POLL: How did you deal with the high cost of 'higher' education?

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We all know the cost of going to colleges/universities is very expensive, and not everyone deals with that cost in the same way. One of me teachers yesterday asked an odd question to us. She asked *how* we were paying for school, and how it was affecting our lifestyle. She asked us to raise our hand when she named the way that we were using to pay.

Nearly all of the class rose their hand when she said, "Student Loans." But each student had a different story. So I figured I'd make a poll, since a lot of the SP members have been or are currently attending some form of higher education.

There are 3 questions: How much was/is the degree program, how did/are you pay(ing) for it, and your living situation at the time.

As for me, I'm going for a Bachelor's Degree in Electronics Engineering...but, I am going to get a 2nd associates degree (2 year) in Information Technology with a focus on computer service and networking before continuing on to get my Bachelor's in EE.

If I decided to just go for the 4 years and only get my BS degree, it would cost about $76,000. But with the 2nd AAS degree in IT before the final 2 years, it will cost $112,000. Since I'm not paying for it, I figure I might as well get as much education as I can.
I got lucky on the payment part of things, as my work is footing the entire bill...I just submit the next quarter's cost, and 3 weeks later I get a check in the mail. But I have to get a 'C' (70% grade) or higher...otherwise, I have to pay my work back.
Living wise, we stayed at my parent's house for the first quarter since we were still saving up for the wedding, but we had moved in to our apartment during the 3rd week of the 2nd quarter.

Now...how about you?

Poll Information
This poll contains 3 question(s). 33 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: How did you deal with the high cost of 'higher' education? (33 votes.)

How did/are you pay(ing) for your education? (Choose 3)
* Student loans - 52% (17)
* Grants of any kind - 45% (15)
* Parents/Relatives - 48% (16)
* Private Sponsor (employer, or organization for example) - 9% (3)
* Out of pocket - 36% (12)

How much did the program cost? (Choose 1)
* Under $50,000 - 76% (25)
* $50,000 to $65,000 - 9% (3)
* $66,000 to $80,000 - 0% (0)
* $81,000 to $95,000 - 3% (1)
* $96,000 to $110,000 - 3% (1)
* $111,000 to $125,000 - 9% (3)
* $126,000 to $140,000 - 0% (0)
* $141,000 to $155,000 - 0% (0)
* $156,000 or more - 0% (0)

Where were you living? (Choose 3)
* With parents/relatives - 39% (13)
* On campus housing (dorms and the like) - 36% (12)
* Off campus apartment/condo/town house - 36% (12)
* A house we own or are renting - 9% (3)
* In the back of my car. - 0% (0)

 

I have a loan of just over £4000 a year, which covers rent (£55/week), food, social life, tuition fees (about £1000/yr) and almost everything. My parents cover the cost of my textbooks (usually about £40 each), and would give me more if I said I needed it. But tbh I'd rather get a job than ask my parents for money, and I'm getting along fine without one.

My house isn't huge, but it's certainly acceptable. I shop at Netto, which is ridiculously cheap (they had a box of 24 packs Walkers crisps for £2), so eating is cheap. There's an off-license nearby that sells 24 cans of beer for £10, and we can get alcohol 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There's also a pub less than a minute walk away that sells a double vodka and mixer for £1.35(!). I think I'm financially secure.

 

US education are damn expensive
In the Netherlands, the tuition fees are closer to the amount Alavin mentioned.

I voted 'grants of any kind' (among other things).
Dutch students get financial aid from the government. The monthly amount depends on your living situation (at home or on your own), the amount of money your parents make and perhaps some other things. You get this financial aid during the entire normal length of your education; if you have a four year education, you get this aid for four years, after which you can get a student loan from the government. If you finish your education within ten years, you get to keep the amount of money the government gave you in the first four years, but should it take you longer than ten years to finish your education, you'll have to repay the whole thing.

Confusing, eh?

 

Free here for the students who pass the entry exam up to Nth score, where N is the number of free places they are sporting.

 

Not at all... It's actually quite fair IMO. "Here's some money to help out. If you do a good job and finish school in the normal timeframe, it's yours to keep. However, if you're a lazy bum, and drag 4 years of school over a 10 year period, then you owe it all back!"
It's just the government's way of looking out for its own interests.

You lucky, lucky ba****d! Ithat is...*if* you're smart enough to be placed in the percentage you mentioned.

 

You're lucky that you don't go to the army if you don't make it. On the other hand, that's a huge study motivator. The trick is to apply for more than one place and make sure there's a sure-to-get one among them (for your skill and level of competition).

 

Well...I have just finished my Bachelor's degree in Science at a Uni in Sydney...

My annual tution fee was 20,000 AUD, with annual living expenses coming to 15,000 AUD...so over 3 years, that works out to about 105,000 AUD...dunno how much that is in USDs...

I financed myself by taking a student loan from a bank and a private loan from a relative of mine, which I will be paying back now that I have started working full time.

And yeah...I was staying in the dorms on campus...awful!! Just awful!!

 

Parents.

But I think higher education is fairly cheap here. 500 euro tuition fee per year. Then some books and quite some money for the room I'm renting in Leuven.

Over here, it's mostly parents that pay. We don't really have a tradition where students go to work to finance their studies and I don't know anyone with a student loan, though my dad had one at the time.

 

I attend a public University, so I don’t have to pay anything for my studies. Though, You have to qualify to be able to attend a public Uni, something along the lines of what Chev described.

