I plan on working on a second bachelor's degree in civil engineering. My plan is to work full time for 1.5 or 2.5 years, then go back to college part time (9 credits) and work 15 hours a week for the first 3 semesters. Then I want to go to school full time for the last two years, without working, and only focus on my classes, so I plan to take out loans to pay for my degree and living expenses. I plan on working full time during winter and summer breaks.
Other details:
- I plan to go to college in downtown Chicago and also work there when I have the time.
- I plan on living in a studio apartment as close to my school as possible.
- The school I'm attending is an in-state public school, where I will pay $4850 for each of the 3 semesters that I'm attending part-time and $6757 for each of the 4 semesters that I'm attending full time, so this equals $41,578 total.
- I'll also work on establishing a good credit rating before I start college.
Questions:
- Is taking out loans for college and living expenses feasible?
- How much money should I take out in loans?
- How hard is it to go from attending school full time for a semester to finding a job during breaks?
- Additional advice?
It's doable, but you have to consider you're going to have to pay all this back. And it's going to be a lot. You have $41k right now projected, but as you remember from your first degree, tuition rises quite a bit every few years. I would take a SWAG and give you tuition expenses of close to $55k, and that's not including all your living expenses, which could put it closer to $75k.
When I went to college, I was taking almost 15 hours a semester and working 35-40 hours a week. It wasn't fun, and I had almost no social life, but it's doable. Unless you want to be paying on this loan for the next 30 years, I would seriously consider looking for grants and scholarships and taking maybe a year or two more, working a little bit more each week, and paying cash for your education.
It's a choice of graduating in 4 years with $75k in student loan debt (that's a decent house!!!) or in 6 years debt free.
Frankly, you are probably better off going to school part time (like 6 hours as semester) and not stopping. You won't need as many credits to get your second bachelors degree, but you probably want to consider a master's instead. That will provide alot more career options.
But the idea of going to school for 9 credit hours and only working 15 hours a week doesn't sound like much. You have to think of the pay you will be able to get working only 15 hours a week. You are looking at a close to minimum wage job. Plus, many people go to school full time and work 25-30 hours a week. Also, consider a job that has tuition assistance, like Home Depot or Starbucks.
But the idea of living off loans isn't a very good one. And the chances of your finding a job during breaks is getting harder and harder. You will be competing with everyone else trying to do the same thing. Instead, look at a job you can do during the year, then move more full time to during the breaks, or just go straight through. There is no reason to take time off if you plan on living off loans.
You want to work for 1 1/2-2 years, then go back. It will be much harder to go back after working and getting accustomed to living on a higher income. You would be better off taking a class or two a semester still instead of taking the time off.
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