<p>My daughter got her 2nd award letter (still waiting to hear admissions info from several schools and financial info from the other school she got into). On this one, the cost is about 10K more than the award letter -- which includes 7K in loans (stafford loan, unsubsidized loan, perkins loan) and $2320 in work study. The rest of the $41K award is in grants.</p>
<p>Sadly her academics did not qualify her for merit aid anywhere and we're feeling the burn.</p>
<p>Thoughts on this?</p>
<p>Thanks,
Rachel</p>
<p>Too much debt is something individual. For a student who comes from a family with a low EFC and/or if the family is not going to be able to help that student repay the loans, my opinion is that even the Stafford and Perkins add up to a very hefty amount to pay back after 4 years of accumulation. However, much of that is subsidized and is in the student’s name alone, so to me, that represents the maximum a student should borrow unless there are some truly unusual situations existing.</p>
<p>For the parent, again, it depends on their financial situation. They should not borrow more than they can afford to pay. The parent loans are 10 year commitments, not dischargeable even in bankruptcy. You gotta pay them back. Look at what the payments are per month and if you cannot afford to commit to that for 10 years, you should not take the loan. </p>
<p>It appears that your daughter’s college is going to cost $10K more a year than what she should be borrowing at maximum. Can you come up with the $10 each year? Can you afford to borrow $40K minimum over 4 years and repay it? Can your daughter make some money over the summer or at a job now to cut that amount down somewhat and you come with some of that amount and then borrow the remainder? It might be doable if your daughter can earn $3000 by September, and you come up with $3000K and then you borrow $4K. That comes to about $16K for you to borrow over 4 years and if you work at cutting costs, maybe you can drop the figure down lower.</p>
<p>Or,perhaps some more affordable alternatives will come. That’s really what the choices are.</p>
<p>*On this one, the cost is about 10K more than the award letter – which includes 7K in loans (stafford loan, unsubsidized loan, perkins loan) and $2320 in work study. The rest of the $41K award is in grants.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>what was your EFC?</p>
<p>How much can you contribute?</p>
<p>Can you take out a small Parent Plus loan?</p>
<p>The amount of loans in your D’s FA package is the max a student should borrow. That puts her on track for total debt of about $32k…which is a bit on the high side.</p>
<p>She should NOT borrow any more money.</p>
<p>Can she work over the summer to reduce the gap?</p>
<p>There may be some padding in the COA, so you may not need to spend.</p>
<p>How much is tuition and fees? room and board? </p>
<p>Does your D have any other affordable choices?</p>
<p>our efc was only $1800 … so this makes the 10K loom that much larger and I’m not sure that up to 17K in loans per year works for anyone … granted - we’d come up with more than the $1800 p/year but still – that’s a lot … the SUNY is going to be more affordable but I’m sure she’d get more out of this private school education. Eh - we’ll have to wait for the rest to come in and see what we’re up against.</p>
<p>"but I’m sure she’d get more out of this private school education. </p>
<p>Why ?</p>
<p>it’s smaller … there’s more attention to students…</p>
<p>Can you give the breakdown of how much tuition, room, board, books are?</p>
<p>If you’re quoting COA, then there’s “pad” in there.</p>
<p>If you can contribute - say $3k - then she may be able to make up the rest with a summer job.</p>
<p>Is this DePaul?</p>
<p>no depaul is huge… this is earlham.