 

Loans and lots of cheap food. Top ramen and Cap'n Crunch are a common college student diet here in the states. At least it was for me when i lived in a fraternity house.

 

My degrees are years old. I had a generous scholarship as an undergrad, but grad school was a shock. I worked nearly full time, took out loans, begged money from relatives, and got a small grant. Took me years to pay off the loans. My advice is to avoid loans as much as possible, but I realize the cost of college/university now puts it out of reach for many in the U.S. without the loans. And, yes, living cheaply, with too many roommates, bad food, no entertainment, helped some, but there is a bottom below which one cannot go on that.

 

I WAS paying about NZ$250 per subject per semester + books at about NZ$50-70 each per subject. But I only attended for two years, passed the papers I sat then dropped out to actually work after recieving an offer I couldn't turn down.

I went halfsies with my parents for the money during my time of study.

 

I have 2 or 3 loans outstanding with some collection agencies. They are around 60 grand in total. Paying them off is hard as I can't work and my husband's minimum wage job barely covers things - we can buy food and pay 2 of his bills, but no rent, child support or anything else. We're living with his folks currently.

I'm too poor to qualify for any repayment options and getting an address to send money orders is like getting blood from a turnip. Collections want their money via electronic transfer which I can't do because the banking systems aren't compatible and it costs more to send a MoneyGram than the actual payment!

After 2 degrees and 10 years, college just wasn't worth the effort, time and money. I really wish I hadn't done it.

 

For my failed university career, I depended upon a scholarship for my first two semesters, then my parents' largess for the following two years.

Later I took a technical diploma program, and secured a 'student line of credit' at private bank, rather than a government student loan. I had to start repaying it as soon as the course was over, BUT I was able to actually pay the school before the training was finished - when we were receiving our diplomas, there were a handful of students that were STILL trying to get their loan money so they could actually PAY the tuition. Gotta love gov't 'burrocracy'.

On a side note, that line of credit ran to $10k CAD (normally the limit is $6500, but the bank manager knew my parents.) and now I've chipped it down to under $1000 - soon I will be FREE!

 

Full undergrad scholarships baby!

For med school... uh... It'll be painful loans all the way.

 

Scotland has a cool system, they pay our tuition fees and give us living money, and we only have to pay back the living money, and thats only after we start earning £15k or more a year. My tuition fees at £1200 a year and i get on average £1800 for living, although thats gonna go down when my sis leaves uni cos they reckon my parents can support me more then. Hopefully when i go to "grad school" as they call it in the US ill get a scholarship as the fees over there are extortinate.

 

Interesting questions, Kitrax.

I can't believe how expensive your course is. How can anybody afford to get a degree. Those costs are insane.

My four year commerce degree cost less than NZ$20,000, including course fees and textbooks, so I was able to cover it with a combination of my bursary, my student allowance, and the money I earned working at the local supermarket. I was living with my parents at the time so that helped, even though I did pay them a small amount of board money.

But I am still gobsmacked at how much your course costs. I thought only doctors and dentists had to pay a lot to get their degrees.

 

Here, we have state universities and universities owned by people/corporations etc. My university is not a state one. It takes students in two ways. Whether you are quite successful in the university entry exam (we name that exam "OSS" here) and pay about $10.000 a year; or you are exclusively successful in OSS and earn scholarship. I was 143. out of 1.6 million people in the OSS and became a scholar; else my family couldn't afford that university. Moreover, I get $4000 of bursary from the government and university and it will become $5000 in January, so I don't take any money from my parents. It is because of my degree in OSS and these bursaries came to me, I didn't search for them. Sometimes I am proud of myself

 

Kitrax, just where were you planning to go?

An associates degree in Information Technology on top of an EE is pretty much useless. You will be far better served to either go for a dual major of EE with either Computer Science or IT from the business school -- they may even have a cross discipline specialty in EE just for IT at the school you are going to. Better yet, go for an MIT (master's degree in business specializing in IT) the pay is much better and you can pay off those loans quickly.

In your own town is an excellent university. University of Utah is a top 25 engineering school and has a highly respected computer science program. You could get a dual degree in EE/CS in 5-6 years at approximately $12,000 per year.

University of Utah is one of the best bargains for education in the country. They also have a great financial aid department there -- I know, I used it. I received ~$5,000 per year in grants and loans. I also had a scholarship from the US Navy (sadly, there is no NROTC at Utah anymore). Utah also has the best on-campus family housing program I've seen anywhere. The apartments are small, but well maintained and low cost -- utilities are included in the rent.

At a cost of $12,000 per year, plus tack on $2-3,000 spending cash -- subtract from that the amount of money you think you can make working part time (~$7,500) and now you are only borrowing at most $30,000 for four years (less is you get grants). Considering the starting salary for an EE is ~$50,000 per year, you shouldn't have too many problems paying that back.

I used loans, grants and scholarships to get my undergraduate degree and owed ~$10,000 when I graduated (that was a lot of money waaaayyy back then). Graduate school is more complex. Most science and engineering schools PAY their graduate students. I owed nothing after graduate school.

 

My college is busting my ass for 30k USD a year (B.A. only, haven't decided on Grad school or not yet, seeing as I am currently a college senior, I definitely won't be going to Grad school right away). Spartan living for me. My wealthy grandmother has financed a good amount of my college, while student loans and grants are covering about half of my expense. Parents also are shelling up a lot of cash.