<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>Like an ugly memory, I've tried to resist thinking about my mounting problem-a load of debt for which I cannot possibly account right out of college with the type of salary I expect to make. However, now that I have only three semesters until I graduate, I've had to contemplate the real-life burden of carrying such a large amount of debt, and how it will affect the pathways typically associated with the career I hope to go into, i.e., graduate/law school. Here's the deal: I went to BYU my first year of college, where I was required to take out about $15,000 in student loans after subtracting the Pell grant from its COA. These are a combination of Federal Direct/(un)Subsidized Stafford and private loans, but mostly private loans. Thereafter, I transferred to Rutgers as an OOS student to pursue a BA degree in philosophy (a field Rutgers is quite known for), where tuition, along with living expenses (living in Utah was dirt cheap--$240/month for rent + utilities!), increased considerably. I was required to take out $26,000 my first year and in my second year, $18,000 after being awarded merit aid for my academic performance at the school. I anticipate paying no less my final year of college. </p>
<p>Now, my question really amounts to this: how limited will I be in terms of deciding where I will be attending graduate or law school, being saddled with this much debt? Will it be something like 'Harvard or bust'?--i.e., I can only attend if the school offers to cover all of my education expenses.</p>
<p>At any rate, here's what I do know about my situation: Assuming I do go to law school, and law schools, as is commonly circulated, are in fact less willing to offer significant financial aid, I will likely have accumulated over $200,000 in debt by the time I graduate. This makes law school less desirable for me. On the contrary, if I am right in my assessment that graduate school is less financially intractable for most people (taking into consideration assistantships, stipends, and whatnot), and I graduate with approximately $40,000 in debt, a reasonable estimate I think, how much would I have to make in monthly payments when I graduate, and will the job that I seek (professor) be able to meet such payments? </p>
<p>Or is all this hypothesizing frivolous and I shouldn't even go to graduate school, and instead think about making payments right after I graduate? </p>
<p>Thanks for listening.
T</p>
<p>P.s. As you might have surmised, my family does not contribute importantly to my college education and so, being as dependent as I am on outside assistance, I don't think my own desires will be relevant to this discussion, but what the heck, I will reveal them: I have always wanted to obtain a PhD or JD and afterwards work as a research professor (I love reading and writing), and as such, I have spent my time at Rutgers preparing myself for the possibility of attaining either degree. I double-major in philosophy and the classics and have an almost unblemished record--a 3.96GPA with my only non-A grade coming in Intermediate Latin Prose--a B+.</p>