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Leave work and take loans from bank or credit union to pay for tuition and living expenses

• Alternative is to live with Deborah, Veronica, Anthony, or other relative.
• Working full-time is not an option since it will interfere with the speed at which I finish school.
• Ideally would be best for me to remain in California so that I can receive in-state tuition and have an easier transfer to UC Berkeley (will also maintain in-state tuition for Berkeley).
• I will move to a much cheaper apartment outside of the city since it won't be necessary to be in the city if I am not working.

Attend community college and receive one or more Associates in Science

• ETA is one year and a half worst case scenario. Some CCs will waive pre-requisites for me based on my existing knowledge and will permit me to take all of the classes I need for an Associates in Science.
• Cost of tuition is $2500 + $1000 as buffer for unexpected expenses = $3500 for school (source: Assist.org printed copy of required courses to transfer to UC Berkeley as BS in EECS http://bit.ly/2cJiLYS).
• One year and a half of living expenses in an apartment: $18,075 (Source: 2016 estimate by city of Berkeley for a person living in an apartment).
• Total cost of finishing Associates of Science for transfer: $21,575

Take SAT/ACT

Use Associates Degree, community college grades, and work experience to transfer to UC Berkeley as Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

• Transfer rate to UC Berkeley as of 2016 was 24.2% (source: http://admissions.berkeley.edu/studentprofile)
• High likelihood my initial application will be rejected
• High GPA, test scores, and personal statement detailing my work experience are probable enough to get me accepted into EECS at UC Berkeley (source: two EECS students that I met in the Computer Science student hall at Berkeley Campus and a post made on the UC Berkeley Subreddit)

Take additional loans from bank to finish EECS at Berkeley

• I will likely transfer in as a Sophomore or a Junior.
• ETA is three years worst case scenario to finish Berkeley assuming minimum number of credits transfer from DigiPen and Associate's degree.
• $32,374 annual cost of attendance (source: 2016 UC Berkeley Student Budget http://financialaid.berkeley.edu/cost-attendance).
• $97,122 in total from three years.

Intern during Junior and Senior year at Berkeley at game companies (e.g. Riot, Blizzard, Nintendo or other Seattle/LA based game developers)

• This will open a door for me to return at a higher paying position as a Software Engineer or Senior Software Engineer at these companies.

Apply for job at Nintendo, Blizzard, Valve, Microsoft, Amazon Game Studios as Senior Software Engineer

• Expected pay $120,000 (source: Glassdoor.com, former colleagues at Munkyfun and Juicebox and classmates from DigiPen).
• $40,000 change in pay from my current pay. The difference in pay will cover my education at Berkeley after three years, and will accelerate my ability to repay the DigiPen tuition than my current rate.

Total accrued debt: $118,697

• $97,122 from three years at UC Berkeley
• $21,575 from one and a half year for Associates of Science
• Duration of time: 4 years (worst case), 3 years (best case)
• This will complete my degree in EECS from UC Berkeley
• Important to note this is the worst case scenario.
• Best case scenario would be if I finished my Associates in one year (doable if the CC waives pre-reqs base on my existing competency) and if I transferred to UC Berkeley as a Junior. This would shorten my time in school to three years and would instead cost $82,823.
• Alternately, attending DigiPen and finishing what I started there would cost $133,245. There is no option for that number to go do down unlike the UC Berkeley option (which could possibly end up being $82,823 best case scenario).