Question:
To finish college faster and accumlate more debt in the process... Or to take longer to get your degree so that you can work more while you're in school?
Answer:
Originally Posted by jbm222 To finish college faster and accumlate more debt in the process... Or to take longer to get your degree so that you can work more while you're in school?
Which would end up costing you the most? I would think waiting would make it worse. Student Loans are not hard to pay back over time, infact, they can help your cedit a lot.
Answer:
I went for the no debt option. It depends. If you are going into a high paying field, it might be advantageous to keep time to a minimum.
Answer:
Take your time, debt's hard to get rid of.
Answer:
actually i would say it depends on what kind of person you are. Can you work and keep up with school?, not everyone can. If you can, can you earn enough to avoid debt? Are you willing to be patient to avoid debt? How do you feel about having debt? (obviously no one likes it but some people have moral objections to it).
Consider how you work and what kind of person you are. Personally my first two years were a breeze and i could of cared less about english lit and Western civilizations...i worked and avoided debt. Now i'm taking an intensive load of Bible and theology classes, stuff i care about, and that requires more work and time. student loans have been the way to go for me, and they are set up so that they are easy to pay back...
Answer:
Originally Posted by Awzmgd117 actually i would say it depends on what kind of person you are. Can you work and keep up with school?, not everyone can. If you can, can you earn enough to avoid debt? Are you willing to be patient to avoid debt? How do you feel about having debt? (obviously no one likes it but some people have moral objections to it).
Consider how you work and what kind of person you are. Personally my first two years were a breeze and i could of cared less about english lit and Western civilizations...i worked and avoided debt. Now i'm taking an intensive load of Bible and theology classes, stuff i care about, and that requires more work and time. student loans have been the way to go for me, and they are set up so that they are easy to pay back...
yet if you go into full time ministry, easy to pay off loans can drown you on the low income you would be making. (I am assuming based on your mention of theology and Bible courses here) Now half the battle is not how much you can handle, but how much you choose to handle. I do not handle my schedule well. In fact, one could put a big "This brain powered by caffeine" sticker on the side of my head and it would be accurate a lot of the time. Yet theoretically i could add in a night job and still survive. I know because i have done it before. 60 hr work weeks + 12 hrs college course load...
This semester I am going with the lowly 18 unit & 20 hrs of work. It can be done. I am no superman, In fact to function properly, I require a bit more sleep than average. Its about how far you are willing to go.
Debt is a bear though, one which can easily eat you alive.
Answer:
There is no "better" really...as a lot of people have stated, it depends on who you are. I, for one, tried to not take loans out but have found that if I were to go this way, I'd be in school forever (case in point--I am 23 and only have 57 transferrable credits to the institution that I'll be attending in January). College is expensive, and I'm at the point right now where I've just told myself that I'll have loans, but as long as I'm responsible it'll be fine. Of course, I am not planning on going directly into full time ministry from college. Perhaps in time, but I've not had that calling on my life yet.
His,
Latte
Answer:
I have moved around six times, am 23 with a total of something like 240 units total. (all transferable somewhere)
I am finishing a degree this year in Bible, and will follow it up with a chemistry, and possibly comp sci, as i will not be too far from them.
My point was specifically that the previous poster seemed headed that way, and that has potentially the abillity to hamstring going into ministry for a very, long time.
Answer:
Bill
i hear what your saying all the way, i have been blessed with scholarships to an extent that my loan amounts are really pretty trivial (they could be paid off easily while working a job that paid next to nothing) and will not total that much by the time i am done....
but yes its true if you put your mind to it you can do it. i have worked 40 +hours a week adn carried 13 credits just last semester. this semester i needed to catch my breath...
Answer:
Originally Posted by Awzmgd117 but yes its true if you put your mind to it you can do it. i have worked 40 +hours a week adn carried 13 credits just last semester.
I wouldn't recommend that way simply because, as you said yourself in needing to catch your breath...it leads to burnout. I like to work while i'm in college, but overdoing it wont' do any good. I worked 35 hours one semester while taking 17 credits and ended up in bed for a week. Did it bring income? Sure, but I was useless for that time I was sick...my body (and God) was telling me I needed to slow down. But I guess if you can handle it (honestly) then go for it.
His,
Latte
Answer:
With the difficulty level of most of the courses I'm taking, I don't think I'll ever be able to handle more than 18 hrs and 20-25 hrs of work. That's not even close to enough to eliminate ALL of my loans. But I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to cut back to about 15 hrs class and try to work about 30-35 hrs a week.
It's nothing immediatly important to me since obviously my class schedule is set for this semester and right now I'm having a hard time finding any work. But i'm just thinking ahead. If I take only classes directly related to my major from the school I'm going to, I can work a lot more during the fall/winter semesters, then meet my remaining gen. ed requirements in a 9th (and maybe 10th) semester at a much cheaper state or community college once my 4yr scholarship expires.
Answer:
Originally Posted by jbm222 But I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to cut back to about 15 hrs class and try to work about 30-35 hrs a week.
Only if it won't burn you out. Chances are, unless you have a REALLY good job, you aren't going to be able to get rid of all of your loans...and so ask yourself if 1--you can handle the workload of school plus a job and 2--is it worth it to work your tail off or is the dent in the loan you'd be making not that big...
Good luck...college is expensive...and everyone knows how poor we are, yet no one helps us.
His,
Latte