<p>Lastly, I have been hearing mixed messages about grad school. Some say I’ll be buried in debt, others say it is virtually free. For those who have been there (like julliet), could I get your insight on this?</p>
<p>It totally depends on your major, the area of major, your stats, your GRE scores, etc. Some majors don’t have any/much money to give grad students. Some majors give larger amounts to those with super stats than they do to those with good stats.</p>
<p>My son and several friends are going to grad school next year. Some got great offers, some got modest offers, some got no money at all…even though they all had very good stats…it just depended on their majors/area of major and how much money the school has to give. </p>
<p>It seems to me that if your major/area of major is research-oriented than the school may award merit for high stats for grad school. However, if your major/career interest is more “professionally based” (like becoming a physical therapist, Education, MBA, law, med, psychologist, etc) then you’re likely not going to get much/any money.</p>
<p>That said, even with generous merit money for grad school, students often need to still take out loans because grad life is often more expensive that undergrad life (parents no longer paying for as much stuff like insurance, cars, cell phones, etc) and housing is often more expensive for grad students since they usually have private room apartments.</p>
<p>As a freshman, you are ordinarily allowed $5500 in Stafford loans with some of that subsidized (lower interest and not accumulating while in school) with the subsidy only if you have need under FAFSA. There is also a Perkins loan that is subsidized that students can get, usually a small amount. Also if your parents get turned down for PLUS, you can get another $4K in loans.</p>
<p>You and your parents have to decide what you can afford . It’s really a family decision and what can sink one family is doable comfortably by another, sometimes even in the same financial range. </p>
<p>As for graduate school, it can vary widely. If you go to grad school on a departmental basis, there are often stipends and grants available for most of it. It depends on the school and program and what you can get. But most PHDs for English, for instance, do not pay much for their studies. But as with all things, money gives you flexibility.</p>
<p>I know two girls who went and are going for prestigious PHD programs. One got a tuition remisision and a generous grant, but the job was full time and the pay was not enough to get a decent apartment in the Boston area. My friend’s daughter is finding that getting a place in Oakland is not affordable with her stipend. As costs go up and schools get less funds, the student gets squeezed. If you should want to go to a professional school or for a masters, you generally have to pay and borrow. Med/law students often end up with tremendous debt amount. I know some architecture students who also had to borrow and they went to prestigious schools and did get some grants, but it cost more. Same with MBAs–you borrow if you cannot pay.</p>
<p>L&C is a great school. One of my son’s good friends and highschool classmates goes there, but he is on a generous financial aid package and he and his family are not taking on a lot of debt. He is from a family that needed a lot of aid for him to go to a private LAC, and L&C was the most generous to him, though Macalester was his first choice. He would have gone to SUNY Binghamton or Geneseo if the money didn’t pan out. </p>
<p>Unless you have some overriding reason and the full support of financially able parents, keep your debt low to keep your future options open.</p>
<p>UCSC would ask me to loan about $5000 by myself, but my parents would only be asked to pay $2000 a year, which they can easily afford.</p>
<p>*So I took another look at my fin aid and there’s about an extra $6,500 loans for me! I forgot about the sub/unsub loans that are thrown in. So basically, I am looking at $27K in loans for UCSC and $54K at L&C. Is it normal for them to be asking me to loan $6000+ by myself and leave my parents with a bill that is too high for them to meet? It seems like so much! Guess I am not able to go anywhere debt-free. *</p>
<p>Can you clarify?</p>
<p>What is your EFC?</p>
<p>How much can your parents pay each year?</p>
<p>What is the actual breakdown of your FA package?</p>
<p>What is the breakdown of the COA of UCSC?</p>
<p>Wow, thank you for the advice. </p>
<p>My EFC is $204. No joke. </p>
<p>My parents can pay roughly $3000.</p>
<p>L&C Package = $34,600 in grants + scholarships, $6,500 in loans. All rough estimates. Adds up to about $41,000. Total tuition is $51,000. Expected to pay about $10,000, not including work study.</p>
<p>UCSC Package = $22,000 in grants + scholarships, $6,700 in loans, and $1,500 in work study. Adds up to about $30,000. Total tuition is $32,000. About $2,000 left for my parents to pay. Not exact but just giving rough numbers. </p>
<p>So you see, its very expensive for me to attend any school but its looking like L&C for me.</p>
<p>But your parents can pay for UCSC, or what they have left for you and your family to pay. Where would you get the funds to pay for the gap that L&C left? </p>
<p>With that EFC, it really is wrong for you to ask your parents to take out loans, in my opinion. That is really going to put a lot of stress on them. And you are borrowing enough already. I congratulate your parents for being able to come up with $3k a year with that EFC. Hopefully with tax credits and some savings from having you not at home, it won’t be too tight for them when paying that. May even leave you a bit of breathing room. You would be hard put to come up with the funds for L&C and remember, this is not a one year thing. The costs go up each year, and there is a tendency for schools to be most generous freshman year, and shift more of the cost onto the student in subsequent ones l You should have a bit of a leeway for when that happens. Also, your parents will likely want to come visit, you may have some needs and wants where some extra would be ever so handy to have.</p>
<p>Here’s the link I couldn’t post the other day: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid)
This will let you compare the costs and the various parts of the aid packages side-by-side, and will also give you an estimate of your loan repayment costs.</p>
<p>I have decided to go with Lewis and Clark! Thank you all for the advice! I feel the pros of L&C outweigh the debt that I’ll have to pay back. Sure, having debt sucks but I’m there to learn and I don’t believe that I will be able to do that as well at UCSC, especially coming from a smaller private school where I have become accustomed to interaction with my teachers. Again, thanks to all.</p>
<p>Where are you going to get the loans to pay L&C? Are you having your parents apply for the loans through PLUS or having them co sign even higher interest rate loans for you? You are not going to be able to get those loans on your own.</p>
<p>LiesLies: </p>
<p>Where is the additional money coming from to pay for the more expensive school???</p>