<p>Hello, constructive and informative community of CC :)</p>
<p>I got into my dream school. It's not a typical CC dream school: it's not an LAC or an Ivy, and although it's fairly prestigious it's not, say, a tiptoe reach like Chapel Hill (which just waitlisted me ;)). Still, it is where I have wanted to be since I visited last year [I really wanted a top-notch public school] and I'm ecstatic! I really couldn't be happier, it is my match in every way.</p>
<p>Moreover, I got into a select group of award recipients and recieved three big scholarships to attend (eek! eeeek!). But I don't know what's good FA or not, so....</p>
<p>Here's the breakdown:</p>
<p>My mother can take care of room and board, which is about 8k a year, and that's IT -- and tuition is between 22/23 k a year OOS. However, my scholarships total to about 17k a year.</p>
<p>So if I attend, I'm looking at graduating with about 25 THOUSAND IN DEBT ...and I'm toying with the idea of law school :( </p>
<p>Still, it is by far the best offer I've recieved and it's where I want to be!!!</p>
<p>My question is this: Is 25k an average UG debt burden? or am I still on the hook to find more scholarships?</p>
<p>It's not bad but I'd strongly encourage you to work to bring down your total debt. See if you can get a campus job. You should be able to make $3K per summer without too much difficulty, that alone drops your debt down to $13K.</p>
<p>This is just an opinion and everyone has a different philosophy toward debt. However, to attend your dream school for $25,000 debt seems a reasonable compromise to me. They've given you about $70k break. You folks are contributing roughly about the same you'll be absorbing in debt. To pay back $25k over 10 years will cost you about $271/month. That's a car payment, or a healthy portion of rent. That means you might need to drive an old car (like I do ;) and live in smaller quarters than your peers who chose full ride at flagship schools. But the one thing that lasts your whole life long is your mind, as developed in an environment of mentors and peers. So to me, the life of the mind is more valuable than the trappings of status, so if it were my choice, I'd assume the debt and invest in myself, and be prepared to possibly make some fiscal sacrifices early on in my future career.
That said, if you work a little during school and a lot in the summers, you could also REDUCE the debt load before graduating...which is desirable.</p>
<p>And in answer to your question, I believe that level of burdon is average or LOWER than average. But whether it's average or not shouldn't sway you. </p>
<p>Congrats and good luck!
K</p>
<p>I'd agree with the get-a-summer-job theory.</p>
<p>The other thing is to see whether you can do college less expensively than the estimated Cost of Attend. -- reduce personal expenses, work hard to find cheaper textbooks, sell used books on ebay to get the most back, and consider getting an on-campus ten hour a week job starting in your soph. year. I think if you can pull that together, you could be looking at graduating with a very manageable $15K in debt.</p>
<p>And congratulations on all of the scholarships and grants -- the university clearly thinks you have a lot of potential.</p>
<p>Good financial aid means different things to different people. If your EFC is met, it is a good financial aid offer since few schools I know meet the FAFSA EFC in full. But the ultimatel indicator is a personal one which is whether it is something you and your family feel it is good. </p>
<p>In my opinion, when you are talking about something doable and less than the allowed Stafford loan limits, it is a good package, especially from a FAFSA only school, and an OOS public to boot. Congratulations on getting this offer.</p>
<p>My son and his friends are able to achieve Cost of Attendence less than what is suggested on their college websites using all the advice above: Buy your books early so you can get the used/cheap ones, less spending money, small part-time job (10-15 hrs per week), work and bank about $2000-3000 in summer, etc. They also all moved out of the dorms their sophomore years and spend less than $8000 on apartment and food. Two of them work in a restaurant and rarely buy food. Yes, you can do this and bring it in under 25,000 in loans with alittle bit of effort. Sounds like a good package to me, too.Congratulations and Good luck!</p>
<p>Debt varies by person. If you were to ask me, personally, I'd die to graduate only $25,000 in debt. On the other hand, $25,000 is right at or just below the AVERAGE for a graduate.</p>
<p>Sigh. I wish I'd be graduating 25000 in debt while going to my dream school. Also depends on what kind of job you're thinking about getting though - so consider that.</p>
<p>In order for me to attend my dream school, I'd probably end up around 70k in debt. :( So... that's probably not happening.</p>
<p>I think that $6K/year debt for your dream school is completely acceptable as long as you're not in a field where jobs are few and starting salaries poor. At many schools there is also the possibility of getting additional scholarships later if you keep your grades up or getting a position with their ResLife that will come with a free or discounted room.</p>
<p>Seems great to me. Getting 3/4 tuition at an OOS is rare. Get a job on campus and you can cut the out of pocket in half!</p>