<p>I'm from Michigan, going to be a senior this year. U of M has been my top choice since middle school, and I have a good chance of getting in. But lately my mom has been talking about money and debt and I know I will be in debt if I go to U of M. So my question is, should I save money and go to Western (and do the honors program), or go to U of M, the more prestigious school? A few successful people I know say save your money on undergrad school, it's grad school that really matters.
my stats: 30 ACT, 3.86 GPA (all A's junior year) , will graduate with 4 APs (BC calc, lang, physics, psych), ECs I have been committed to, NHS
possible major/career interests: math/engineering, marketing/business, advertising, dermatology, broadcast journalism, theatre or music as minors or double majors..yeah so basically I'm undecided.
If you went to a not-so-prestigious undergrad please share your success stories (or non-success stories if that's the case)!!
thanks</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html</a></p>
<p>Sit down with your parents, and work through the Net Price Calculator (NPC) at the website of each of the colleges and universities that you are considering. How much will your family be likely to be expected to pay? Can that be covered by your summer and school year jobs, a Direct/Stafford loan ($5,500 freshman, $6,500 sophomore, $7,500 junior, $7,500 senior years)? Or would someone need to take on more debt than that? If the total debt is going to work out to be more than the total permitted under the Direct loan program, then you are talking about too much debt.</p>