So I’ve been accepted into UT Austin, but pretty much got no financial aid. They want my parents to take out a $45,000 loan on my behalf for my freshman year and our combined income after tax is only $62,000. It sucks because it was my first choice, and I already know a lot of people down there. My other choice is the Honors College at Rutgers New Brunswick in New Jersey, which would only be about $6,000 for me. UT Austin has more prestige, but I honestly wonder if there would be a difference in the worth of a degree from either college in the long run.
Have you multiplied your loans by four?
There’s your answer. Taking out a 45K loan for Freshman year is just the beginning.
Rutgers Honors at $6,000 per year = $24,000 for your degree.
University of Texas-Austin at $52,000 per year = $208,000 for your degree.
$184,000 can fund your graduate school.
P.S. On one degree it will carry the designation “Honors”.
You have to leave UT Austin on the table. You are not a Texas resident and the taxpayers of Texas is not going to subsidize your education. It seems that you are a NJ resident and they have provided you wit an affordable option
Real talk, do you really have an option? Your family makes $62 after taxes and you would need $45,000 after tax dollars to pay for UT Austin. So basically you think it would be wise for them to borrow 180k, when it would take them 3 years of income without spending a dime for them to get $180K?
Be grateful for your good fortune and enjoy Rutgers.
I would say go to Rutgers, it’s not worth going into debt. However, I have occasionally seen recommendations to go to a more expensive school depending on the major. It’s about return on investment. What major are you planning on studying?
This one is clear. The educations will be similar. Rutgers is the only rational decision.
Are you in-state for Rutgers?
There is not a single major on the planet where this kind of debt at this kind of income could possibly be worth it. Sorry boilermom- this is not a situation where it is major specific. This is crushing and life altering debt to trade one state flagship for a different state flagship.
unh- no.
Don’t even consider UT Austin! You and your family cannot afford it. Period.
No, it doesn’t.
I know that for some reason, too many of the students in NJ somehow have think Rutgers is a bottom-tier school just barely above a CC. But the truth is that Rutgers is a very respected univ across the US. Employers would not be more impressed with a UT degree over a Rutgers degree…at all.
No major is worth 200k of debt. That would be insane and you wouldn’t be able to afford the loan payments.
What is your major and career goal.
You can’t afford UT. Graduating with $200,000 or so in debt would handcuff your life decisions for 20 years after graduation. The large payments you would have to make to cover theses undergraduate loans with interfere with every adult decision you make – it would mean you probably couldn’t take that amazing job at a start-up for less pay, get that new car, take a nice vacation, get the home you want etc. Go to Rutgers, graduate debt free and live your adult life to the fullest.
UT Austin is unaffordable.
Who is going to borrow that $200,000? You can’t do that? Also, the payments on that will be over $2000 a month. Is that really what you expect your parents to do? Is that the type of loan debt YOU want to have?
Rutgers is a fine school…and for $6000 a year…it’s really quite a bargain for you.
Go there. Save your money…maybe do a study abroad. Move to Texas when you graduate from college…if you even still want to.
I’ll repeat what I’ve said before – affordable in-state opportunities can feel less valuable simply because they’re within reach. It’s human nature to think the grass is greener somewhere else. I’m not from NJ, but from my perch I’ve always perceived Rutgers as prestigious and high-quality.
$6k annual COA opens up many wonderful possibilities!
$200k in loans turns a dream school into a hellish nightmare.
I can’t figure out for the life of me how to block quote, but @happy1 said “handcuff your life for 20 years after graduation” and I think they were being too generous.
200,000 worth of debt messes up your life in so, so many ways. It will become a huge regret and who knows what will happen from there.
Rutger is an amazing school. It is well known, well respected, and a good education. Go there.
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I’m sorry, but it’s insane to even consider it. Prestige is only as good as you make it - it’s not by any means a free ride. $200,000 in loans for an undergrad education will cripple you and your family. You’re life will be over before it begins. I’m not exaggerating.
200,000 + interest + stress = not living a life of prestige
Rutgers is also a research I university. Honors will give you access to all sorts of perks.
I made the very same choice you are now facing back in the 1980s, although it was Rutgers vs. a top 10 LAC. With my Rutgers degree, I got into fully funded graduate programs at top 20 universities, including an Ivy. I had fantastic professors and peers through the Honors Program and remain in touch with many of them to this day.
Aside from the fact that you or your family don’t have the 200K, and you’d be paying it off forever.
With 200K you could buy a house!
US News and World Report ranks UT Austin 56 and Rutgers 69 in the nation. The difference is not that great. Go to Rutgers!
Here’s a simple way to test if it’s worth it. Go to google and type in what you want to major in and the college and a random surname. Then see who you can find graduated with that degree on facebook. After that look up what they’re doing for a living since they left college.
I just looked up my old room mate who majored in Chicano Studies at UCSB. He’s a massage therapist and has been for the last 10 years.
You’d be nuts to take out that kind of debt for an out of state university. Being from Texas, it’s not worth the money. The debt would squash you like a bug. You’re in a very good place at Rutgers.