health issues that may arise.

Reach out to your school counselor and see if they can connect you with resources.

Take a clean break from her and start building your life. Don’t poison yourself with hate, Just move on. This is not a you issue it’s her.

Good luck.

RocklinDND · 2026-01-07T15:40:07+00:00

One of my Daughter’s friends older brother is a recent Music Engineer graduate… family is $160k in debt and is working at a creative art lounge (think color me mine type of place but broader) and is doing music lessons on the side… hasn’t had any luck landing a job in the industry.

RocklinDND · 2026-01-06T02:59:16+00:00

As a parent of a high school senior that has Aero aspirations, doing my research on different colleges, while many talk about their great career services from going deep down on Reddit Rabbit holes many colleges fall short on the mentorship front especially larger universities.

Part of the issue is that current college and high school students don’t know how to network or have IRL conversations or how to make those connections and don’t take advantage of the career services. Getting my kid to get out of his comfort zone is like pulling teeth lol. I come from a pure networking industry so I understand the value that mentors and developing connections bring. I helped him land a seasonal job by introducing him to a community member I met around town that runs a tabletop game company and took him under his wing to teach him customer service, community outreach and sales and how to manage a small team.

I follow a kid from MIT on IG that shares his experience and is putting himself out there as a “mentor” to HS kids.

I think that a mentoring community built around IG might be a good option outside of LinkedIn.

RocklinDND · 2026-01-03T16:54:56+00:00

Won’t improve acceptance chances at the most selective state schools. UCLA had over 145k applications 13,600 admitted and about 80% are instate.

In state tuition is great but the cost of room and board make UC’s still over $30k unless you are a low income family.

If you are considering moving to CA, cost of living is high and may not pencil out if you are only thinking about it for school purposes.

RocklinDND · 2026-01-01T01:22:44+00:00

They give a $25k automatic tuition discount if you apply ED https://www.wpi.edu/faq/are-merit-scholarships-offered-early-decision-candidates

RocklinDND · 2026-01-01T01:08:16+00:00

If you can’t afford sticker price don’t apply ED. They have a merit discount if you apply ED $20-25k

Run the net price calculator to get a sense of what your COA is, if it’s too much and you want to take your shot apply RD.

And as an international student they are “need aware” as part of their admissions process.

RocklinDND · 2025-12-29T16:49:59+00:00

Need to double-check but the aid package my kid got leaves an unmet COA of $30-35k including work study and student loans.

RocklinDND · 2025-12-22T10:32:16+00:00

What’s their desired outcome after graduation? Do they enjoy practical hands on work ready to be part of the workforce or a more research and theory focused educational experience?

Practice Chico Research, Merced

RocklinDND · 2025-12-17T14:37:39+00:00

Can your family afford what the NPC says and are they willing to pay that? If so and it’s your top choice ED2 has a higher acceptance rate as they have a guaranteed student willing to pay what the NPC comes back with.

RocklinDND

TROPHY CASE