<p>Also</p>
<p>Expanded</a> Aid Program | Reduced Undergraduate Student Debt Initiative | Vanderbilt University</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is Expanding their aid, though the age of this topic might make the point moot...</p>
<p>
[quote]
you have to know if you'd be happy at U of F, or so miserable you'd long for Vandelbilt the whole time.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Even if you are happier at Vanderbilt, 20 years of working off the debt might not make it worth that short-term pleasure.</p>
<p>I replied to this thread before and I really hope you chose UF, because that's seriously a lot of debt (probably 4-5 years worth of savings after college). UF is a very good school, there isn't a job you can get from Vanderbilt, that you can't from UF. It's really not fun paying off loans. (As I have done for 2 years after college, and I thought that was annoying)</p>
<p>Don't you think that this discussion is a bit trite? Your tolerance for debt is a very personal matter and depends on a wide variety of factors. Do you want to be a social worker? The income for social workers wouldn't justify 60K in student loans. Do you want to be a dentist? If so, then your undergrad debt is a drop in the bucket and the difference between 15K and 90K will be only minimally noticeable. I don't know what the averages are but between my wife and I, we have about 60K in student loan debt. It translates into only about 330 a month, and on the salaries of a college advisor and a scientist, that means a moderate reduction in the quality of our cars and less extravagant/frequent vacations. The point I am trying to make is that debt, while scary, shouldn't prevent you from making the best possible decisions with regards to college.</p>