I’m confused. If Yale is not affordable full freight because you have sibling, and your parents “loan” you the money to pay, they’re still basically paying the cost of Yale for you. They’re losing the same amount of money. But rather than paying it outright, they’re saying you have to pay them back, something that will likely not be able to occur until you’re mid 20s and out of graduate school. So are these empty threats? They’re basically paying for your education still under the assumption that you will pay them back so that they can pay for your siblings. But it will probably more than a decade until they get that money back…
@calicash Its not an “empty threat” its a wonderful thing the parents are trying to do for this child similar to what some parents do when they loan their kids money to buy a home. The OP doesn’t want to detail his financial business, but its pretty clear that the parents have some money set aside for retirement (outside retirement accounts, perhaps rental properties they draw rent from or can liquidate over time) but they plan on needing that money for themselves in the future in order to enjoy retirement, or perhaps help all 3 of their kids with other things. They know this child really wants to go to Yale, but aren’t willing to shell out the full $280K for Yale, since they haven’t spent that much for the other sibling and sibling #3 is not planning on top ‘full pay’ schools. So to be fair, the parents aren’t going to give this kid $280K if they are only paying 140K for the other 2 kids. But they can find the money to loan him/her. And that is wonderful.
And yes, folks, Yale is different. Its a TICKET to a great paying job out of college. Period. Taking a gap year to wait tables and defer that big payday is absolutely silly, when there are other options on the table (loan from mom and dad)
Again, will re-iterate- OP, the decision is really between:
- Yale + work in 4 years or
- Yale + Law School or Grad School.
If Option 1- I say take the loan and thank your wonderful parents, daily, for this opportunity!
Option 2- Go to the cheaper college and don’t take the loan
To all the other posters, I don’t get what is up with all the hating on these parents. ALERT= not everyone is willing to fork over $280K on college, even if they can. But these parents are trying to make it happen for this really special situation. Good for them.
In my opinion, the options are:
1° Yale, work right after graduation, then after paying back your parents, go to grad school or law school
or
2° Cheaper college + direct law school/grad school or backpacking or whatever else you may want to do
(although law schools prefer applicants to have worked a couple years, there wouldn’t be a pressing need to find a good job right out of college.)
So, are you willing to work right after college at a job that may be suboptimal for your quality personal time since you’d likely have to pick a high-salary or high-intensity one, and thus defer law school by at least 5 years? Or would you rather forego Yale so that you can choose to do whatever you want after college, including something that won’t earn any money?
In addition, note that there are some pretty well-paid student positions on campus at Yale (in labs, think tanks, etc) but you’d likely have to work over the summer if you attend Yale, whereas if you don’t want to do anything over the summer choosing the cheapest option would allow you to. We don’t know if you’re an intense overachiever who’d thrive on the opportunities offered, or a laidback kid who’d love to sit by the pool for 2 months.
If the OP+parents are already drawing nest eggs now to fund an UNDERGRAD degree at Yale, how are they going to fund law school? Sell a kidney?
Why should any parent pay for grad school? I’m not footing the bill for my kids, nor did my parents for me.
That said, if the OP wants to go to grad school (like Law school that is unfunded), then the loan isn’t a great idea.
The gap between “could make payments on” and “can afford” is enormous.
If you don’t grasp the meaning of that difference, please, for the sake of civilization, avoid a career in finance, or even law.
I think that your parents are being incredibly reasonable and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the forebear payback of your loans until after you are settled in your final career. I don’t see them pushing you into bankruptcy either should you fall upon hard times. I’d say go for it.
Where is this guarantee of a great paying job just because you went to Yale idea coming from? I wonder if posters that believe this to be true ever attended an Ivy league institution.
“But do you think the “optimal experience” at Yale is worth that price tag for me?”
if the discussion is about the best, most lucrative career opportunities, that’s one thing. but if the discussion is largely driven by chasing some mythical “optimal college experience” then that’s something else.
who says Yale will guarantee you an optimal experience just because you’ve loved it since childhood? What if you go, discover that reality did not match your expectations, and wind up hating it? people have gone to their dream schools before and had a rude awakening. who’s to say that Illinois will not give you a comparable college experience at a fraction of the cost?
here’s a guy who dreamed of Ivy League, got into Columbia, and hated it:
http://www.vice.com/read/going-to-an-ivy-league-school-sucks-400
also, it’s not going to be an optimal college experience if you are waiting tables and delivering pizzas to pay off a loan.
if the choice was Yale vs Southeast Podunk U, that’s one thing. but a full-tuition scholarship to Illinois? i doubt someone with the capabilities to earn that will stumble out of the gate after graduation simply because they did not go to Yale. my vote is U of Illinois.
Congratulations on getting into Yale - no matter where you go, you will always have that accomplishment (and getting in is a BIG accomplishment!).
Personally I know that my son would never sign on to $85K in debt, minimum, for an UG degree.
On the other hand, if he got into Yale (or Stanford is another example), we would be willing to pay for it. It’s one of the few schools where we would do that (and there are only maybe 2 or 3 max for us). But then that puts our son in the position of feeling that he “owes” us something which I would never want. It’s a huge sum of money. We could swing it but would feel the pinch, especially when it comes to retirement.
You never know what will happen in the future. People have babies (a good thing, but also a huge responsibility), get sick, lose their jobs, have to support elderly parents, etc. But a known variable is that student debt generally doesn’t go away, except under very limited circumstances.
I don’t know what the answer is for you, but I wanted to congratulate you for researching the options so carefully.
@aoYale2020 Go for Yale! You’ve worked hard to be admitted and bet you will regret not going for the rest of your life. If cost were not an issue, you would choose it. If you do as well at Yale as you obviously have done thus far, it is totally worth the $$. Congrats on your accomplishments! Yale will open many doors that most others won’t. Good luck. Don’t live with regret years from now. I would not pass up this incredible opportunity.
@suzyQ7: “And yes, folks, Yale is different. Its a TICKET to a great paying job out of college. Period.”
This is one of those things people say, but for which there is scant evidence. Like all schools, Yale has plenty of graduates who are under-employed. Choosing a high-demand major (e.g. engineering), and doing well in that major, is a better ticket to a great paying job out of college than simply attending Yale.
Here is the latest graduation employment survey from Yale. http://ocs.yale.edu/sites/default/files/Final%20Class%20of%202015%20Report%20%286%20months%29%20-%20FINAL.pdf Over 10% make $30K or less, an additional 12% make between $30 and 40K.
Finance? Law? Your objective is not clear. I suggest that you go the cheapest route and save money for law school. ibanking requires an emotional investment and a huge effort to develop a network.
If OP is a female, at the risk of sounding sexist,I would likewise caution her about the impact loans could have on her ability to have a future family life that doesn’t involve working “professional” hours. /posted by a female lawyer who found her ability to do so limited by debt
Guessing OP picked Yale? That is what I would have done.
OP hasnt posted in almost 2 months.