Transferring Colleges

So, I’ve been attending SDSU for a couple months now. I’ve had a lot of fun and joined a fraternity. But I found out there’s pretty much zero hope of becoming an in state resident of California. They basically make it impossible. So I have 2 options. Stay here and rack up some debt. 20-30k+ by the time I graduate. Or I can transfer to UNLV back home in Nevada. There I’d be paying about 1/8th of what I pay at SDSU. I’d have no debt, I’d have my job back.

My parents live about an hour from UNLV, I wouldn’t visit home very much. But it would probably ease the stress mentally just being around family. I was stressed out when I first got here because I knew no one and had to adjust, but it’s a lot better now. So my question is, is it worth it to rack up the debt and stay here or can I have a good college experience at UNLV. UNLV is not considered that great of a school for the college experience because it has a high percentage of commuters. What are your opinions? I know there’s a lot of guys on this forum with a lot of wisdom and this has been stressing me out.

I would go back and save that money. College is college is college with few exceptions.

The only thing I would really consider is the program/future job I want. If SDSU gives you a significantly higher future earnings outlook I’d stay there.

Then transfer. If it’s your most favorable option, then go for it.

What is out of state tuition at SDSU?

They must have changed the residency rules. I gained residency while attending Chico State in just one year.

What are the residency rules?

(seems like something to investigate before enrolling, but I guess that’s water under the bridge.)

I just looked at the residency rules. You probably need to take a year off, get a job, get a bank account, register to vote, get a CA DL, register a car, file a tax return, and pledge your allegiance to CA. That’s far from “impossible.”

I would, in any event, avoid going into debt for an undergrad degree from a state college. That makes no financial sense to me.

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
I would, in any event, avoid going into debt for an undergrad degree from a state college. That makes no financial sense to me. [/quote]

This

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
I just looked at the residency rules. You probably need to take a year off, get a job, get a bank account, register to vote, get a CA DL, register a car, file a tax return, and pledge your allegiance to CA. That’s far from “impossible.”[/quote]
Impossible while attending without taking a year off I mean. Taking a year off isn’t really in the cards right now. I read that they make it a point to not let students get in state. They claim you’re only here for school. And they require independence which is impossible. How could I possibly be independent to pay tuition. They look at your paper trail. If you have money that’s not from your job they know someone else is supporting you. And they won’t even consider looking at you being independent until you’re over the age of 19. It’s not impossible but definitely more trouble than it’s worth.

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
What is out of state tuition at SDSU?

They must have changed the residency rules. I gained residency while attending Chico State in just one year.

What are the residency rules?

(seems like something to investigate before enrolling, but I guess that’s water under the bridge.)[/quote]

Out of state this year will cost me around 36,000. I’ve already got the loans necessary to pay for my first semester. But if I transfer that won’t be an issue. I don’t know how long ago you gained residency but now to get residency is pretty difficult as a student.

Yeah man. Fuck that shit.

[quote]SirTroyRobert wrote:
Out of state this year will cost me around 36,000.[/quote]

There is no real decision to be made here. Paying $36k per year to go to SDSU as an undergrad would be a horrendous financial mistake, IMO, unless you happen to be Marshall Faulk.

As previously stated, fuck that.

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:

[quote]SirTroyRobert wrote:
Out of state this year will cost me around 36,000.[/quote]

There is no real decision to be made here. Paying $36k per year to go to SDSU as an undergrad would be a horrendous financial mistake, IMO, unless you happen to be Marshall Faulk. [/quote]

The plan was to gain residency and pay off my first year loans. I did everything, changed my license, mailing address, and all the other bullshit , and I talked to the people responsible for residency and they said even with that, at the end of the year it will be nearly impossible because in California they won’t consider you independent until over 19, and yeah. I should have researched better. It’s alright, transferring at semester will mean I’m not in a hole. If I were to stay longer, the financial hole I’d be digging would be pretty deep lol.

