<p>I was admitted to both schools undecided program. I am in-state from Uconn so the cost is about 26k in total vs. Penn State being 45k. If I go to Uconn my parents will pay the entire cost, but if I go to PSU I will have to take out about 7k a year in loans. I want to major in Business where Penn State is 22nd in the nation and #1 amount job recruiters. I also liked Penn States campus and town more.</p>
<p>Can anyone give me some insight on what the smart choice would be and what they would do in my situation.</p>
<p>Well, $7k a year isn’t necessarily bad, considering what a lot of other people are having to take out. I would always go with the option that leaves you with lowest debt though. Are you considering grad school for anything? I’m not familiar with UCONN’s status in the business world. I’m a grade below you, so take what I have to say lightly, but I would just go where its the most economical, which is UCONN. But if you’re interested in grad school, you can always go to PSU and get the best of both worlds</p>
<p>The Stafford Loan maximums are 5,500 freshman, 6,500 sophomore, 7,500 junior, and 7,500 senior. Anything more than that requires a co-signer. This means that for your first two years, your parents will need to co-sign for the difference between the Stafford and the 7,000 that you say you need. Will they do that? You also need to expect your costs to increase by about 5% every year. Don’t just multiply next year’s cost by four for your estimate.</p>
<p>Given the opportunity to graduate from UConn debt free, and possibly even with a bit left over for grad school in the future, it seems a bit silly to shell out for Penn State. Run the numbers again with your parents (there are a bunch of really good calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) ), and see what you think.</p>
<p>I said 7k a year because that multiplied by four is equivalent to taking out 5500, 6500, 7500, and 8500 in stafford loans. </p>
<p>You really think it would be smarter to attend a school that is ranked a good deal lower than another because of this debt? I understand where your coming from, but wouldn’t Penn State land me a much better first job?</p>
<p>The problem with that ideology is that a “good” first job isn’t guaranteed, or any job for that matter. Penn State may have a great alumni network, and recruiters may love PSU grads, however theres still unemployed grads of every school out there. If you go to UCONN, do well there, graduate debt free, then go on to grad school afterwords, you’d only have to be in debt for grad school, instead of both grad and undergrad, and you’ll have a masters or whatever you want from Penn State.</p>
<p>Definitely PSU. I had the same debate, I am from CT and I went to Penn State. Looking back on it, I would have hated Uconn. Aside from the disparity in academics, Ive been to uconn to visit friends and its boring. Nothing compared to psu</p>