Navigating the college debt trap: How do you guide a high-achieving teen when university dreams outpace the budget? A raw look at parenting and financial reality
JUCO if possible will take care of the prelim classes (make sure they'll transfer to NAU).
The $300 should still be safe since that's for the app fee.
Online is a great option and it's usually 50% less (entry level classes are great for this) and this is a great way to start for a year to trim some costs and she can still work.
Work on campus - lots of students do it and there are lots of jobs there.
Apply for ever scholarship known to man - they stack and there are thousands of them
I don't know the rules at NAU, but since she's a good student, ask about scholarships from the school.
For an engineering degree, see if she can get into an accelerated degree program so she can earn her BA and MA in four years. She'll work hard but trim cost down and in her degree, a MA is pretty much required for a god job.
If she still has another year of HS, get into the dual enrollment program and take college courses at NAU for half the cost. The freshman classes are not any harder than HS classes
And yes, lots and lots of math in her program.
Sorry to bomb you with all of that - a bit of a brain dump
I appreciate the brain dump. I will make sure she has this information. Right now, my biggest challenge is nudging her down the right path, but still letting it be her decisions.
I get your dilemma. My personal experience was significantly different from what you’re describing now. But I’m hoping to add something constructive.
My dad passed away when I was 11, and my mom struggled financially. There was no money for college. My mom urged me to go to junior college for two years then transfer to a university, but I didn’t want to do that (for a number of reasons). So I did a gap year. I worked full time as a bank teller, saving as much money as possible during that year. I also worked as a bank teller during college.
Not only did my gap year give me an edge financially, it reduced the amount of money I had to borrow via school loans, and it directly inspired me to major in finance. I don’t think I would have discovered my career passion if it weren’t for my gap year, and working at a bank.
My college loan rate was 9% since I went to college during the early 1980s when the prime rate was like 21%. So my school loans were a huge expense for me.
I ended up financing about 50% of my tuition via school loans, and paying the remainder from my own savings via working during my gap year and during college.
I don’t know if she would be willing to do a gap year, but that could be considered.
That's kind of what I'm hoping she'll do with the community college/police internship. Knock out the core credits (I'll pay for the CC tuition) while continuing to work and save money. We'll see how it plays out.
OK, I have a little background on this one.
JUCO if possible will take care of the prelim classes (make sure they'll transfer to NAU).
The $300 should still be safe since that's for the app fee.
Online is a great option and it's usually 50% less (entry level classes are great for this) and this is a great way to start for a year to trim some costs and she can still work.
Work on campus - lots of students do it and there are lots of jobs there.
Apply for ever scholarship known to man - they stack and there are thousands of them
I don't know the rules at NAU, but since she's a good student, ask about scholarships from the school.
For an engineering degree, see if she can get into an accelerated degree program so she can earn her BA and MA in four years. She'll work hard but trim cost down and in her degree, a MA is pretty much required for a god job.
If she still has another year of HS, get into the dual enrollment program and take college courses at NAU for half the cost. The freshman classes are not any harder than HS classes
And yes, lots and lots of math in her program.
Sorry to bomb you with all of that - a bit of a brain dump
https://in.nau.edu/gear-up/what-is-dual-enrollment/
https://nau.edu/admissions/military-veterans/
https://nau.edu/online-degrees/
Thanks Chris!
I appreciate the brain dump. I will make sure she has this information. Right now, my biggest challenge is nudging her down the right path, but still letting it be her decisions.
She can do the scholarship research. Call it homework
I get your dilemma. My personal experience was significantly different from what you’re describing now. But I’m hoping to add something constructive.
My dad passed away when I was 11, and my mom struggled financially. There was no money for college. My mom urged me to go to junior college for two years then transfer to a university, but I didn’t want to do that (for a number of reasons). So I did a gap year. I worked full time as a bank teller, saving as much money as possible during that year. I also worked as a bank teller during college.
Not only did my gap year give me an edge financially, it reduced the amount of money I had to borrow via school loans, and it directly inspired me to major in finance. I don’t think I would have discovered my career passion if it weren’t for my gap year, and working at a bank.
My college loan rate was 9% since I went to college during the early 1980s when the prime rate was like 21%. So my school loans were a huge expense for me.
I ended up financing about 50% of my tuition via school loans, and paying the remainder from my own savings via working during my gap year and during college.
I don’t know if she would be willing to do a gap year, but that could be considered.
That's kind of what I'm hoping she'll do with the community college/police internship. Knock out the core credits (I'll pay for the CC tuition) while continuing to work and save money. We'll see how it plays out.
Hoping the best for her!
Thanks!