<p>I'm going to be applying to UMiami this fall, and I've been going over financial info in my head. My question is what ate people's opinions on a reasonable amount of debt to leave with at graduation if planning on going on to get a masters or ph.d? My career is going to be in marine biology, if that helps.</p>
<p>honestly, I think any debt for undergrad IS too much debt. I would try to get the best scholarships and apply for the most possible amount of financial aid once you’re admitted and make sure you complete your FASFA. there’s also a lot of scholarship opportunites that you’ll probably qualify for through fastweb.com (I got a few of those to cover the cost of tuition!)</p>
<p>I really only have a few thousand dollars in federal loans given to me by UM but I plan to pay those off in the coming two years before I graduate. I tried to avoid debt but it’s pretty difficult. At least I don’t have any from the university I went to for my first two years of college!</p>
<p>I’m planning on medical school much like you’re planning on going to some kind of graduate school so I don’t want to add debt early on. Of course, you can defer undergrad loans if you’re going to graduate school, however, you have to remember how expensive grad school is and how many loans you’re going to probably need to take out.</p>
<p>What was your EFC? And how much did you get in need-based grants from the University?</p>
<p>I got about 35K, and about 5500 of that was federal loans. I got grants like the Pell Grant and the Coral Grant too. I’ve been filing my own taxes and considered “independent” for 3 years therefore, I was able to submit my own tax returns. FASFA doesn’t consider you independent until you’re over 25 (I believe 25 or 26) but I’m 21 and I had proof of tax returns for 3 years. </p>
<p>It’s different for everyone. If was still dependent on my parents and I submitted their tax returns I would be paying 40K in tuition because there would be no way to get FA.</p>