<p>I am about to make my final decision on my college choice, but I'm starting to question the amount of debt I may have at graduation (current efc=0).</p>
<p>My one choice will be about $5000 in loans per year, which is a manageable $20,000.</p>
<p>My other choice is roughly $12,000 in loans per year that would be close to $50,000 at graduation. Honestly, I feel more drawn to this school, but the cost pushes me back away from it.</p>
<p>Is my second choice just too much and will lead to a great burden, or will it only take a few years to pay off the cost for a future engineer (at the moment I'm strongly considering grad school also)?</p>
<p>Check out a financial calculator on the web and see how long it will take to pay back. Guess at your average salary when you graduate and look up average living expenses.</p>
<p>with an EFC of $0, you must have experience at living with minimal funds. With a large loan balance to pay off, you will be living just like that again after college -- for 5-10 years, depending on your salary and cost of living.</p>
<p>I would go with the less expensive school -- debt in the neighborhood of $50,000+ (you have to add interest) will impact the choices you make after school (including grad school, marrying and having kids, purchasing a home and choosing a job)</p>