<p>Columbia is an awesome school and I am ecstatic to go. I'm just concerned at the tuition and everything. I applied for financial aid but was rejected (i plan on calling them when their break is over-january 4 i believe). However, after much review I realized that I would not have received aid pretty much anywhere I applied (income is mid-high and too much in savings/assets).</p>
<p>Still, I need a little psychological reassurance and confidence boost in realizing that 50k+ a year is worth it for a college education. How soon will I be able to pay off the college tuition and make profit? Will I be able to get into a good grad school?</p>
<p>What if I get a low GPA-- was all that money down the drain?</p>
<p>1) getting a low gpa you need to work for it (aka do no work) if you got admitted they probably have some confidence in you.</p>
<p>2) will your parents give nothing up front? 55k to borrow a year is a lot. i know two folks who did it- they have resigned themselves that they may hit late 30s and not be done paying it off. though hellojan in the other forum provided the following - [Debt</a> / salary wizard](<a href=“Mapping Your Future: Page not found”>Mapping Your Future: Debt / salary wizard). one of the guys is working for an accounting firm and it will take him some time, another works for a hedge fund and is making a big hack at his loans through it.</p>
<p>3) your options of course would be to pull out of your commitment to columbia and apply to a state option or a school that gives merit aid.</p>
<p>4) in some capacity it matters what you think about debt. debt for those who know how to operate it is certainly liveable. if you do your research you can live with significant debt and not have it consume you as the horror stories of how it has afflicted many. unless you come from a very well off family to some extent there will be some sacrifice either past (your family saved a lot), present (working more now) or future (through debt burden). </p>
<p>5) i think columbia would be ‘worth it’ if you believe that the debt after much careful discussion and examination would not be consuming - in many ways, do you have the discipline to live your post ugrad years with a greater degree of modesty than your peers. but then you have to realize that the money you spend to pay down old debt is the same money you could use to save for your future.</p>
<p>in my own estimation - i could fathom 120k (or 30 a year in debt), but 250-275k total is really something i personally would not feel comfortable with nor recommending anyone take on.</p>
<p>Thank you for the detailed response, admissionsgeek I was hoping you would respond to this. However, I have a kind of different story. I am not in debt-- I just feel bad to my parents that they will be paying 55k a year. They say it’s no problem… and we have a large chunk of change in our savings account. I guess all I can say is I feel bad?</p>
<p>Hopefully I will be able to make my experience at Columbia worth it soon after I graduate? If I major in economics-math, what is the probable starting salary upon graduation??</p>
<p>Sorry if I seem really naive with these questions.</p>
<p>NWdivisionCHAMPS, as a parent paying full freight at two expensive colleges (including Columbia), let me just say that I don’t mind paying the big bucks to set my kids up for a meaningful life. I don’t think about how much they might make when they get out; my sole focus is whether their college experiences are providing a meaningful and lasting platform for emerging into the real world. I don’t care if they become librarians or chefs or park rangers or…; I just want them to be able to use their college experiences as springboards for full lives. Perhaps your parents feel the same way.</p>
<p>NW, if Columbia denied you financial aid, then you can afford it. And I think it’s worth it. Look at the price of other schools; you could be going to Fordham for 50K/year (although you might get merit scholarships). Out-of-state tuition for good state schools could be 20K/year. Isn’t it worth it to go to Columbia? I certainly think so, especially since you worked so hard to get in.</p>
<p>OH! well in that case NW - it is certainly worth it. If it doesn’t adversely effect your future or that of your family, it is worth the pennies. It is a first rate education, and will open you up to things you would have to work twice as hard to have at your disposal.</p>
<p>My family got some aid, but not much, and talking back to my mom about it she is very happy we chose to go with it instead of a cheaper option (even though it was also another top 50 usnews school). Without question the experience, education and the continued presence of Columbia in (not just mine but that of my family) our lives has affirmed why it is such a special place. It pays back in ways I cannot quite describe. I know it feels weird to take a bit from the nest egg, but it is the reason parents save up in the first place. They want to give you something you wont forget. And I will never thank my parents enough for what they gave me. Its a very special (albeit expensive) gift and I can say for certain even if I would still be the same person I am regardless of where I went - I wouldn’t have the same opportunities nor an equivalent perspective on the world.</p>
<p>You’re right. I only get to live once and I am so happy that my undergraduate experience will be at Columbia University I’m pumped-- Class of '14 baby!! Let’s make it all worth it!</p>
<p>^If you plan on wall street even a large amount of debt say 100-150K is worth it, you could save that much money back in 3 years as an investment banker (you’ll get rid of debt and your soul). Columbia gives a significant advantage over state schools for careers in finance and law and I guess to some extent medicine. But if you decide on either finance or law, the return on investment is huge, and you still get all that fluffy education stuff that all these current students and parents talk about.</p>
<p>I know college is one of the reasons why my parents have been saving money . I also know that I’d regret it if I passed up this opportunity!</p>
<p>Sometimes I feel guilty about making my parents pay so much too, but I figure that we’ll make it up to them when we have jobs , LOL. That’s just my reasoning…</p>
<p>^yeah thats how im feeling. hopefully i can make up the tuition at columbia within the first couple years after graduation then go to grad school for my MBA…</p>
<p>my post was independent of whether he borrows or uses family funds, family funds too should give students a push to earn significant amounts soon after college.</p>
<p>conncoll, it’s certainly true that students should not feel entitled just because their parents are funding their education, but I disagree that getting a high-paying job out of college to “make back” the cost of tuition should be a goal. Students should take classes they find stimulating, and major in something they are passionate about, whether or not it has any real-world earnings potential. They should intern in a few different fields and figure out what kind of work they like, and then use the connections they’ve made to get an entry-level position in that field. I’m an (intended) English major; there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to pay back my parents for my Columbia education a few years out of college. And my parents would rather I be happy than make enough to pay them back. I guess what I’m saying is, the gift of a Columbia education cannot solely be measured in dollars and cents; college is a about a lot more than increasing your earnings potential.</p>
<p>It’s great that you feel bad. That will motivate you to work even harder out of gratefulness to your parents for the sacrifices they’ve made for you.</p>
<p>I’m not saying it is measured solely in dollars. I’m saying even without the fluffy education stuff, you can still see a return on investment, not once did I imply that anyone should forgo the intellectual stimulation.</p>
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<p>this is the philosophy of the resource abundant. For poor and middle class families who have no savings, a Columbia education for their children represents upward social mobility. For upper-middle class families who are giving up retirement savings for college (this might be where NWDiv is), there is (and should be) some push for students to show some return on investment. I’m not asking the rich to be greedy, I’m saying you can’t expect most people to have the pure ideals of learning and intellectual stimulation, when there is a huge opportunity cost to a Columbia education and when there is huge opportunity to advance social standing/income/financial stabilty. If tons of people at Columbia seem to have pure ideals, it’s partly because some are lying to you and it’s because tons of people at Columbia are rich (some 50% of Columbia undergrads come from the top 2-3% of household income).</p>
I was hoping you would respond to this. However, I have a kind of different story. I am not in debt-- I just feel bad to my parents that they will be paying 55k a year. They say it’s no problem… and we have a large chunk of change in our savings account. I guess all I can say is I feel bad?</p>
, LOL. That’s just my reasoning…</p>