student loans to achieve higher earning power faster.

Well Mr. Business Administration degree, this seems like a simple problem in Net Present Value. Calculate the NPV of all future earnings if you DON"T borrow the money. Then calculate the NPV of all future earnings if you DO borrow the money. Your future earnings will be lowered by the loan payments and you won't have any earnings for 4 years or so. To make this an apples to apples comparison use the same discount rate, e.g. the student loan rate. Someday your boss will ask if borrowing money to upgrade equipment is really worth it. Same calculation.

First of all Austin, you won't be starting all over with four more years of college. Your community college credits will transfer so you can finish faster at a four year school.

Second, what is the alternative? If you don't take out the student loan how will you be paying for living expenses?

I don't understand one sentence above--what has your girlfriend claiming the baby & receiving financial aid have to do with your mother paying the tuition? Will your mother continue to pay your tuition if you get a student aid loan? Why are you continuing to work on an associates in BusAd if you plan to get a 4-yr BA in Accounting? Why not just quit the Associates and get going on the BA if it's going to take you 4 years anyway? I may be wrong, but I don't think that an associates degree in BusAd will get you much of a job, if any. There are many types of student loans--research them to find out what's best for you--it sounds as tho this may be your only option of getting through school.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Why the associates? I don't suspect that there will be many cases in which the bachelors isn't good enough to land you the job, but the extra associates degree "seals the deal".

Is it not possible to transfer to the 4-year college, take your business credits with you, and finish that accounting degree in 2 or 3 years?

Because it's a lot cheaper to go to community colleges than 4 yr colleges. And since most of the credits will transfer, student save money by going the first two years at a CC.

But, only if the credits transfer to the 4 year college where you plan to get your BA. Otherwise it is a waste of time and money to get a basically worthless associates degree. Have you checked to make sure all the credits will transfer?

In Florida I believe universities are obligated to accept all community college credits (up to 2 years' worth) at least as electives. The same may be true in other states.

It is not unheard of for Universities to decide that certain courses provided by local CC's "do not meet the college's standards" and therefore no transfer credits will be allowed in those particular classes. An intended consequence of this position is that it prevents students from enrolling at the CC for the sole purpose of taking easier versions of the classes offered at the university. I live in a college town and this debate often appears in our newpaper.

I would double check the transferability of each class before enrolling and keep in mind that the universities policy could change at any time. It's not going to save you any time or money if you have to retake a class because the credit didn't transfer.

Most CC has transfer agreements with Universities to specify which courses are transferable. They also would have transfer counselors to advise students who are interested in transferring to a 4 yr school.