<p>they aren’t rich. however, my dad is 48, and he earns 75 - 90 NET, after taxes each year. and i wan’t them to have enough for retirement, etc. he earns a lot, but i would feel extremely guilty if i took their money for free like that. i talked to them about it, and they now feel the same as i do. they want me to pay them back.</p>
<p>All three options are still pretty expensive. Why does it cost so much?</p>
<p>because me being dumb as i was, decided to do a year at umich. and just like that, i wiped out 50k.</p>
<p>As a parent if I was loaning my child 300k to finance a CS degree I would find it unrealistic to expect her to pay that back, regardless of what I may say to my child.</p>
<p>
You effectively earned yourself about 3-4 additional years of debt troubles from that decision. It’s not entirely your fault because your parents encouraged you to do it, but just keep that in mind.
If you can reduce your debt by finding work in school, you’ll be much better off in the long run.</p>
<p>provided that i stay at umich, i will do work study for the next year. it’s going to be $10 an hour, andi think i can manage 10-15 hours a week. that would still require me to pay 45k. junior and senior years i will be living off campus, and save around 5k (i think). so that’s still 40k +40k +45k + 50k(this year) = 175k total and I still look screwed. and on top of that, what if employers here in the states wont look favorable on an international applicant unless they have masters? </p>
<p>taking this route, it looks like i’m digging myself into a pit.</p>
<p>taking this scenario, and ending up with 250k (best scenario after grad or 175k for job right out of undergrad) of debt i will have to live single for 8 years or so (5 years if i do only undergrad), and live on 20k a year. which i think i can live off of. </p>
<p>say i earn 50k NET, and pay off 30k each year, it’s going to be 8 years.</p>
<p>so i will be 32, after some grueling years, when i will be debt free. no children, just a single life - which i don’t think should be too much of a problem? (i hope)</p>
<p>For a CS degree, it doesn’t matter much where you get your undergraduate degree. York is fine.</p>
<p>You’re throwing your money down the drain by going to Michigan.</p>
<p>There is absolutely no reason to worry about having a degree from a Canadian university.</p>
<p>Is there a reason why you insist upon getting a masters and working in the US?</p>
<p>i’m not really “insisting” on a masters degree. i would love to not have to study for another 2 years. i think there is a good 20k salary difference for masters, which would benefit me in the long run.</p>
<p>Get the Masters later. The worst thing you can do for yourself is accumulate more debt.</p>
<p>The general recommendation I have seen/read is no more than Stafford loans, which total under $30 K for all 4 years. There are MANY folks in all fields who are NOT getting jobs in the US, even folks with CS degrees and even with masters in CS. It is reasonable for parents to contribute the parents share toward kids’ education. </p>
<p>Any way you look at it, $50k/yr is a LOT to be paying for an undergrad degree. You and your family need to reassess and come up with an affordable plan. $200-300k debt is just crushing. It is more than many mortgages and can lessen your ability to get hired as some employers do credit checks on potential employees and do not hire folks with poor credit scores. Remember that some students take more than 4 years to get a degree and interest grows on the debt unless you have a subsidized loan. </p>
<p>I would strongly discourage anyone from taking on 6 figures of debt for a college degree. There are cheaper options you need to explore.</p>
<p>My S got a BEE in 2010. He has a very good job but he still isn’t making $100K/year, even with raises and promotions.</p>
<p>@HI OP is getting this money from his parents. I’m not sure of interest rate or even if there is an interest rate. I doubt this would effect OP’s credits scores.</p>
<p>my parents are lending me the money, interest-free, provided i pay them back the full cost.
they said they would like to see they money returned within 10 years, and i’ve done calculations for so much time coming up with how much money i have to earn etc etc. at the end of the day, it comes down to masters. if i can get a job here as an international right out of undergrad, i’m set, and i will not want a masters (provided that the job is relatively well-paying). however, if i don’t get a job, masters is my only route, and then continue the job search. the two additional years will cost another 100k, and put my debt at a grand total of 250-275k.</p>
<p>@ neodymium: if i don’t do masters and have a job that pays at least 75k, i will be happy, because that’s just enough to put me on the road to being debt free after 7-8 years.</p>
<p>also, internships at umich are paying 4k a month, on average. i looked at the stats.</p>
<p>Do you really want to subject yourself to 6-7 more years of debt-paying than you have to?</p>
<p>do you think it would be a bad life for those 8 years or so. i want an honest opinion, since i have no experience in the real world. my parents said you could live a “normal life” on 22k or so.</p>
<p>That’s a pretty small amount to live on, downright impossible in the more expensive regions (Silicon Valley and New York, probably where you’d actually find a job).</p>
<p>Depends what a “normal life” is. For my kids, $22,000 would not cover the rent for the apartment S lives in near his job in VA (not a fancy place, but in a safe area). Not sure if it will cover D’s rent in LA for a year either. Many of the places hiring engineers have high costs of living, that will have to be considered. </p>
<p>In addition to rent, there are food costs, housing, transportation, medical, insurance, and much, much more. </p>
<p>It is VERY difficult to pay off 6 figures in loans. Triple hard if the amount is tripled. That amount is more than the mortgage H and I took and we needed 24 years to pay it off! We have had good incomes throughout that time. </p>
<p>I would never allow our kids to borrow that much, if we had any say in the matter. When our S got his BEE, we spoke with a worried, sad grad who had his masters. He said he didn’t have a job after his bachelors so got a masters and still no job, just more debt. Do not count on being able to get high-paying job. </p>
<p>Curious why your parents feel no obligation to share in the cost of your education but agreed you should attend a U costing $50K/yr when there are many cheaper options. This seems ill-advised for all of you.</p>
<p>i’m going to talk to my parents again about transferring, possibly to york, and coming here for work or getting a masters and working here.</p>
<p>i will post back tomorrow on how this turns out. thanks</p>
<p>Even paying for York and your 1st year at UofM will be about 100K. Can your parents pay at least part of that amount? Most of us parents are paying part to all of our kids’ college tuition. This is a discussion you need to clarify with your folks as soon as possible. Even $100k is a significant debt for an undergrad degree.</p>
<p>@HImom, how much did you pay for your kids tuition all together? i want to know what i can request my parents pay.</p>
<p>i’m going to talk to them about it, and want a reasonable estimate (percentage wise). My dad is the only worker in the family (i’m a single child), and he earns about 75k to 90k net per year. also, he’s 48, and i want him to retire comfortably.</p>