<p>Do I go into debt taking out loans for the school I want to go to or do I attend the other school that is well known and that I would do fine at and most likely be is happy there but have no debt upon graduation. I plan on going to law school, and both schools are equal in excellent academics, but the one with debt offers more of an emphasis on the 2 undergrad majors that I intend to go into. The other school is in the top 20 in the country, but not as good in my majors as school with debt. Is the debt really worth incurring?</p>
<p>Undergrad in general:
Debt < No debt</p>
<p>It depends on how much you’re paying. I hope you’re getting lots of financial aid.</p>
<p>Go to the school where you will have no debt. Use the money saved for law school. You will do well at either place and possibly expand or change your field of study. Debt-free at graduation is a gift!</p>
<p>Whenever you are considering graduate school (i.e. law or medical) it would be wise to try and finish UG with little or no debt if possible. Considering you will need to get loans in the 100-200K range for graduate school, you really don’t want to incur much debt before then.</p>
<p>The immediate answer is certainly obvious. Especially when the two schools are so similar. However, IF your family can take on the debt/cost and are willing to help you out, and you truly love that other school more, that can go into the equation.</p>
<p>As an example, I 'll share our personal situation. My kids were told how much we could pay. That’s how much total we can pay, meaning we will hit up savings, budget into our monthly expenses, and, yes, borrow as well. But that is what we are willing to pay and with some discomfort pay for each kid’s college. So when the acceptances arrived, and there were schools that cost zero and schools that cost that maximum figure, schools that exceeded that amount, and everywhere in between, it was up to our kids to make the choice, and we did not harp on money comparisons. They immediately threw out schools that were over what we said we could pay, because they knew they needed leeway in the cost for what they were going to cover themselves and they also knew that they were limited to $5500 that first year in loans, and we were not going to be able to co sign or take out any more loans. Our nut was all that shell of a figure we gave. </p>
<p>So if they were faced with your predicament, and they really wanted to go to a school that would require them to take out those Stafford loans, work summers, deplete what savings they have, they could do so. But if the school cost even more than that, asking us to co sign loans for them would be putting us on the spot financially since it would affect our credit and put us on the hook for those amounts until paid and if anything happened to the student, we would be stuck with the amounts due. </p>
<p>So that’s about the way I look at it with for you. Can you pay the difference in costs between the schools? Can you borrow it yourself? If not, what kind of shape are your parents in financially? Should they be cosigning loans or borrowing or paying out more than what your less expensive choice is? Have you discussed this with them, and how do you think they feel about this, and what do you think they can afford? If they are flush and willing to back you, then fine. I’m all for educational choice and paying for it if you can afford it. But if not, you may be putting pressure and stress on them that is selfish.</p>