Considering cost when choosing between colleges.

[RJ Haugen]

Ok so I will go into personal specifics but the general question is how much of a role should money play when looking at college. I’m a senior in high school and have my decision down to two schools. The university of Washington or cal poly SLO. I want to major in civil engineering but am leaning towards a career in construction management (I can apply my degree here and use it in other places if I need to). Basically, I just visited cal poly and really love it there. I prefer their academics and think it would be an awesome place to live. However, because I am out of state, I would probably be taking in ober $100,000 in loans compared to half of that with in state tuition at UW which I know is a great school. So this is where my question comes into play: should I go to the school I think I prefer even though I would take out twice as much in loans? (I hope to earn a decent living once I leave college, if that means much and I know that’s not the most predictable thing). Any insight helps!

[Patrick Fraire]

@RJ Haugen I'm so glad I found this post. I was in your EXACT shoes a few years ago. I was deciding between University of Oregon and Cal Poly Pomona for civil engineering (I grew up near Cal Poly SLO). Choosing Cal Poly Pomona was by far the better decision. I was able to pay my final year of school completely out of pocket from the money I made from internships. Once I graduated I went into construction management and saved up enough money after a year of working to buy my own house. That would not have been possible if I had gone out of state and accrued 100k in debt (I graduated with about 20k in debt from Cal Poly). UW is a dope school. Bigger than Cal Poly SLO. You will have the full on college experience there so don't feel like you are missing out at all. 

You are on the right path. Feel free to reach out anytime for advice on getting jobs, internships, etc.