<p>For any kind Chicago peeps who would feel comfortable with answering this:</p>
<p>How much are you (personally, not your parents) paying for college? And how are you managing it (by working like crazy or taking out massive student loans or selling your soul)?</p>
<p>Right now, I'm looking at the state school (honors program) for around $10,000/year after scholarships, or Chicago for $40,000 a year after aid. And I'm paying for all it (it's a complex/complicated situation/circumstance/thing). Nothing from my parents (except maybe a computer and transportation costs).</p>
<p>I've loved Chicago since forever. And I always thought I was willing to go to student loan hell for it...I just didn't realize it would be the ninth level of Hell.</p>
<p>Help! Any advice or unwanted uber-rich great-aunts would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>Parent of a current U of Chicago student (on finaid) here. </p>
<p>I'm very sorry to hear that your folks cannot or will not help you out; this is one of the many unfairnesses of life. If you are looking at 40k after aid, there are some pretty significant assets or income in your family. However, all families are different; assets can't always be freed up with any ease. </p>
<p>I would strong advise you to attend the honors program at your state university, and work as hard as you can to to keep your indebtedness down. 40K in the hole is pretty stiff .... 160k is, IMO, completely irrational for a student to take on.</p>
<p>Haven't gotten the financial aid letter yet, but I'm dreading it from everything I've heard. Though it might turn out well for me because of our family's (low, low, low) income... one can only hope for the best.</p>
<p>Basically, I see it as a balance. My history teacher and sometimes-mentor tells me that she hates even the idea of being in debt, but a quality education is her one exception. On the other hand, the reality exists that a certain amount of debt is near-impossible to pay off. So you have to weigh financial strain on the one hand against quality of education (and life) on the other.</p>
<p>For me, it's pretty simple: I'm going to the school that 1) accepts me, and 2) offers me a full (or nearly full) scholarship/aid. (The only exception is if one or more of the scholarships I'm applying to pulls through for me, which could completely change things.) That's why I have applied to the New College of Florida and Arizona State University (Barrett Honors College) in the same breath as Harvard, Georgetown, and UChicago. I feel that the greater part of your educational experience depends on what YOU choose to do with what's available. True, I'd LOVE for a higher quality education and more options to be available to me, because I know I'd use it - and also, with my intended major/career path(s), connections are very important - but I know that it's not worth going $100k or even $40k into debt, especially combined with the family debts that I know I will have to pay off eventually.</p>
<p>If I have to go to ASU (like my older brother) or NC Florida, then so be it: I will be disappointed, but I will make the absolute best of it, and I would still foresee a good future for myself. Remember that although opportunities certainly differ, in the end the man (or woman) makes the college, and not vice versa.</p>
<p>The moral: Apply to outside scholarships and don't give up hope, but just be prepared to make a kickarse four years out of it: if you don't get to go to the school of your dreams, live like you're making your actually-attended institution <em>into</em> that school.</p>
<p>I like your attitude, ethanrt, and it was much like my own two years ago. I care not to divulge personal financial information (I will say though that others are taking care of all of my tuition, so indebtedness is not a concern to me), but I was prepared to go to my state school if finances didn't pull through. My state school was good, cheap, had good academics and smart kids. It wasn't Chicago, but I knew I could make it into a great school for me.</p>
<p>I bumped up a thread I started earlier on schools to consider, and throughout there are good suggestions for where Chicago admits may be able to find good merit aid packages as well as a college environment that works for them.</p>
<p>Consider your options carefully. Best of luck to everybody!</p>
<p>yeah I got my financial aid packet and was shocked. I had figured that Chicago, of all the schools I was applying to, seemed as if they would give the most money. Now I'm looking at 40k in debt at graduation. Also, that 23,000 dollar or whatever "cap" on loans only applies to the stafford loans, not the perkins!!
Hopefully, I guess, the Odyssey scholarship might even things out?</p>
<p>Chicagoboy: I'd read more about Odyssey. (See the stickied thread.) I could be wrong, but my understanding is that it just replaces loans with grants for low-income students, nothing more, so it won't be significant if you have a huge aid-means discrepancy.</p>
<p>And, thanks for the thread bump and the kind words, unalove.</p>
<p>As for me, well, I'm glad I wrote those inspiring few paragraphs, because I could definitely use some encouragement :-p Unless I rob a bank or win some serious scholarship money (which I'm still holding out hope for!), UChicago's offer of aid doesn't exactly jive with my family's means. I'm thinking that may or may not have something to do with my father's investment savings - and perhaps if he pays off the home equity loan with it as he plans to, and we provide proof that the rest is his retirement fund and can't be touched, we can see about upping the aid offer. Maybe.</p>
<p>Regardless, I'm proud of my acceptance and still holding out hope. And if this financial situation doesn't work out, Princeton and Harvard reject me, and it turns out that I have to follow my brother to ASU... well... go Sun Devils!</p>
<p>Definitely commiserating with the rest of you who were disappointed by financial aid offers,
~Ethan</p>