Debt

Paying for College
1

<p>For reasons I'm not going to explain on here, I am now in my senior year, but don't really have much planned out for college. It was just within the past summer that I started looking into colleges (and that is a whole other story). So here is my situation. I like one particular school, but I've read that the average debt of a graduating student is somewhere between 35 and 40k. I would like to hear from people who have graduated college. Is that an extreme amount of debt to pay off? I am interested in this school, but I also would not like to screw up my after college years because of debt. I haven't looked into many other schools since I got a late start on the college stuff. I'll try to find a low price state school if the debt is unmanageable, but would not like to give up on college 1 if attending is realistic. </p>

<p>What are your thoughts on graduating with 40k in debt?</p>

2

<p>That’s a good chunk of money, and unless you’re planning to major in engineering or something similarly well-paying (and with a very high probability of getting a well-paying job right out of college) I’d look at your other options.</p>

<p>Nov 2 of senior year is not too late, but there are probably some important deadlines coming up for your state’s public colleges and universities, which are often the least expensive options. If you tell us a little more about what state you’re in, what you think you might be interested in – if you have some ideas already, what your family may be able to contribute per year towards your education, we may be able to help with some suggestions. If you can give us a general sense of your family’s Adjusted Gross Income from your folks’ last tax return, that would also be a help. Do you have either ACT or SAT results yet? What’s your gpa? </p>

<p>Lots of folks on CC seem to have been working college issues since kids were in middle school, but you’re far from the only senior who’s just starting to think about these things.</p>

3

<p>The average debt listed for a school is academically interesting but may not apply to you. The questions are what will the school cost and what can your family afford? If your stats put you toward the bottom of the admitted list you may not get much if any aid beyond federally funded amounts which could make your debt significantly higher. If you post your stats and home state the people here might be able to help you find an affordable fit.</p>

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<p>Hi anonstu - glad you are thinking about debt. That the school graduates students with average debt of 35-40K indicates that they “gap” most students, who then make up the difference with private loans. If you are a top applicant, and you keep up your grades while there, you may get lower loans and full need met. Even at schools that meet full need you can expect to graduate with between 20-28K in loans.
The comments about states are spot on - I was looking into Maine state schools, and there are ample scholarships for good students, but the date to start applying is Dec. 15. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Judging from his listed location, I think Erin’s dad could help me.</p>

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<p>“Even at schools that meet full need you can expect to graduate with between 20-28K in loans.”</p>

<p>Yes, this ^ amount is more commonly accepted as the standard minimum to expect. $40K seems unnecessarily high; a good education can usually be had for less. And this $40K may not apply to you anyway.</p>

7

<p>*I like one particular school, but I’ve read that the average debt of a graduating student is somewhere between 35 and 40k. I would like to hear from people who have graduated college. Is that an extreme amount of debt to pay off? I am interested in this school, but I also would not like to screw up my after college years because of debt…</p>

<p>What are your thoughts on graduating with 40k in debt? *</p>

<p>I think $40k in debt is too much for a couple of reasons…</p>

<p>1) It exceeds the federal loan amounts so either that school is providing it’s own extra loans to students, or the students are having to take out private loans for about $10k. That often requires parent co-signers and many parents won’t do that.</p>

<p>2) it’s difficult for a new grad to pay off $40k in loans. New grads often don’t make much money and they often have a lot of unexpected expenses after they graduate in addition to the regular expenses of rent, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, etc.</p>

<p>The monthly payment on $40k of student loan debt is about $460 for ten LONG years…until you’re about 32 years old!!! That’s like an extra BIG car payment (in addition to a real car payment) for ten years. Paying that much back can get old really quickly. It can also interfere with your ability to buy a home. </p>

<p>$20-28k is more the standard in loan amounts. This may not seem like that much less, but it is. Plus, since the monthly payments are lower, it can be easier to pay them off earlier by making larger payments.</p>

<p>I like one particular school,</p>

<p>What school is this and what do you like about it. Perhaps some of us can recommend other similar schools that you would like just as much (or MORE!!!) and won’t leave you with so much debt.</p>

<p>BTW…have you asked your parents how much they will contribute each year for college? If not, you need to do that. That will also determine where you should apply.</p>

