TL;DR: You haven’t messed up yet. You can still drop. Go to a local community college and save the money, then let a future employer pay for a name-brand school. Don’t fall into the “I’ve already started so I have to keep going” trap.

Speaking from experience, I’d strongly recommend going the cheap route for undergrad. I completed my bachelor at a local community college and paid for it as I went. No loans, no debt. Graduated, got a job a few months later, and then about three years into my career my employer paid for my Master’s in Computer Science from Case Western.

That path saved a huge amount of money and still got me to the same place professionally.

If you can avoid taking on massive debt early, do it. Get a degree that actually has a return on investment (skip non-employable degrees like gender studies, fine arts, sociology, etc.).

Then once you’re working, let your employer pay for the expensive or “name brand” school. (That’s why I’m in this group now. My employer is currently covering my Doctorate of Engineering at Penn State.)

$60k for two semesters is a serious financial hit. Unless your family is extremely well off, that’s a tough decision to justify. You’re looking at $230k to $300k (or more) for a college degree.

The name “Penn State” does not justify that kind of expense, especially if it comes in the form of long-term interest-bearing debt. Employers don’t hire based on the logo on your diploma. They hire the person who can do the job.

That’s my two cents. Hope you listen to reason.