Also don't try to go to a CC to save money first unless you know for a fact that you want to want to transfer to schools they articulate with. Many of the schoo

Also don't try to go to a CC to save money first unless you know for a fact that you want to want to transfer to schools they articulate with. Many of the schools with the best CS programs take a ridiculously small percent of transfers. Are you on the East coast? How were your sat/act scores? I would try CMU, Urbana-Champaign, Georgia Tech, NC Chapel Hill, & maybe Berkeley if you're willing to move that far. Remember as a nontraditional student you will get increased financial aid availability for housing and other expenses that someone under 23 doesn't get. Also note that if you can get into a private school, they usually have incredibly high grant offerings. The hard part isn't paying for private, it's getting in. Lastly, your financial aid works of the previous tax year. While in school I was able to keep my income below 15k / year and got full aid the entire time. If yours is higher, then your expected contribution may match or outweigh the yearly cost of a public school, but you'll still have a shot at very high aid packages at private schools because of the cost difference. Check financial aid info at http://www.collegeboard.com http://www.collegeboard.com Your next step, no matter what, is to fill out the fafsa at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov http://www.fafsa.ed.gov You have to wait for a pin so start right now. Then when you get your pin, it shouldn't take you more than an hour with a W2 to estimate your EFC. Armed with that information, you can start asking the right questions about cost. And if you decide to wait another year, then all you have to do is update your account instead of redoing the whole thing.