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<p>“BTW…have you asked your parents how much they will contribute each year for college? If not, you need to do that. That will also determine where you should apply.”</p>

<p>Really? That requires knowing how much aid and scholarships one would receive before applying to a given school. Averages might be available, but how can one particular student know?</p>

<p>The usual way is to apply to a number of schools that a student likes, reach/match/saftey according to the student’s academic record, and then compare the financial aid packages coming with acceptances.</p>

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<p>Vossron –</p>

<p>In many cases, particularly with public schools, it isn’t a surprise:

  1. OOS students get very little financial assistance other than federal unless they qualify for a merit scholarship, and many schools publish their criteria for this.
  2. In-state schools may also have published merit programs, but also typically don’t have a lot of funds available above and beyond that.</p>

<p>Given that the OP gave no information at all about financial resources – other than to question debt totals – we don’t know if he/she is from a very low income family that probably can’t make any contribution toward college, a middle income family that can probably help make state schools affordable, or an upper middle income family that could probably finance college without loans for an in-state public, but not for an OOS public or most privates. We also don’t know anything about the student’s academic qualifications – certainly nothing he/she said would suggest that he/she is the kind of student who is likely to be in line for huge merit awards.</p>

<p>Applying to schools your family has no hope of affording without some understanding of the situation is a waste of time and money. “Apply wherever you like” is a recipe for real problems come April if the student learns that none of the schools has a financial package that works.</p>

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<p>Yes, indeed, I should have included “financial safety” with “safety.” Good point.</p>

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<p>*“BTW…have you asked your parents how much they will contribute each year for college? If not, you need to do that. That will also determine where you should apply.”</p>

<p>Vossran response…
Really? That requires knowing how much aid and scholarships one would receive before applying to a given school. Averages might be available, but how can one particular student know?*</p>

<p>Knowing how much parents will pay is a big factor in determining one’s college list.</p>

<p>If a student is low income and needs BIG AID because parents can’t pay much/anything, then schools that meet need will be needed.</p>

<p>If a student is upper-middle class (and likely to have a high EFC), but parents won’t pay much, then the choices of schools will be limited to either school that give good merit or schools that have low COAs (like commutable schools).</p>

<p>If a student has parents that are prepared to pay whatever college costs, then there doesn’t have to be any concern about whether the school “meets need” or gives merit or anything. All the kid needs to be concerned about is being admitted to a school he likes.</p>

<p>So, yes, family financial situation is a major factor for determining where to apply.</p>

<p>Vossran quote:</p>

<p>*The usual way is to apply to a number of schools that a student likes, reach/match/saftey according to the student’s academic record, and then compare the financial aid packages coming with acceptances. *</p>

<p>LOL…that is a very dangerous strategy if a finances are an issue. A low-income student could apply to 15 schools only to learn that none meet need. A high-income student could apply to 15 schools and then learn that his parents can’t pay their EFC and none of the schools give big merit.</p>

<p>Your method only works when a student applies widely, but doesn’t have any real financial issues…parents can pay more than EFC and the schools are good with aid/merit, etc.</p>

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<p>I agree, “safety” must include “financial safety.” Boy, leave off one important word and your post sure gets twisted!</p>

<p>“BTW…have you asked your parents how much they will contribute each year for college? If not, you need to do that. That will also determine where you should apply.”</p>

<p>The explanations make this statement useful! :)</p>

13

<p>Too much, IMO. I have heard that more than a first year’s salary in debt is too much. The good news is you are thinking about this BEFORE you take on that much debt. At least if you do it you will know that you were warned about the risks. The same can’t be said for students five or ten years ago.</p>

14

<p>Are the Ohio state schools very good? I’m not too sure about the quality of the state schools from what I have heard.</p>

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<p>Of course there are good publics in Ohio…OSU, MiamiU, OU are very good.</p>

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<p>You haven’t given much info on what you’re looking for in a financial safety, are you undecided? If so, the comprehensive publics are a good bet. But, depending on the school and your major, it may take you longer to graduate or you may have to take some courses in the summer or elsewhere due to high enrollment/demand at the publics and the decreased state aid most of them are operating under. There hasn’t been any discussion of major here, or graduation rates, but it’s something to be aware of.</p>