<p>Even if student should max out on sub/unsub stafford loans</p>
<p>5500 (3500 sub 2000 unsub)
6500 (4500 sub 2000 unsub)
7500 (5500 sub 2000 unsub)
7500 (5500 sub 2000 unsub)</p>
<p>this comes out to 27k. The other 63 K is going to be on you as parent plus loans. DO you really want to be servicing this kind of debt as you are getting older and closer to retirement age?<br>
You have listed 3 public universities. Are you in-state at any of these schools?
Do you have other children who will be attending college?</p>
<p>What professions are available for those without a degree? Retail (if they’ll take you full-time), construction (maybe), fast food (full time?)</p>
<p>And not all programs of study are set up to be efficient working through a community college route. Mine was not. I graduated with my bachelor’s in 3.5 years. Had I gone community college first, it would have taken a minimum of 5.5 years.</p>
<p>^ There are actually plenty. I didn’t say they were good, but there ARE places where you can work 40 hours a week without a degree. Not great jobs, but jobs nonetheless.</p>
<p>I know many students who work for the state full time (while going to school!), there are people (young people, early 20s) that work full time at the shelter I work at, heck I know people who work at CVS full time. All without degrees. I work more than full time every summer and work ~30 or more hours a week during the school year to help with costs. It’s not fun but I can save AT LEAST $5k in loans each year by working that much. That’s $20k over the 4 years.</p>
<p>My point was that many students work full time, go to school part time, in order to keep costs down. Ideal? Absolutely not, but do-able. Graduating with $30k in debt (or more!) is a CHOICE and definitely NOT a requirement.</p>
<p>Well…OP…if your son is going to have $90,000 in debt, you need to keep in mind that over $60,000 of that (subtracting the max Stafford loans) will be YOUR debt too. Your son will need you as a CO-signer to the loans to attend Penn State. If you cosign the loans, they are YOUR loans too. </p>
<p>Sorry…but I would NOT cosign loans in that amount for undergrad school.</p>
<p>It seems pretty unanimous that to us who have read this thread, $90K debt (does that include interest that is accummulating while kiddo is in school) is WAY too much for an undergrad degree. (This probably assumes said kiddo won’t need an extra semester or year to get the degree.)</p>
<p>90K undergrad debt is way too much - given what you know, I would look at ways to make that 30K debt smaller. Summer work, perhaps combined with summer course work at a community college that would make early graduation possible for example.</p>
<p>Take a careful look at the budget - only include billable costs in what has to be paid out. Miscellaneous spending and travel expenses may be built into that 30K you’re looking at, those don’t need to become part of the ‘college budget’. Get a lean but realistic college budget and stick to it - while always looking for ways to reduce the loans.</p>
<p>I would be comfortable with our kids having up to the max federal loans ($27K) for undergrad based on their intended majors, less is obviously better, but if it came down to not going to college or graduating with some student loans, the choice is obvious for us. It’s basically a car payment and the trade off is not living in the “best” apartment for a few years. As parents, we will not take out ANY loans for our kids’ education and they know that so ultimately it will come down to which school THEY can afford based on what they get in merit aid, loans and the amount we will kick in.</p>
<p>Our oldest was able to graduate with about $9000 in debt. His payments are very low and affordable and we have suggested that he make payments on those for a year or two to boost his credit score and then pay them off. He has enough cash in the bank to pay them off now after working for 6 months so we are not concerned at all.</p>
<p>Rockville mom, NJ Sue, Mom2 college kids and the others Thanks for all the great feedback! yes it does appear unanimous Re: 90k debt/crazy!!!
