<p>Also, on another note, it is problematic for a student and a family who qualifies for a Pell grant of $720 (what is the maximum family income possible to get a grant of that amount?) to take on an annual debt of $7500 for the student and $3840 for a college education, unless there is a good chance of such student being able to make enough money after college to pay back that money. $30K in debt is a whopper for a 21, 22 year old unless he is specifically trained to make a good salary from a specific program for a particular school that is heads and shoulders above some local public unis. The parent owing $15k at his pay level is a problem too. That involves a monthly payment of quite a bit for 6 years, with tapering and building amounts for 14 years. I would not recommend this route to kids in this situation.</p>
<p>cpt,</p>
<p>Like I said in the previous post....first, we would reduce/remove the PLUS loan. Then we would reduce/remove the Stafford Loan. Then, the Perkins loan would be removed/reduced. Then the VTAG. Then the school based scholarship. If the total outside scholarship was more than the COA, the Pell would be removed, and the scholarship agency would be notified that the total exceeded COA. Depending on the regulations surrounding the scholarship (which are set by the agency), the scholarship would either be reduced or permission granted to provide the excess directly to the student.</p>
<p>I agree that 30k is a whopper of loans for a 21 or 22 year old....but who is to say that they would actually have or need 30k in loans when they graduate? The example was only for 1 year...the situation may improve or get worse, that is up to the student. The student isn't even required to take the total loans...they can always choose to use out-of-pocket funding for some of their built in expenses.</p>
<p>We do, however, count our students as fortunate...we are a VERY small PRIVATE LAC....so to have an estimated 30k in debt...if they borrow their maximum's each year...isn't too bad. We aren't as fortunate as some institutions that have large endowments...but we do the best we can to reduce the debt dependency of our students. We also offer other outside scholarships that are merit and need based...but I didn't include those funds because the criteria is more difficult to forecast on here. </p>
<p>Is our aid perfect? Far from it...but given what we have to work with, I'd say a financial aid package that is about 1/2 grants is pretty decent for a private LAC. Realistically....they are getting a LAC education for about $7500 per year.</p>
<p>They are getting the LAC education for about $11,500 a year. Don't forget the parents' loans. When you are talking about families who qualify for PELL, that is still a lot of money. Also, in my experience, tuition goes up each year, and most schools put MORE of the responsibility for payment on the students as they get older. Even the federal schedules show that with larger loan amounts allowed for federal funds as the kids move up. I don't know too many kids, if any who ever got more money as they continued on in school. That first year is usually the most they got in terms of grant money, unless their need increased and they qualified for more Pell funds. Also small LACs do not tend to graduate kids into high paying jobs. I can see a kid with an accounting, engineering, nursing degree taking on that kind of debt since they would have pretty much guaranteed high pay scales upon graduating with jobs out there, but the average LAC kid is pretty high maintenance in my book. Not that I disparage LACs. They are my ideal choice for colleges. But a pricey choice.</p>
<p>cpt,</p>
<p>If you look at the example I referenced...there was no Parent PLUS loan...so the student is getting their education at $7500. Also, I stated I was using 07-08 figures, which shows that this is a Junior or Senior. Our school based grants and scholarships are renewable. The maximum award increases slightly each year, to compensate for the rising tuition rates, which average about 3% per year. </p>
<p>Like it or not, a private school is expensive and we do our very best to keep it as inexpensive as we possibly can without giving everyone a completely FREE education. We even try to make it as beneficial as possible....by allowing them to wipe out all forms of debts with outside scholarships before we start removing any of the school based aid. If a student is truly ingeneous and studious, they could literally get a free education here...using school based aid and outside scholarships. I know it is rare in the Private LAC world, and I am not trying to advertise my institution...I just want people here to realize that not all private schools are out to rake students over the coals. Some of us understand how difficult it can be to repay 30k in debts when in a low salaried career....I understand first hand. I currently have about 30k in loans and only make about 30k per year. Even worse, in 3 years my first child will be entering college.</p>
<p>I am looking at your example in post #17 where the result is higher, a more typical student. </p>
<p>Am not disparaging your institution. I understand that it is doing the best it can. However, the wisdom of a young kid taking out $30k in loans when he is not going to be able to even make that amount his first year is questionable. I have seen kids in financial ruin and bankruptcy before they are 25 because of these loans on top of things they needed once out of college. It is a problem. Many of the posts here at CC are warning parents and kids about the pitfalls of taking out such large loan amounts when the future income does not warrent it. Some of those kids would be so much better off, their families as well if they went to a school that cost less. I know here, our state schools have a tuition of about $6-8K a year and they may be a more prudent course. I cringed when I spoke to a sweet young girl working at CVS who enrolled instead at a private school, and is now $20K in debt, half way through college if she can go full time for two more years. Parents balked at more loans, she's working more hours than she should and taking out more loans. All for a private school that is not likely to do much better for her than the state school at a quarter of the cost or less. With her major, history, financial backround, I would not recommend that she continues this path.</p>