<p>If you dad makes $78k a year you should be offered pretty substantial financial aid. It actually wound up cheaper for me to attend CMU versus my brother at Pitt (in-state) due to the financial aid from CMU.</p>
<p>As for completely avoiding loans, I wouldn’t do that. [url=<a href="http://www.cmu.edu/career/salaries-and-destinations/2012-survey/pdfs-one-pagers/2012_SCS.pdf]Here’s[/url">http://www.cmu.edu/career/salaries-and-destinations/2012-survey/pdfs-one-pagers/2012_SCS.pdf]Here’s[/url</a>] the post-graduation statistics for CMU CS grads. Having subsidized loans from the government really isn’t that much of a weight when you’re making $60k a year. If you do decide to do the PhD route you won’t have to pay for it, either. You’ll get a stipend that will cover living expenses and tuition will be covered.</p>