<p>Daughter got in to her dream school, but not with any merit money. Her loans at the end of 4 years would be about $90,000.00 ( our loans because she wouldn't qualify). Other schools did give her merit money, but they were very low on her radar. Is "happiness" worth the high amount of debt? Or should she "settle" and leave school with about $30,000 in debt?</p>
<p>I’m a numbers guy. I would not pay $90K for school if another school would cost 1/3 of that, unless there is a significant difference in quality. I hope your D was willing to attend that other school, otherwise why bother applying in the first place?</p>
<p>Are you willing to pay for her to attend this “dream school”? Only YOU can answer that question. I would say…if you have to take loans in that amount (almost $25K a year)…you should think twice.</p>
<p>Why is she “settling”? Hopefully the other schools were ones which she wanted to attend…right now she is disappointed. She needs to look at the other options…with a positive spin…and see what made her apply there in the first place.</p>
<p>$90,000 in debt will be about $1000 per MONTH in loan payments for a long time. That is a huge strangle hold…and I would not recommend it.</p>
<p>Yes. ^^ Why would kids apply to a college they don’t want to attend first of all. Second, the common excuse for applying to more than one or two colleges is to “search” for good finaid. If you need finaid (and $90,000 is a whole lotta debt) then this isn’t the right college.</p>
<p>It’s up to you. SOme families can afford it. It means an averge of $1000 for 154 years if you pay as you go. I know families who do this and they can afford it. THat’s their way of doing the college expenses. Just make sure you can afford to do this. I get antsy when I see PELL eligible or other families who clearly should not be taking out that kind of loan, but it is affordable and where you want to place your money, go for it! We did it with our first, and decided, no more. We’ll be finishing up on payments for his loan in the next 3 years. It wasn’t for as much as $90K, about half that, but it made for some tough times in the last 11 years as we were paying this.</p>
<p>That is waaaaayyyyy too much debt…even for parents. </p>
<p>Didn’t she apply to any OTHER schools that she likes? </p>
<p>When you say that the other schools aren’t liked as much, what does that mean? Does that mean that she dislikes them (they why apply???) or that they just aren’t top choice?</p>
<p>Where else did she apply and what were the merit awards?</p>
<p>What is her major/career goal?</p>
<p>Even $30,000 is a lot of debt. It is disappointing not to be able to go to the dream school, just as it is disappointing not to get a lot of things in life that we can’t afford. I would have her relook at all of those other schools. Is the dream school really worth $60,000 more? We try to put things in perspective with my kids and have them look at amortization tables to see what the difference in debt really looks like in monthly payment. Also, is she likely to go on to graduate school where she will incur even more debt? A lot of debt can be crippling financially, and in my opionion not really necessary in most instances to get a good education, and not worth it in the long run.</p>
<p>Maybe she should consider taking a gap year, and using that time to find some financial safety schools that she actually likes. </p>
<p>OTOH – if she “likes” the expensive school in the same way some folks “like” a Mercedes Benz convertible, then maybe she needs some guidance on the difference between wants and needs. From her perspective, if the difference between School A (that she adores and that parents will pay for) vs. School B (that is just ok and that parents will pay for) – what’s not surprising about her declaring her undying love for School A. She has no skin in the game (or even if she did, she probably has no idea what student loans might cost her in the future.) Either way, time for the parent to be a parent, and explain the realities to her. Heck, I’d love a gorgeous stone outdoor room. I’m sure I’d really, really feel better at night coming home to a house that has one.</p>