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
As previously stated, fuck that. [/quote]

Yeah lol , I’m transferring. The rec center here blows too… They don’t even have platforms. And all the weights are octagonal which makes deadlifting a pain. Oh well, we all make mistakes I suppose.

[quote]SirTroyRobert wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
As previously stated, fuck that. [/quote]

Yeah lol , I’m transferring. The rec center here blows too… They don’t even have platforms. And all the weights are octagonal which makes deadlifting. Oh well, we all make mistakes I suppose.[/quote]

I wouldn’t consider it a mistake so much as a learning experience. Good luck!

[quote]SirTroyRobert wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
As previously stated, fuck that. [/quote]

Yeah lol , I’m transferring. The rec center here blows too… They don’t even have platforms. And all the weights are octagonal which makes deadlifting. Oh well, we all make mistakes I suppose.[/quote]
Just be glad you caught yours when you did.

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
I would, in any event, avoid going into debt for an undergrad degree from a state college. That makes no financial sense to me. [/quote]

This[/quote]

x3

$36,000 per year is a big price tag for a school like SDSU.

We are also in SoCal and just went through the decision process as our son decided on a school. He’s also a freshman this year. I wish he was in SoCal. I miss him terribly.

You mentioned coming out of your undergrad with $20-$30 thousand in debt. Does that factor in a part-time job? Our son is working 10 hours per week as a freshman. He’s not a college athlete, so it’s doable.

Do you know what you want to do? How certain are you about your major and how do the two schools compare? The only thing that might sway this in my opinion is if you could make up most, or all of the difference working part-time AND SDSU is a much better choice for your program/ major or your major is not offered at UNLV.

Other things to consider here. It’s very rare for anybody to get through a CA state school in 4 years, even if you know what you want to do. The UCs at least are severely impacted/ crowded. People are told up front to plan on 5 years. In that case, your debt could be considerably higher. This was one of our considerations in allowing our son to go to a more expensive private school rather than attend UCLA or UCSD. He will be able to finish in 4 years.

Another thing to consider about CA. Almost all financial aid to the UCs or State Schools is need-based and as you mentioned, you are going to be seen as a dependent. They don’t make it easy to financially emancipate yourself because everyone would do it to get need-based aid. Even if you were able to get out of paying out of state tuition, if your parents make more than $80 - $100k per year, you are going to have to pay the full sticker price for instate tuition. Still a lot of money - unless there are other factors like several siblings going to college at the same time.

CA is desperate for people to come pay out of state tuition. Right now the UCs are actively seeking foreign students while declining the qualified children of CA residents and taxpayers because they desperately need the extra funds that come with such students. It’s not a secret.

EDITED

I would consider the following factors if I were you:

Courses Offered:
Which one will prepare you better for the career that you want to enter?

Reputation:
Does one school have a better reputation than another among prospective employers? Although it’s unlikely in this situation, there’s also the possibility of reverse discrimination where some people feel threatened by someone who went to a better school than them.

Graduate School:
This is related to the first two items. Do you intend to go to graduate school as well? If so, does one university have a better reputation than the other in the field that you want to pursue? Generally speaking it’s a better idea to save your money for grad school than spend it all for an undergraduate degree.

Cost:
UNLV is obviously much cheaper. If SDSU is $36K/year and you’d graduate with $20-30K of debt, then your parents are obviously picking up most of the cost. How big a sacrifice is this for them and how does it affect their retirement objectives?

On the other hand, $30K may sound like a huge amount of debt right now, but put it in perspective with your earning potential after graduation. Will you have more earning potential by attending one school over another? Another way to look at this is that the monthly payment on a $30K student loan after graduation may be similar to the lease payment on a new car. Would you be happier and better off attending SDSU and driving an old beater car for a few years after graduation, or attending UNLV and getting a shiny sports car or a brand new truck once you start working.

