<p>Having enjoyed Stern's decision to accept me for a few months now, it is finally time to think about logistics. The FinAid report I got with my acceptance letter concluded that I would need to take out a $10,000- $12,000 loan each year. As current students what advice do you have about taking out a student loan?</p>
<p>Lots of views but no reply yet... so BUMP.</p>
<p>I'm just bumping this. And advice regarding the topic is appreciated.</p>
<p>If all you have to come up with to attend Stern is 12K a year, that isn't so bad imo. wouldn't 3500 of that be a (un)subsidized stafford loan. Is that (12K) close to what your EFC was?</p>
<p>The 12K is after the 3500 unsubsidized stafford loan. And lol my EFC is 0. God I love nyu.</p>
<p>yeah well.. .nyu pretty much doesn't have the ability to meet anyone's need. it's kind of ridiculous. </p>
<p>the good news for you, it's stern. the stern degree will get you a job with the salary to pay your loans off asap. much better than say.... tisch.</p>
<p>I was just like you guys a few months ago. I am a spring transfer to NYU at Gallatin, studying marketing/communication. As much as I love NYU (and I do love my dream school), NO SCHOOL is worth this much debt. NYU continues to lower financial aid packages while subsequently increasing tuition. From 48,000 to 52,000. And it only gets higher each year, while aid doesn't keep up. I spoke with NYU's career counselors and they themselves told me that there are better schools out there with MUCH better aid. I got only about 5K for the entire semester. Think about this guys, I urge you, because I've already gotten myself into 20K in debt for ONE semester, which is what some people who go out of state pay for their entire bachelor's degree. NYU does have some sort of prestige to it, but at the present moment, NO industry offers guaranteed employment other than medicine or law, and I have friends of mine here at NYU that are 100K in debt with perfect GPA's and amazing resumes that CAN'T FIND A JOB. Do NOT get into this much debt, trust me. Stern kids, who everyone assumes are going to graduate and make money, are struggling to find employment because of how bad American business is doing. Unless you can truly afford it, I don't feel that NYU is worth the cost of attendance. I truly love it here, but I've come to realize that NYU is more about making money than anything, which is why I'm transferring out for next fall. </p>
<p>Good luck guys!</p>
<p>well... I do have to admit I'm applying to transfer out in the fall. And if not, i'm trying to graduate a semester early since tisch fees and stuff add up to $60,000 per year. This thread is making me realize how ridiculous NYU is.</p>
<p>elvenqueen and andymusic: how difficult is it to transfer out of NYU (and to transfer MAP courses out of NYU)? If I'd like to transfer to a college like Columbia (assuming that I'll have good grades next year), how do you find NYU's reputation to stand with other colleges?</p>
<p>This topic has been posted on extensively in the FA board. $15k/year in debt is way too much. $60k paid off at 8% over 15 years means $573 of your AFTER TAX paycheck going to repay student loans each and every month, for 15 years. This is equivalent to about $800 before tax, and is likely to leave someone with a $60k starting salary with very little disposable income for a very long time.</p>
<p>Stern's name does not really change the math. Sure, finance is one of those few industries where the name on the diploma does make some difference, but like everywhere else it is for the first job only. Most people in any industry make the median salary, don't be tempted by the stories about fund traders getting six-figure bonuses for the past few years. Last but not least, a career in finance may carry $20-$30k more in median pay above other options, but more often than not it requires living and working in a major metrolpolitan center, where $20k does not really cover the substantially higher cost of living.</p>
<p>As for transferring out, every school has a system of how many credits will transfer over. For example, at my old school prior to transferring, I had 52 credits, and NYU only transferred 39. I've heard of people transferring out to Ivy League schools, so as long as you have a good GPA, recommendation letters, extracurriculars, etc. you should be okay.</p>
<p>In addition, Stern really doesn't have any advantage unless you're getting decent financial aid. NYU's newspaper has even featured articles of how hard it is going to be for NYU Stern grads to get jobs after graduation due to the flailing economy. In addition, you may think to yourself, "80 thousand dollars in debt isn't so bad", but remember this does NOT include interest. By the time you're done paying off your loans, it will likely add up to well over 100 thousand dollars. Also, if you're willing to take on that much debt, there's a VERY high probability that you will not be able to get the funding through student loans anymore, again, due to the U.S.'s economic situation. Citibank and Sallie Mae, NYU's preferred lenders are no longer meeting the needs of students because they have lost billions of dollars in the past year alone, making it nearly impossible for NYU students to attain funding for their education. Its just a really screwed up system.</p>
<p>I wholly agree with andy4music - DO NOT allow yourself to get into debt AT ALL. It will plague you for years to come. I used to work for the NYU Phonathon, there were alums who would be like "I'm still in debt b/c of you *******s!" Don't do it, go somewhere else if need to take out loans, it's not worth being in debt.</p>
