How big of a loan is too big?

<p>Does it make to sense to take out a $15k student loan every year to attend UMASS-Amherst (this is the price for tuition and R&B after scholarships and government loans)
Rutgers-NB would be 20k
and UDel would be 25k</p>

<p>Im a business major and have also applied to Baruch and Yeshiva University where tuition is minimal ($0 after FA. However I will need to commute to school and I want to have some kind of college experience)</p>

<p>Obviously theres no real answer for this question, but thank you in advance for any advice.</p>

<p>Student loans that big would be insane, assuming you could get them. Do you have a co-signer?</p>

<p>Having those loans would impact your life in countless ways long after the college experience is a distant memory.</p>

<p>That is on top of federal loans? So you are talking about around $20,500 a year in loans? Yes, it is much to much. By the time you graduate you will have amassed almost $100,000 of debt (assuming you are not paying the interest every year as you go along). That means you would have over $1100 a month in loan payments every month for 10 years. Much too much debt.</p>

<p>As Zoosermom brings up, where are you getting $15K a year in loans? If your parents are willing to take out the loans and back you up in repaying them, that’s one thing. If they are financially in bad straits and you are just hoping that they will co sign for them, that a whole other. College costs are a family thing. It is rare that a kid coming right out of college without parental support will be able to handle $60K plus accrued interest and with interest continuing to accrue in loans without seriously hurting prospects. College costs tend to go up each year so that $15 in loans is just the first year bite.</p>

<p>We are paying for our son’s OOS experience, and loans are involved and we offered to do this. However, he would be getting a better education in the major he has chosen at Baruch at far less cost. Yes, he is going for the whole college experience and we are supporting it, but had we not been able to do this, he would have gone locally. He had such options.It is truly a luxury to go away to college. Discuss the issue with your parents and keep into account what their financial situation is.</p>

<p>This sucks. Thanks for the advice. Would you guys suggest reapplying to colleges in a semester or a year after working hard on a very good gpa at YU/Baruch? maybe theyll give me a better scholarship?</p>

<p>Sadly, my parents will not be playing a part in my college tuition for the most part. I understood it would be hard to even get such a loan but I had some high hopes.</p>

<p>Transfers don’t get good scholarships. Schools give their best scholarships to incoming frosh.</p>

<p>If anything, take a gap year and reapply to schools that will give you more merit or aid.</p>

<p>You can’t borrow much. </p>

<p>You can only borrow…</p>

<p>5500 frosh
6500 soph
7500 jr
7500 sr</p>

<p>Can you commute to any schools?</p>

<p>Truth be told, nationwide more students commute than live on campus. If you commute to YU or Baruch, you WILL be having the college experience. Talk with the people who coordinate study abroad and domestic exchanges, you may be able to have a semester or year of “on campus” experience through an exchange term (or two) even if you can’t manage it for all four years.</p>

<p>I’ve always been planning on applying for study abroad, but the way you put it opens my eyes a bit.</p>

<p>If I understand you correctly, you mean the possibility to studying abroad for a year or more on a foreign college campus?</p>

<p>Yes. Most colleges and universities here offer the option of spending a semester or a year overseas. Check the websites at YU and Baruch for “Study Abroad”.</p>

<p>Many colleges and universities also offer the option of spending a semester (and more rarely a full year) studying at a different college/university in the US. Try for searching for that information using “domestic exchange” as a search term. Even if there is no semester or year-long exchange, there may be a domestic option for a summer or January mini-term depending on the university’s calendar.</p>

<p>Thank you! That information is fantastic!
@happymomof1 I know you already replied to my other thread, but if you were to consider academics purely how do you think YU holds up?</p>

<p>CUNY schools definitely have that option and it would be a good one. You may also find that if you find a job and save up that you might be able to share an apartment in your last year of school, as well. There are plenty of options that won’t ruin your future and I commend you for being so sensible. My oldest D started at a nice private school and when she became ill and had surgery, wasn’t able to return immediately and decided to stay at the CUNY, which made a lot of sense in her situation. She gradauated debt free, made very good money the last two years of college as a paid intern, made a lot of contacts and was able to go right on to graduate school. She has a full-time job that pays well now and is living very well, doing a lot of travel, while she finishes grad school and then hopes to have a job in her field. For her it was the perfect situation and I bet you could make it work for you by taking the semester abroad option or something similar.</p>

<p>yairnazz - To be honest, all I know about YU is that it has a solid overall academic reputation and the Maccabeats. Whether YU is a better choice for you than Baruch, I really can’t say. Since you are in commuting distance for both, you could run that question by some of the teachers at your high school. They will know some people who have attended each place, and might be able to give you some ideas about them.</p>

<p>Yairnazz, Baruch really is the place for business. You simply couldn’t go wrong there. Of course, you couldn’t go wrong with Yeshiva, either! I would think it would come down to fit if both are doable financially because they are so, so, so different.</p>

<p>Thank you for your support, I appreciate it. Ill do my best to get more information regarding both programs before the May 1st deadline. Its worth noting that if I attend YU I will not be commuting, but rather i will live in the dorms.</p>

<p>Go to the school where you can commute. you can’t afford room and board.</p>

<p>Actually Room and Board at YU is about 6k a year, which i consider quite affordable.</p>

<p>Where are you going to get the $6K a year to live in the residence halls?</p>

<p>Yeshiva is a great school btw. I used to live in the Yeshiva neighborhood - beautiful, and rather quiet for NYC.</p>

<p>Actually Room and Board at YU is about 6k a year, which i consider quite affordable.</p>

<p>The price may be low, but how will YOU pay for it?</p>

<p>What is in your FA packages for Baruch and YU? What loans? What grants? how much work-study?</p>

<p>How much are your parents paying?</p>

<p>You have two strong choices. Both have excellent programs in where your interest lies. Congratulations.</p>

<p>I know someone who went to Yeshiva. She made the comment that it was quite common to graduate in 3 years. Would you be able to graduate in three years? If so, that’s something to consider.</p>