Social Life:
SDSU seems to be the winner here. At SDSU you’ll also have the beach culture, not to mention all the hot girls in bikinis. At the beach you’ll also be able to walk around with your shirt off without looking like a show off. It seems silly now, but sex played a huge part in any decision I made as a college student. I didn’t pursue a year abroad option, because I had a girlfriend at my university. Back then I saw it as a decision between getting laid almost every night for sure, or taking my chances with the foreign babes. Of course, we broke up shortly after graduation and I missed out on the whole year abroad experience.

On the other hand, UNLV may be a commuter school, but you’ll probably be studying or working out most of the time during the week anyway. The fact that most students don’t live in the dorms doesn’t mean you can’t still make friends and do things with them during the evenings or on the weekends. Also with your family just an hour away, you’ll have more opportunities to see them as well.

There’s also probably a few other considerations that I haven’t thought of. If it were me, I would think carefully about the issues I outlined above, determine which ones were most important to me and then make a decision.

To be honest, I really don’t think you could go wrong either way.

[quote]OldFatGuy2 wrote:
I would consider the following factors if I were you:

Courses Offered:
Which one will prepare you better for the career that you want to enter?

Reputation:
Does one school have a better reputation than another among prospective employers? Although it’s unlikely in this situation, there’s also the possibility of reverse discrimination where some people feel threatened by someone who went to a better school than them.

Graduate School:
This is related to the first two items. Do you intend to go to graduate school as well? If so, does one university have a better reputation than the other in the field that you want to pursue? Generally speaking it’s a better idea to save your money for grad school than spend it all for an undergraduate degree.

Cost:
UNLV is obviously much cheaper. If SDSU is $36K/year and you’d graduate with $20-30K of debt, then your parents are obviously picking up most of the cost. How big a sacrifice is this for them and how does it affect their retirement objectives?

On the other hand, $30K may sound like a huge amount of debt right now, but put it in perspective with your earning potential after graduation. Will you have more earning potential by attending one school over another? Another way to look at this is that the monthly payment on a $30K student loan after graduation may be similar to the lease payment on a new car. Would you be happier and better off attending SDSU and driving an old beater car for a few years after graduation, or attending UNLV and getting a shiny sports car or a brand new truck once you start working.

Social Life:
SDSU seems to be the winner here. At SDSU you’ll also have the beach culture, not to mention all the hot girls in bikinis. At the beach you’ll also be able to walk around with your shirt off without looking like a show off. It seems silly now, but sex played a huge part in any decision I made as a college student. I didn’t pursue a year abroad option, because I had a girlfriend at my university. Back then I saw it as a decision between getting laid almost every night for sure, or taking my chances with the foreign babes. Of course, we broke up shortly after graduation and I missed out on the whole year abroad experience.

On the other hand, UNLV may be a commuter school, but you’ll probably be studying or working out most of the time during the week anyway. The fact that most students don’t live in the dorms doesn’t mean you can’t still make friends and do things with them during the evenings or on the weekends. Also with your family just an hour away, you’ll have more opportunities to see them as well.

There’s also probably a few other considerations that I haven’t thought of. If it were me, I would think carefully about the issues I outlined above, determine which ones were most important to me and then make a decision.

To be honest, I really don’t think you could go wrong either way.

[/quote]

I’m an Economics major, and as far as I can tell, neither SDSU or UNLV have programs that are well known as far as an employer taking notice of your school. I think both their business programs are on the rise. SDSU does have better social life I’m pretty sure. But I plan to be involved at UNLV.

As far as earning potential after graduation, as of right now Economics majors have the second highest pay rate out of college behind engineering. I think I’ve made up my mind. I’ll transfer to UNLV, and although it’s not a college town, I’ll have to put forth the effort to get what I want out of it. I definitely would feel bad having my parents pay so much, because even though they said they can handle it, I know for a fact it puts a strain on them.

My sister will be in college in about 3 years so I’m not trying to put that kind of strain on them. Most of my family on my mom’s side lives in Las Vegas so I’ll be close to family. I have a part time job in San Diego, but the hours are not as flexible as where I work in Las vegas and the pay is not as high.