<p>Hey everyone. I am trying to decide between schools asap and I am completely torn. So here is what I'm deciding between:</p>
<p>Tufts-I love it here and want to go SO bad, but I will have to take out more than $25,000 in loans and I don't know if I want to do that.</p>
<p>Macalester-I got scholarships so it's more like $15,000 in loans. I don't like it as much, because I want a slightly larger school than 1500, but it's near a large city and excellent for international relations, which I want to study.</p>
<p>Whitman-This is near my home and a lot of people are going there, so I don't know how I feel about going here. However, I got a lot of scholarships so I will only have to take out $6,000 in loans every year. (Still A LOT, but seems like nothing next to the 25k :) )</p>
<p>UW Honors-Here I won't have to take out any loans because I got a scholarship. I'm in the Honors program and the Jackson school of IR is supposed to be really good. However, I don't like how it's so close to home. Almost everyone I know is going there and rooming together, so it will be just kinda like high school, which I don't want at all. I really wanted to go to a college with a community but a lot of people just go home on weekends. Also, I'm going to take a gap year so when I come back, the people I know will be further along in school than me anyway, so I don't know, that might be kinda weird.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any opinions on this? I'm dying here.</p>
<p>You will have the most opportunities and probably the best education from Tufts. It seems like you don't like any of the other three as much, so I recommend Tufts even with the extra loans. The difference in cost is probably not significant enough to avoid going to your top choice.</p>
<p>Go to Tufts. Sounds bad, but $25K for a tufts grad spread out over 10-30 years won't hurt you are all. It sounds like alot now, but from someone with 125K in loans, trust me its not bad at all. I can even handle my amount pretty easily.</p>
<p>Whoops, I meant to say 25k a year, so more like 100 k. slipper, how long do you think it will take you to pay back that large of a loan?</p>
<p>I haven't contacted the financial aid office because our EFC is 40,000 and I just received some loans. I doubt I would get anything because there are a lot of people with efcs much lower than mine. My parents can only afford 20k a year though, so I have to make up the difference. :(</p>
<p>I want to major in International Relations.</p>
<p>All I've been doing today is thinking about my future (haha) and I think I might just go to UW. The residential life on campus will be kind of a bummer but I'm sure it will be fun anyway, uw has a pretty good nightlife.</p>
<p>It's kind of sad though, I've wanted to go out east for college for a long time, it's hard saying good-bye to all that. :(</p>
<p>It sounds like the best decision to me. Even 32K in loans for Whitman is quite high. They usually recommend 20 to 25K max for the student. I understand how you feel, but all of the hoopla about going away to a new place wears off fast- usually by Thanksgiving. By that time, you will probably find that U Washington is more fun than you expected and that you are meeting tons of new people. Hopefully, it will not be like high school all over again. And you will end up with a great education and no debt.</p>
<p>Come visit the Tufts board to get a better idea of what you'll be missing if you decide not to go :) 30k in loans in perspective really isn't that much and can be stretched to a very reasonable (compared to the 125k that slipper has)schedule after graduation.</p>
<p>From a parent of a Whitman student. I suggest you strongly consider Whitman, especially if you are looking for more of a residential college experience. Although not as well known on the East Coast, Whitman is considered the best LAC in the Northwest and offers challenging academics, close community, a very talented and motivated student body, and a multitude of extracurricular activities and community service. My student has been extraordinarily happy there. Good luck in your decision. (P.S. I don't know what your family's circumstances are, but almost all schools don't expect parents to pay their EFC out of pocket. The expectation is that parents will borrow and pay off the loans over time.)</p>
<p>College Board has a loan payback calculator under the parents' section. To pay back a loan of $100,000 in ten years takes over $1000 a month. That is after taxes, mind you. You'll be living on half your salary for ten long years while you pay it off.</p>
<p>A huge debt like that is a heavy burden. It will affect what job you take, where you live, and whether you can afford a post-graduate degree. It may influence when you can have children or buy a house. Don't make this kind of choice without seriously considering the consequences.</p>
<p>I am a Tufts grad. Tufts is good in your chosen field but the $100,000 debt is crazy. I would not let my S or D take out $100,000 in undergraduate debt. It will be a dead weight on your life choices for the next 15 years.</p>
<p>You are obviously very bright and talented. Take those talents to UW or Whitman and apply to the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts for Graduate School.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts everyone!
I have officially decided to not go to Tufts or Macalester (I got a Tufts mailer today and I pulled it together to recycle it)
I don't have to technically decide until April 19th because I need to notify National Merit then of my top-choice school, so I'm going to think about Whitman a little while longer.</p>
<p>I actually just got a letter from UW today and I received a full scholarship for my first 2 years! Maybe its a sign. :)</p>
<p>I will certainly be leaving a slot to fill at Macalester, although I'm not sure how that's karma. Good luck to your son. I really really would like to go to Macalester, so I'm sure he would have a good time there.</p>