<p>I am New Jersey senior and I have narrowed my college choices to Rutgers (in-state) and Univeristy of Maryland (out of state).</p>
<p>I am torn between getting a slightly better education at Umd vs having less debt at Rutgers.
Umd would put me in about $25,000 of debt per year while Rutgers would put me under $10,000 per year. My first choice is Umd and I would be willing to take out loans to pay for my education there. But I do not want to act completely out of foolishness and get myself into unmanagable debt. I am not sure if I will be able to lower the cost of Umd as a go into my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year there. So my first question: Is there anyway I will be able to go to Umd and remain out of massive debt. I would do whatever it took to go there? Which leads to my second question: Should I cut my loses and go to Rutgers?</p>
<p>Please help! Thanks :)</p>
<p>P.S. My major will be computer/software engineering which is a growing field.</p>
<p>$40,000 in debt is bad enough–and it is bad regardless of your prospective career, believe me–but $100,000 in debt is just crazy.</p>
<p>I cannot in good conscience advise you to go to either of these schools, but Rutgers is the lesser evil.</p>
<p>Do not assume any debt you acquire in college will magically disappear once you find a job; as the financial crisis we just went through proved, this is not the case. Paying off student loans is a financial burden you want to minimize at all costs.</p>
<p>UMDCP is not worth the debt over Rutgers. The two institutions are quite comparable in many ways. I doubt the UMDCP is going to offer you so much more opportunity that it is worth the price difference. Also, UMDCP is not going to magically become less expensive over four years; on the contrary, your tuition and costs will go up each year no matter where you go.</p>
<p>I know the strong drive that many NJ seniors feel to get out of the state. But catering to this preference at such high cost is definitely not worth it. In five years, looking at this on the back end, you will be happy you don’t have the debt.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone I really appreciate the input. So I called Maryland and asked alot of questions. Basically I found out that If during my second or third year I rented an apartment instead of staying in a dorm, obtained Maryland driver’s license, and found a job in Maryland I could lower my tuition substancially. It would still be more than Rutgers, but still significantly less. than $25,000. And Maryland is something I’ve always wanted.
Is everyone saying that it is impossible to get out of that much debt or just very very hard? Because I will be in debt either way and if I can get a better job/experience from Maryland will it be a decent investment?</p>
<p>You would have to live here for 12 months before enrolling, and you would need to be self-supporting during that time. If you truly desire a UMD degree, it may be worth it to you to move here, get a job, support yourself, and then apply.</p>
<p>However, right now it makes more sense to study at Rutgers where you already have in-state residence status.</p>
<p>There is a huge difference in paying down 40k and paying down 100k. 40k would be very tough, 100k would strangle you. Most parents in the Financial Aid Forum would advise holding your loans to the maximum total for Stafford Loans. Run this calculator and see what each of those debt loads would look like: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Loan Calculator](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Loan Payment Calculator - Finaid)</p>
<p>Lastly, you need to know that the only loans that you are guaranteed to qualify for are the Staffords. All that you need to do to qualify is file the FAFSA. For anything more than that you would need to find a co-signer and get a private loan. Even if you should be able to find someone who is willing to co-sign with you for year one, what will you do if that person isn’t willing to co-sign in years two, three, and/or four? What will you do if even though that person is willing, they don’t qualify for the loan?</p>
<p>You applied to Rutgers, there certainly must be some things that you like about it. Try to find a few more. Right now, it is your best option.</p>
<p>You will NOT get a better job with a degree from Maryland. There is practically nothing that separates the two in terms of name recognition/whatever. Maryland is not worth more money than Rutgers. And a bachelor’s degree in computer science will not enable to you shoulder big debts.</p>
<p>Please set aside your subjective preference for Maryland for one second and realize that going there would be extremely foolish.</p>
<p>"You would have to live here for 12 months before enrolling, and you would need to be self-supporting during that time. "
Also to note is that I’m sure the self-supporting implies filing to be considered independent in law as well, which means you’d have to show that you can pay for all your expenses living by yourself.</p>
<p>Even if you “believe” you could find a better job coming out of UMD, being so much in debt, you won’t have the freedom to be picky at what type of jobs you get for years to come, or even taking internships that don’t pay while in school or after graduation. Not only will you be making more than $500+ payments a month for decades, that $500 will be reduced from whatever higher salary you think you’ll be getting after UMD. If you’ve ever held a part time job, you’ll realize how many hours you’ll have to work, just to pay off the extra 60K(and that’s not including the interest that will be accumulating over the years). I don’t know what your potential salary will be but that’s basically a year or two of work(spread out over the years) of money you will never get to use or spend.</p>
<p>You would also need to be 24 to claim independent status, but that would be moot since you’d be moving to the state primarily for higher education.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t assume that UMD offers a better education than Rutgers. I’d think the Rutgers name has more cachet. And $100K in debt is a deal-breaker!</p>
<p>Could you consider a transfer to UMD after 2 years at Rutgers – might be a workable middle ground for you. May also find out that you love Rutgers and stay:). Good Luck with your decision!</p>