<p>Does this amount of debt seem unreasonable given my situation? I Plan to attend NYU/Poly as a soph in the fall, majoring in Comp Engineering. COA is 41k, I received 16k in merit grants/scholarships and 9.5k/yr in unsub direct loans. Which leaves roughly 16k/yr which I will have to take out in private loans for the next 3 years. My wife will be covering living expenses for the both of us (she makes ~90k/yr) during this time.</p>
<p>I'm new when it comes to loans, so does this seem like "a lot" to anyone given my chosen major and circumstances? I just want other opinions since its an important decision. Currently, it seems fairly reasonable to me due to the projected ROI of the school and the chosen major, and also the school seems way a way better fit than many similar schools in the area that are also a bit farther away from where I live, but i see a lot of value in going there for this and other reasons. I plan to stay in NYC after graduation (salaries are higher here). Thoughts?</p>
<p>It’s hard to say, as you are an older, married student and walking into this with your eyes wide open. You will be owing about $90K in loans, is the bottom line. Really more as the interest really does crank it up relentlessly. Is this something you and your wife are will to undertake? Are there any less expensive options, like Manhattan College engineering or maybe City College where it is possible to do this for a lot less? It seems like you’ve already locked yourself into this already. Had you asked last year, I would give you a list of some colleges that would cost less for a similar degree in the NYC area. Having a $90K nut that is growing at non bargain interest rates is a tough one to crack, and will take long years to do do so. At this point, however, what are your alternatives?</p>
<p>*9.5k/yr in unsub direct loans. Which leaves roughly 16k/yr *</p>
<p>You’re talking about borrowing about $25k per year for 3 years. That’s at least $75k in debt PLUS growing interest. That’s way too much debt. As Cpt says, it’s really closer to $90k in debt.</p>
<p>It sounds like your wife will be providing your room and board costs, and the $41k is tuition and fees? (not COA). If you were able to economize and contribute some money toward tuition and maybe work over the summer to contribute more to bring down the loan amounts to fed loans only, then this wouldn’t be so bad.</p>
<p>What are your education alternatives? And why are you transferring after only one year? Where do you go now?</p>
<p>I haven’t physically accepted anything yet actually, but mentally I am all but signed up and I will have to commit very very soon, so I just want to see what others think. I had a pretty bad experience at CUNY BMCC, and experienced similar incompetence when dealing with admissions at City College, so that has really turned me off from CUNY as a whole (even given how super cheap it is), so I looked into transferring somewhere else and was accepted to Poly (which came across as much nicer, more together, seem to want me as a student, well funded, and is also much closer to where I live). They also have a robotics team etc. which is in line with what i want to do for a living (aerospace robotics) Your 90k number, are you basing that on 3 years? I guess I miscalculated or don’t fully understand how loans work, I assumed (not counting interest) it would come out closer to 75k-80k in total which I kind of looked at as a discount compared to a full 4 years of that tuition. My other option is essentially city college. Manhattan College is very far away, too far to consider given the commute.</p>
<p>You had better include interest as your meter starts ticking at close to 7%* the instant the funds are released. What you will owe at the end of your three years will include the accrued interest, and it’s not going to matter one iota what part of that $90-100K loan balance came from principal or interest. Be aware that costs tend to go up each year too. </p>
<p>Yes, it’s much nicer to go to a school that charges ten times more. I agree fully that Poly has more amenities. But you pay for them. You pay for them for a long time thereafter.</p>
<p>One of my close friends got his engineer degree at City College, and yes, it’s a rough go there, but he is the first to say that the experience there helped him out a lot in life. His kids have gone to private schools as he could afford to do so, in part because he had zero student loans by the time they came around and were ready for school. It’s not at as though engineers and computer folks make the mega bucks. They do get a jump start in salaries in that the jobs are available at higher ranges at first, but living in NYC as an engineer does not mean living high on the hog, you realize. And those loans are often on 25 year schedules.</p>
<p>*and those are just the Stafford rates. No idea what you will be paying for those private loans. Will likely depend upon your cosigners credit and job history.</p>
<p>it would come out closer to 75k-80k in total which I kind of looked at as a discount compared to a full 4 years of that tuition</p>
<p>Discount? No, that’s not a discount. Most people do NOT have that much debt. Most students graduate with about $20k TOTAL in debt. The amount that you’re considering is ridiculous. Even $50k in debt would be too much. </p>
<p>You need to find a SUNY or CUNY that will work for you at a reasonable cost.</p>
