<p>Hello guys, long time lurker here. I have decided that obsessing over every thread posted on the admissions forum, now transfer forum, has been causing a lot of unnecessary stress. So I've decided to ask you all one question and never come back. Don't get me wrong, this is a great site, but to some it does more harm than good.</p>
<p>So, I'll try to make this short: Typical average H.S. record --> rejected from big name northeast schools --> currently attending safety. The only thing I really want advice on is whether I should stay at my safety, maybe even transfer to a similar university in state for a change of scenery/the college experience, and attend for free (or possibly even make a profit like I am now) or try to transfer to the schools that rejected me. I only ask because I am considering getting a master's degree after undergrad, but already being thousands of dollars in debt would not give me much of an option.</p>
<p>Do I give in to the hype and put in all the extra work to transfer up? Or just keep excelling at a mediocre university (or transfer to a somewhat better school in-state) for cheap and sell my teeth for a fancy M.F.A. later on? I've already asked a couple professors to work on LORs and other things for my application, would it be terrible to tell them I changed my mind? I'd love to go to one of these schools, but is ~2-3 years of college worth ~10 years of payments?</p>
<p>Again, this is all I can ask of you wonderful people here at CC. After this we're through. Its me, I promise!</p>
<p>Also, to add to my post above, I’ve been asking this same question to friends/family to gauge their reactions. My brother said that if I can manage to get in I should find a way to pay the price since it would be the best education possible (all of the schools I am looking at are well-regarded in my field). He also said that I would just take on more debt for my master’s, and that that was normal. Is it, really? </p>
<p>My mother, however, says that it would be unwise to begin my adult life with huge debt. Especially if I didn’t wind up in debt accidentally, but willingly forfeited my financial future. This sort of makes sense, too. She knows a thing or two about debt (actually she knows everything about debt, hence me taking out loans to afford anything).</p>
<p>Also, wouldn’t it be possible to have debt for my bachelor’s but attend a fully funded master’s program? I know they are more competitive (20 or as few as 4-5 admits), but it turns out most of the schools I’m looking at happen to offer full funding between teaching positions, fellow/scholarships, etc.</p>
<p>Moms do tend to say that you should steer clear of debt, and young people do tend to say that debt doesn’t matter. Unless your brother is an expert on the career path and future income prospects for your specific major, you should listen to your mother on this one.</p>
<p>I take it that you are on a full-ride right now with a major in the arts. Unless the institution you would transfer to has significantly better career placement AND the financial aid package there would not result in more than the equivalent of four years worth of Stafford loan debt, it would be very hard to justify a transfer. Careers in the arts are notoriously underpaid, and there is no guarantee that you would get into one of those fully funded M.F.A. programs. You need to be prepared to pay for it yourself. There are good loan repayment calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and at [Student</a> Loan Calculator - Calculate Your Student Loan Repayments](<a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp]Student”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp) Put your figures in there, and see what the results look like.</p>
<p>One thread that may be worth a read, although the student wasn’t in your particular major, is <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html</a> </p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>
<p>Thank you for the response. My brother is actually pursuing a medical career, so I think he is under the impression that debt is fine since you’re more than likely to get a job. As you said, in my case I won’t really have a profitable service to offer people. Maybe I’m getting wrapped up in the prestige and silly idea that the alumni networks will take good care of me after graduation.</p>
<p>Furthermore, I’ll end up having to transfer anyway. Though I’d like to pursue a degree in the arts my current university only offers a general degree in the subject without concentrations and limiting requirements (that do not interest me). Would a cheap northeast school be worth it? Coming from out of state I’d incur at least some debt, but the environment holds a great deal of opportunity.</p>
<p>Would it be terribly foolish to put forth effort in to the application this year, if only to see what kind of financial aid package I would get? The websites all say FA is limited for transfers, so it worries me. But still, I’d wonder.</p>
<p>I know that you don’t want to make more threads, but you should take some of your questions to the specific major sub-forum for your field of study. Click on “Discussion Home” in the upper-left of this screen, and then scroll down to find the College Majors Forum.</p>
<p>The folks in that forum will have ideas for you.</p>