<p>The naysayers who will tell you to cheap out and attend a public do have a small point. As I said before, you musn’t not want to exceed a certain limit as far as debt goes; rule of thumb – if you’re paying more than a higher percentage of your aggregate future income on debt payments, you should consider the state flagship as a last resort (if merit scholarships doesn’t come through and if the welfare state doesn’t deem you worthy of getting YOUR MONEY money back as “financial aid”). If potential debt loads less than that, then you have to make the decision as to whether your future is worth spending a little bit more time and effort and money.</p>
<p>Excellent post glido!</p>
<p>glido, The idea of a web based education might be fine for some but most people are hoping that their children live in the real world with real life experiences which include all the trappings, including the social experiences.</p>
<p>*The naysayers who will tell you to cheap out and attend a public do have a small point. *</p>
<p>This is a VERY OFFENSIVE statement.</p>
<p>For many people, paying the COA for a public is a lot of money. They aren’t “cheaping out” and to say that is an insult to many families - especially those who must put more than one child thru college. </p>
<p>For families who have good incomes, they don’t qualify for “free aid” at most schools. And, if their kids have good but not high stats, it can be difficult if not impossible to get accepted to pricier schools that meet need. </p>
<p>Often, families have to pay more than their EFCs which is especially hard if they have 2 going to school at one time. </p>
<p>So, again, to suggest that families paying $80k+ per child for college are “cheaping out” is ridiculous, outrageous, and insulting. Would you say the same to parents who send their kids to free K-12 instead of privates? At least most who send their kids to public universities aren’t going for free.</p>
<p>I still think it is funny how so many people seem convinced that paying out your nose for a college education is admirable. To me it is foolish.</p>
<p>*My husband is a CPA and financial advisor. He has many physician clients (all specialists) who are in their mid-40s and are still struggling to pay off their medical school debt. Just because you are a high income earner doesn’t mean having a large amount of debt isn’t going to adversely affect your lifestyle for many years to come. There’s a big, big difference between $20,000 debt and $100,000 or more in debt. *</p>
<p>True…</p>
<p>That’s why it’s sad to hear kids saying that they’re willing to take on big undergrad debt and big med school debt to go to their dream schools because “doctors make a lot of money.”</p>
<p>They don’t realize how much it costs to start a practice, run a practice, pay for malpractice insurance, live as a doctor is “expected to” AND pay back big loans. </p>
<p>It’s a myth to think that after working so hard for sooo many years to finally have your specialty, that you’re then going to continue to live like a pauper to quickly pay off big loans.</p>