<p>Will your wife be saving a part of her income monthly that will go towards debt repayment? I would suggest to minimize your expenses in order to make taking on this debt more bearable. For example, if you guys set aside 15,000 a year, you could easily rack up about $45,000. </p>
<p>I’m don’t agree with taking on this amount of debt. Although your principle amount will be about 75K, your interest is going to sky rocket if you don’t pay off these aggressively.</p>
<p>*For example, if you guys set aside 15,000 a year, you could easily rack up about $45,000. *</p>
<p>No!!</p>
<p>If they can economiize and have $15k per year then BORROW less. You don’t borrow school loans and save at the same time!!</p>
<p>How about if you stick with CUNY for your undergraduate? I am sure you can get a decent engineering education at City College. You can always go back to Poly for your Master afterwards. A Master degree is usually only 30 credits. A BS from CCNY with a MS from Poly will be at least as good as just a BS from Poly. Plus, you might be able to find an employer that will support you to get a Master at Poly.</p>
<p>The money you could save for sticking with CUNY is enough for a house down payment or seed money for a startup company.</p>
<p>Based on my experience, school name does not matter much in the long run for technical fields. It is your experience, skills, and performance that count in the end.</p>
<p>
Oh my goodness. </p>
<p>That’s obviously an option, but I don’t know their financial situation. They might not have the money to hand out at the beggining of each semester. Therefore, borrowing and setting the money aside to pay back the loans is an option. </p>
<p>You can, too, borrow and save at the same time. It’s never a good thing to put all your eggs in one basket. </p>
<p>Have you thought of that, mom2collegekids?</p>
<p>We have about 20k in savings currently, so it’s not like we are absolutely struggling currently it took about a year and a half to save that much between our 2 jobs. I think the message I am getting from everyone here seems to be that a 75-80k loan is extremely high, and the interest is going to be the killer, regardless of the starting wage or city i live in for the profession I have chosen. I do have some other financing options other than just private loans, so all is not lost (hopefully). I appreciate everyone’s input though. It’s good to get some outside opinions which aren’t so attached to the school like me or my wife are after visiting etc hehe</p>
<p>Whatever you do, do not touch the 20K. You want to have an emergency fund. (Which I’m sure you already know. :))</p>
<p>It’s possible for you to take on this debt and still get out intact, but I’m not sure it’s necessary. </p>
<p>Glad I could provide some input. :)</p>
<p>You can make monthly payments to the school. You don’t have to make lump sum payments at the beginning of the semester.</p>
<p>The idea of saving $15k per year to accumulate $45k while borrowing a lot is a bad idea. No need to rack up that unsub interest.</p>
<p>yes, a person should have some savings, but to save that much while borrowing unsub loans is not a good idea.</p>
<p>Go to a website with interest calculators and figure out compounded interest for 5, 10 or more years. Be aware that you will be tempted to consolidate your loans at some point and that has it’s issues. </p>
<p>Also, one thing to note that happened with my student loans is that once they locked in at like 8.5 back in the day it didn’t matter if new students were getting 3% my lovely lender would NOT change interest rates or sell my loan to someone who would.</p>
<p>There is someone in NYC who will be getting an engineering degree at City College as you get yours at Poly. I don’t think he will be paid that much less than you will be paid or have that much more trouble than you will in finding a job. The difference is going to be that he will might be debt free or have a quarter of the debt you have. And yours will be racking up the interest every minute of the time. So even if you use the differential in pay, if any, between what salary you get and that City College engineering grad for the next 10 years and maybe more, you aren’t going to catch up. </p>
<p>Yes, the pay may be better for some things in NYC, but often not that much more, and housing and other costs are much higher. What’s great about NYC for some professions, particularly banking and business is that there is always another job around the corner whereas in some cities, the opportunities are limited for high paying positions as there are not that many in any specific business. But for engineering, I don’t think the advantage is that great. You would be much better off where you can find housing for a much more reasonable price and where your pay will put in the upper echelons of the community. Won’t make a dent in NY. Too many highly paid people.</p>
<p>Sometimes I don’t get what the ROI really say about the school. Even though Poly is ranked like top 4… I don’t even know if that means most if not all graduates at Poly will be earning more than 60K a year as their starting salary. So does that make it City college grads make below that as their starting salary?</p>
<p>I think others are right that you shouldn’t come to Poly if you’re going to be in debt. Save your money and go to a suny or cuny and then come to Poly for MS… or stay at a cuny for another year and then transfer to Poly to finish up your BS degree.</p>