<p>I'm also not convinced NYU is worth huge loans. The only reason I attended NYU was because I got a great CAS scholarship. Without, there's simply no way I could've attended.</p>
<p>Stern might be worthwhile if you have $20k in loans by the time you graduate - someone should run the numbers to see if this would a feasible amount to pay off on a $50k yearly income. Regardless, this works out to borrowing on average $5k per year. However, remember that each year tuition and fees rise! So to get $20k in debt by graduation, you'll have to be borrowing less than $5k per year as a freshman.</p>
<p>In your case, you're already borrowing $10,000- $12,000 to finance your freshman year. Tuition and costs at NYU are rising on average about 6% or so per year, I believe. Unless you find outside scholarships, your grants/scholarship amount won't be increasing - meaning that every year, you will have to borrow an extra 6% of whatever the cost of attending is.</p>
<p>So, let's run some numbers. Let's say freshman year, you borrow $10000, and it costs $50000 to attend NYU. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that all your loans are subsidized, so you don't have to pay interest until graduation. And let's assume that costs rise at an ultra-conservative 3%.</p>
<p>Freshman year: You'll have $10000 debt. Tuition costs $50000, and parents/scholarship/grant pay $40000.</p>
<p>Sophomore year: Tuition is now $51500, but your parents/scholarship/grant still only covers $40000. Now you have to borrow $11500, and at the end of the year, you now have $21500 of debt.</p>
<p>Junior year: Tuition is now $53045, and your parents/scholarship/grant still only covers $40000. Now you have to borrow $13045, and at the end of the year, you now have $34545 of debt.</p>
<p>Senior year: Tuition is now roughly $54640, and you still don't have any more than the $40000 you had as a freshman. You have to borrow $14640, and at graduation, you now are in $49185 of debt.</p>
<p>So as a high school senior, what looks like a $40000 commitment in debt is actually nearly $50000, or 20% more than what you expected. I used an ultra-low 3% rate of increase. However, if you search Google for "average tuition increase," you'll find that tuition rises anywhere from 6% to 13% a year or so. Guess what? That $40000 commitment in debt is going to increase by WAY more than 20% by the time you graduate, and if you include interest (which I didn't) it's going to be even more.</p>
<p>You ought to make decisions for yourself, in consultation with people you trust. But as I see it, Stern, and college in general, isn't worth $10k-$12 of debt as a freshman.</p>
<p>(If someone can check my numbers and tell me if they make any sense, that'd be great.)</p>
<p>lol to pay back those debts, i suggest getting a job in an I-bank and telling them to post you in Hong Kong, Singapore etc where you get pretty much the same pay and the cost of living is lower, so you can pay back the loans with relative ease x__X</p>
<p>Wow. Thanks a lot for some very conscientious responses guys. Here's what I figure: </p>
<p>I already have a job waiting for me on broadway as a perfume salesman through connections which will get me $400 a week, so if I work year round that is roughly $15,000 after taxes. Also, I forgot to mention that I'm a commuter so I have home cooked meals and therefore won't have to spend too much on that. I'm not planning on getting a car soon cuz I can get to nyu via path and my family has two cars already so I'll save money on insurance and gas. I really thank all of you guys for providing honest insight, but I think that it won't be impossible to remain debt free even after taking out a $15,000 loan every year on avg. (10,000 freshmen, 13,000 soph., 16,000 junior., 18,000 senior roughly if tuition rises by that much). Let's see how it goes though. I'm not saying I know anything more about this than you guys who are obviously more experienced but I know some people who are in a lot of debt- they were/are completely useless throughout college in terms of getting a job and then are in shock at the end. Again, thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>I actually am in the process of transferring but I know people who transferred NYU (CAS-dental track) to Columbia, NYU (GSP) to Northwestern, and NYU (Tisch Film) to Davidson. All are happy.</p>
<p>And as much as I'd like to transfer, the reality is I can graduate a year early or take two semesters off and graduate with my class and still save on tuition. So I might not. As much as I want to.</p>
<p>Remember though, 4 years is along time and the economy works in cycles of recession/expansion. I think by 2012, the things that are going on now will just be a bad memory. If the current condition lasts, you can always work in London, Hong Kong, Paris etc. </p>
<p>To put my own personal situation into perspective:</p>
<p>My EFC is around 28k so if NYU gives me around 15k in fin. aid, my parents will pay around 20k (plus cover living expenses, books etc.) and I'll take the rest out in loans (my dad's credit rating is 800+ so I'll get low interest if he co-signs). That all adds up to me taking out 18k a year in loans for 3.5-4yrs to do a double major in applied mathematics and finance . Hopefully Stern will be worth it in the long run... Damn, I never imagined that dreams would be so expensive.</p>