<p>I recieved my financial aid letter today from UCONN. </p>
<p>I am recieveing the following aid for my first year, both semesters:
Fed Sub Stafford Loan 3,500
Carl Perkins Federal Loan 1,600
Undergrad Work Study 1,800
Tuition Remission Grant 5,000
University Grant 2,000</p>
<p>The total is $13,900.</p>
<p>For a dormitory out of state student, everything totals out
to be $29,828.</p>
<p>There is still $16,000 that my family and I have to take out a loan for. My parents offered to pay $8,000 a year, leaving me to pay $8,000 a year. Is it worth going or is the debt going to be too much?</p>
<p>You are looking at $13,000 this year alone...(with $8l loan and stafford and perkins) assuming situation stays the same, $52K by the time your graduate. Depending on your major, you may have trouble meeting those obligations. I'd look into any alternatives. You can swing it but it will be tough.</p>
<p>So far, I only got my financial aid info from UConn. I also got into Marist with an $8,000 scholarship a year but I am not really considering going there. Other colleges I am really considering are Syracuse, Northeastern, University of Delaware and University of New Hampshire.</p>
<p>if you want you can consider filing Plus Loan. But 3500 for Fed Sub Stafford sounds reasonable to me, that's the max I got for 2 consecutive years.</p>
<p>Well, you asked, so I will answer ... I personally would not take on such a big debt load. Tuition & costs are going to rise, and you'll just have to keep borrowing more & more. Remember that the work study is not up-front --- all it means is that you can work a part-time job on campus and earn up to that amount. So that may be another chunk of money you will have to come up with (although the costs may not actually total the projected amount). </p>
<p>I counseled my own daughter, who is a senior, against making the type of move you are considering. I know that I am financially conservative. My husband works with a young man, though, who got his undergrad degree & is now $100,000 in debt. However, he is okay with it ... and he is an engineer with a great job & he has ordered his life so that his loan payments are as much a part of his life as other bills. In other words, he is not spending more than he can afford. So ... yes, it CAN work out.</p>
<p>Only you can decide if you want to do this. It's a tough decision, but welcome to the adult world. Kinda s#$%s, doesn't it?!</p>
<p>That is kind of steep. Applying to OOS state schools you can't bet on getting too much finaid, they give it to the in state kids. Also keep in mind tuition increases, across the board for all as well as some just for specific majors (engineering at my son's school went up several K junior & senior year).
On the other hand your Stafford loan will increase for junior & senior year too.</p>
<p>I am a newbie at looking at FA packages (have looked at one total so far). But I'll give you an opinion, just like I'd give an opinion to DS. $7 k in grant style (free money) is not a great enticement to attend. I don't know anything else about your sitch.... I'll assume your EFC is around the $16k number.</p>
<p>But it still (as another poster eloquently stated) depends on your future earning power whether you can handle any kind of debt....Well, that, and the lifestyle you expect for yourself. </p>
<p>I know of people who purchase a house which is at the high end of what they can afford (or qualify for from a mortgage standpoint), and can't afford to put furniture in it or curtains on the windows. Get my drift??? </p>
<p>I love analogies:</p>
<p>SO, you have to make sure when you are strolling out of your shower naked...you must stay away from the windows, lest your neighbors call the cops on you. Similar, in the example above...you're lifestyle may be altered dramatically NUTS...whats a good analagy for walking naked in your curtain-less house????? OK, lets see. Your debt could make the mortgage you could get force you into a neighborhood where you wouldn't otherwise choose to live, or affect decisions on having a family, or what size that family is.</p>