board, 3770
books & supplies 1200
personal expenses 1000
total req. fees 784
room 3800
transportation 1500
tuition 37500</p>
<p>if there is padding – it’s not a lot. (we’re in nyc and the school is in indiana so transportation will cost)</p>
<p>I understand the attraction to the school, but remember that:
-the costs will increase each year
-some schools don’t guarantee you’ll get a work/study job, or if you do, that you’ll get the maximum number of hours
-I’m not super familiar w/ Earlham but think that finding another part-time job there would be tough (small Indiana town, student would like not have a car?)…so unlike some other places, earning additional money during year would be harder
-every year the financial aid package changes</p>
<p>A friend of my D’s has a similar situation to yours. Her EFC is low, and in her case, after freshman year no one would loan her parents any additional money. She’s a junior now and has managed to stay at her small, expensive liberal arts school…she loves the school, but every year I see her stressing out over the growing gap between the grant aid and what she has to pay. She works all year, too, at a part-time job. Last summer an uncle came to her rescue and co-signed a loan for the gap. I hate to think what her debt will be. I hope at this point that she’s able to stay for senior year…I don’t know who will help her with loans. She took on an extra job and moved to a super-cheap apartment and lives on a shoestring.</p>
<p>I also know students who have started at pricey places (ie, NYU) and then had to transfer after one or two years because of finances. Then they get the degree from local U and still have the huge debt from the two years at pricey U.</p>
<p>If you foresee this ending up anything like the above, I would strongly recommend another path with less debt/stress!</p>
<p>"it’s smaller … there’s more attention to students…</p>
<p>There are 64 SUNY campuses, I know that’s not the case with every one of them.</p>
<p>yes – this is true – she would go to suny new paltz as so far it’s the most financially viable; it has 6,582 students… Earlham has only 1,181 - which i think is better but my daugher might not agree.</p>
<p>*it has 6,582 students… Earlham has only 1,181 - which i think is better but my daugher might not agree. *</p>
<p>Frankly…I would NEVER advise my child to go to a school that small. Few course choices, few prof choices, and too much like high school. Those tiny colleges are often too cliquey and girls (especially) can find it too hard to fit in. </p>
<p>the too few prof choices could be a huge problem if your major requires certain courses and you don’t like the only prof that teaches them. At tiny colleges like that, they don’t have many profs per major.</p>
<p>If your daughter doesn’t agree with you that this tiny college is better, she may be right. And, that school is certainly not worth a bunch of debt. no way.</p>
<p>Any college around 5,000-8,000 students is a small enough school. Certainly small enough for personal attention.</p>
<p>thanks for your input … her high school has 120 kids so it’s not not going to be like her high school … we’ll see.</p>
<p>Does your wanting her to attend Earlham have anything to do with religion ? I personally don’t have a problem with that but no argument anyone hear makes about affordability is going to trump the spiritual argument. </p>
<p>Aside from that you are basically in the same boat as many people, private vs. public, commute vs. dorm. $ 68K in loans is a boatload of debt and there’s no guarantee a bank will give you anywhere near the difference between govt. loans and COA.</p>
<p>definitely has nothing to do with religion… I’m jewish - my daughter is agnostic.
But - yes – I realize this is a common dilemma.</p>
<p>OK just checking, Is Earlham your first choice or hers? My son is at a SUNY and my daughter will start at one in September but it was their choice. My son is thrilled with his choice and hopefully my daughter will as well.</p>
<p>Sorry I can’t help any more, I hope you get some better choices that will make you more comfortable.</p>
<p>I graduated from a 10,000-student public flagship university and felt that was a sweet spot. Small enough that classes were reasonably-sized and you could get to know your professors, but big enough to have the amenities of a major research institution (million-volume library, D-I FBS sports, vibrant campus life, college-town atmosphere, diverse student body, lots of majors/classes, etc.)</p>
<p>Plus, I only had to borrow $17,000.</p>
<p>*her high school has 120 kids so it’s not not going to be like her high school … we’ll see. *</p>
<p>I understand. My son only had 41 kids in his high school graduating class…also a very small high school. But college is VERY different because of the number of majors involved. A college with 5-6000 students is still a rather smallish college. </p>
<p>I graduated from a 10,000-student public flagship university and felt that was a sweet spot. Small enough that classes were reasonably-sized and you could get to know your professors, but big enough to have the amenities of a major research institution</p>
<p>that’s what I mean. A college that isn’t too small can offer a personal touch while also offer all the amenities and opportunities.</p>
<p>Which school is your D’s first choice? Which is her second choice?</p>
<p>I went to one of those under 1200 colleges for my undergrad. Loved it. Didn’t find it to be anything like high school, where I was part of a graduating class of about 50. Didn’t have a problem with professors or class selection, either. I definitely wouldn’t dismiss a school this size or question your belief that it might be a better fit.</p>
<p>Earlham is a very special place, not for all students but definitely great for a particular kind of student. I don’t agree with the one-size-fits-all approach to college, and a large college may be great for some students but not others. Earlham has an atmosphere that is intellectually exciting. </p>
<p>Yes, you can have all kinds of experiences at a large public and yes they are great in their own way. But they offer a very different atmosphere and even a different type of education than a small college. Some students will get more out of a small private education, and others will get more out of a large public education. Students are not all alike. </p>
<p>Having said all that, the original question was bout debt, and that is partly a personal matter and whether you think a school is worth extra money. I would not recommend more than $20K over four years. But you might figure out the payments after graduation on the debt you are considering.</p>