My husband will be “alleged” retirement age(65) when son graduates HS this yr. and I’m a spring chicken 60! (never thought that cute lil baby would cost this much!) The debt is after our kicking in the 15K in college plan that we managed to save and 40K my inheritance $$ and taking out a 40K in loans (parents & or equity house loans). which would still leave the 90K at Penn and 30K at UNCW. so essentially the UNCW would be his student loans.<br>
We live in an affluent town in MA. (tho we are not) and i think all the “good” schools hype has gotten to us. He tells me he’ll be OK with UNCW cause else it’s UMass Amherst which he doesn’t want to go to. I never even visited any colleges before going. just applied to state schools in NJ/only 1 was away, if i didn’t get in there i was getting a job in NY!</p>
<p>Given the information that you presented, it is absolutely out of the question that you/your child should be taking 90k of debt. Since your husband will be retiring and moving to a fixed income, I would even be uncomfortable taking on the 40k of debt that you are talking about.</p>
<p>Does your son have a financial safety in the mix?</p>
<p>sybbie; the UNCW,SUNY Binghampton & UMass Amherst are the safety’s ( most affordable of the bunch); he’s eliminated it down to UNCW. My husband won’t be retiring anytime soon as we are not Anywhere near funded for retirement or college. hope to pay that 40K down we borrow while we Are still working.</p>
<p>you plan on borrowing at least 40k (through PLUS/home equity) plus an additional 30k if he attends UNCW? This is 70k of debt, which is a lot of money in this economy and the fact that you may be in your 70’s paying off this debt.</p>
<p>if you were to repay 70k over 10 years at 6.5% it would be ~$800/month and over 25k in interest.</p>
<p>I guess I am a little confused. It looks like you are going to pay out of state tuition for him to go to UNCW. Why that school? Doesn’t Massachusetts have a decent state school he could go to for instate tuition? Looks like you could pay instate tuition no problem.</p>
<p>Son does not like UMass ( Zoo mass - known as party school ) but i differ that it is a good school and lovely area - i actually lived in the area for 7 yrs.<br>
Umass is about the same cost as UNCW well ballpark anyway - 23K for Umass and 26K for UNCW + $$ for books etc. at both. and of course xtra $$ to get him back & forth. were always looking for affordable alternatives and NC has the best. private school we looked at there & like (Elon) is same as Penn. so the only viable alternative thus far is UNCW.</p>
<p>I dont’ know much about that UNC school, but if it’s mostly commuter/suitcase, your child may find himself to rather lonely at night and on weekends.</p>
<p>83% of UNC-W’s students are instate…that would be a concern. Plus, it is “girl heavy” in ratio.</p>
<p>As for the party school label…nearly all residential schools are party schools…unless they’re bible colleges. 18-22 year kids together…party.</p>
<p>If it were me, I would shop around a little more with the instate schools. I gotta believe there is a solid state school in Mass that is less than what you are quoting for UMass. Also make sure you are comparing the same things at both schools. What is your son planning to major in?</p>
<p>Every school is a party school - if it’s in a warm climate or a top rated ski area it’s a top rated party school. I guarantee you that competitive kids in NC think the school down the street is only for partiers and the grass is greener (or drier as the case may be) somewhere else.</p>
<p>Daughter in honors dorm at ‘party school’ had a lively Skype conversation with former classmate alone in dorm at his ‘serious’ school - former classmate was all alone because all his ‘serious’ dorm mates were out partying. It takes time everywhere for kids to find their own set of friends who share common interests and kids are kids everywhere which basically means that some of them will misbehave.</p>
<p>It sounds like there is a better financial option closer to home; I suspect your son is responding to the buzz within his social circle and not thinking realistically about the debt all of you are about to incur. It would be much better to rethink this now - transferring is not always as smooth as you would like it to be if the finances become unbearable.</p>
<p>My kids both went to a private U that is well known for partying. Neither are partiers but had no trouble finding their niche and being VERY happy at the U they attended. Most schools that are large enough have LOTS of different options, to suit different interests of the students that attend.</p>
<p>It would be good for your child to have some visits of in-state Us. Good luck!</p>
<p>Our D went to local CC for 3 semesters, as did my niece & many CA residents. Depending on the CC, it can be a very important option to consider. CC costs are generally MUCH, MUCH lower than Us. If the student plans properly, most coursework will transfer and allow the student to have smaller classes and perhaps more individualized attention.</p>