Sorry, I’m slow. So if he and is parents split the loans, then he will only have to borrow $18,500 per year, leaving him with, worst case (assuming tuition increases), $80K of loans. Not great.
Of course, when his siblings go to college, his EFC will go down to $35K, so $80K is really a worst case scenario. OP, when do your siblings go to college. Since Lehigh is full need, it’s likely he will get more grant aid when that happens, so the debt load will be reduced.
In this scenario, a lot of smart people who work for me took the private school education because they felt that the more personal approach was a better fit for them. Now certainly with Maryland Honors as an alternative, it might make more sense to go with the lower cost option. However, it doesn’t seem completely irresponsible to go the Lehigh route if the parents are willing.
Also, with regards to getting weeded out, one gets weeded out long before one incurs $100K of debt, so that’s really a non-issue. The private schools are less weed out schools. In particular Lehigh is quite manageable.
@ClassicRockerDad yes…the loan amount for,this student might decrease when his siblings go to college BUT his parents financial obligations could actually double. What happens if the sibling(S) want to go to expensive private schools also, and need loans. Will the parents be able and willing to subsidize everyone?
And remember…at Profile schools…it’s not 50/50 when more than one sibling is in college…it’s 60/60.
The honors program this student had been offered at MD gives him research opportunities he might not get even at a smaller school. We are very familiar with both Lehigh and Villanova…both great schools. But I’m not sure they are worth more than Maryland with the honors college option (we have family members who are recent honors MD engineering grads…doing VERY well).
@ClassicRockerDad@thumper1 you both bring up some very valid points. It is important to mention that my siblings are all 4 years apart so there would not be any overlap but my parents are looking at 12 consecutive years of college. That is why it concerns me to even think about my parents having to pay more for me on top of the 30k per year.
It’s admirable that you want to protect your parents, but your competent parents are the best people to analyze their own situation since only they know their own financial facts. Let them make the decision on what they will pay. You make the decision based on what you will pay.
I’d have to agree on UMd. One if my friend’s kids is a computer science major who snagged a $100k+ job at a top Silicon Valley company in December of her senior year. another friend’s daughter got a starter job in PR in NYC - one of the most competitive places around - and within five years was a VP at a top PR firm.
I posted this for another student and think it applies just as much for the OP.
I haven’t shared this story before because I’ve felt it wasn’t my story to share. My D is now 5 years out of undergrad. She, because of us, is debt free. She has a friend who is a chemical engineer and makes above that $70,000. She also because of bad planning and a divorced parent who lied to her about paying, was over 6 figures in debt. She was told that her parent would help her pay those loans off. They didn’t. She’s now responsible (I’m not sure of the particulars but am guessing my D’s friend took out private loans).
This friend, was under such stress about this debt, she was having physical problems. Headaches, hair falling out that sort of things. She finally confided in my D. 5 years out of undergrad, she is paying somewhere in the range of $1200/month. I think her parent took out parent plus loans for 1 year and is paying that, but it’s a very small amount of the total. The parent plus loan is not part of the $1200, it’s in addition to. This friend can’t live alone, she needs to have a roommate. She drives a used car, it’s all she can afford. My D is really into working out and her friend would love to join her gym but it’s not in her budget. She doesn’t go out much.
My D on the other hand, lives by herself, drives a new car. Belongs to an expensive gym. Goes out with her girlfriends multiple times a week if she wants to. Has a short term savings over 3 months salary which came in very handy this winter when she had an expensive heating bill and all her insurances due for the year. She can pay her bills when they come in and not even think about that. She also contributes 12% + to her 401k. It’s grown quite a bit in the 5 years she’s been employed.
Her friend still has 5 more years of paying off her school loans.
You at 18 may not think 10 years is that long, it’s an eternity when your in your 20’s. And think how behind the person is with saving for their future retirement and life events. Like marriage and kids. Things that happen for many in their 20’s.
Perhaps your daughter can suggest workouts that do not involve expensive gyms. For example, run outside, do bodyweight exercises like pullups (on playground bars or a pullup bar in a doorway), pushups, planks, etc…
You are VERY fortunate, @college2k17md . You have two good and very different options in CatholicU and UMd, both of which you can afford thanks to your parents. The fact that they are very different means you get your choice of the type of school, and location, you will attend.
Add to that that you will not have to borrow money to make them affordable.
Visit both. Look at their programs (UMd engineering I would think is stronger but that is only part of ‘fit’…sit in on a class, meet some students and professors). Spend time on both campuses and see what the Honors Programs get you at each.
Then count your blessings and choose. You are a lucky kid.Don’t lose sight of that.
@ucbalumnus, don’t worry. My D is a fitness instructor now part time and has talked to her friend about other ways to work out. And D’s gym offers a free session every Saturday so she offers that also.
My point in my post is that by not having all that debt, my D can live a different way of life than her friend. Every year we have multiple posts from kids who are wondering if they should go $100,000+ in debt.
D’s friend will pay off her debt, but my D without it is far ahead in her future. In these days without pensions, saving for retirement is more important than it’s ever been.
I was out to dinner with D and friends. School debt is something they talk about. And having options. It’s an important topic for my D’s twenty something friends. Many of D’s friends still live at home or if they’ve moved out its with roommates. Not terrible but did many of our generation live with our parents or roommates in our mid twenties?
UScranton’s campus is incredible and is affordable. UDayton is not too shabby either. Both are better academically than CUA. So if OP wants a Catholic university like Villanova or a “pretty campus” s/he’s got affordable choices.
But really, with Gemstone at UMD, what a fantastic opportunity. And it’s not like UMD’s campus is ugly - it may not have a polish of private universities but after the Open House you’ll know better. I recommend you attend two classes, one Freshman English class and one intro class in your major. In addition, eat in the cafeteria (not just for the food but also to see if people sit together and chat, or if they shovel food into their mouth while checking their phone for instance), read the college paper, meet with current Gemstone students…