<p>First, there is a financial aid forum where you can read a lot of discussion about excessive costs and debt. Second, it is important that you calculate how much you are borrowing ALL IN, to be very aware 70 without room and board is really $120+ and that is a huge difference. To be casual about the difference shows a lack of understanding about what debt really means. To talk about paying 120k shows you don’t understand compound interest. You will be paying back another 50k in interest. If you are defering through grad school it grows enormously. If you add grad school loans you are talking something toward a half a million dollars. Insane.</p>
<p>There is ‘worth it’ debt that gives you a return on the investment that you sometimes have to make for grad school. Don’t limit your future options by large amounts of unnecessary debt. Something small is a different story.</p>
<p>You can look at lower cost oos options, there is a thread pinned to the top of the aid forum. You can look for automatic oos merit, thread for that too. A semester abroad is something to look forward to, but likely once you are immersed in school you can also find other exciting things to do.</p>