Graduate Early or Get a Private Loan?

Paying for College
1

<p>Financial Aid decisions at the University of Chicago are in-- a big fat rejection for me, which means ~50,000 more of my dollars are going to the college for my upcoming third year. </p>

<p>I pay for college from inheritance from my father, who passed away 4 years ago. My mother is unable to contribute anything to my education, as she makes <$10,000 yearly. Regrettably I only now have enough money to cover my third year. I recently met with a College Aid councilor regarding aid dispersal for my fourth year:</p>

<p>Me: "So next year, when I actually have zero dollars towards financing my education, will I receive aid?"</p>

<p>Him: "No."</p>

<p>So the University of Chicago's messed up financial aid methodology aside, I am left with two options: graduate in three years or take out a private loan in the amount of ~$30,000 to finance my fourth year at the college. I will be applying to medical school next spring, which more than likely means $200,000+ in loans over those four years. Graduating early means my degree is in Biological Sciences, whereas graduating in 2011, as planned, means Biological Sciences and Linguistics.</p>

<p>Thus, my predicament: should I graduate early or take out a private loan?</p>

2

<p>Is a linguistics degree worth $30,000 to you? Actually, after you are done paying it will probably be around $40,000, around $350/mo. You could make a pro/con list or something to figure it out.</p>

3

<p>The linguistics degree is not really why I would wish to stay, just something I am interested in. The biggest issue is that medical schools like to see applicants who are well rounded, and skipping a year of college does not really contribute to this. Graduating early also makes it difficult to get the recomendations I want, as one was (hopefully) going to come from a linguistics professor whose class I would be unable to take. The cost of the unsubsidized private loan would be 30k, whereas subsidized loans and savings would contribute to a total cost of 52,000~ dollars.</p>

4

<p>$30K debt, if that will be your total, is not unreasonable for undergrad if you have a good shot at med school.</p>