How much is too much?

<p>Where would you draw the line for student debt? How much is the maximum you would borrow without worry? I really want to take out loans if I get in to one of my dream schools and cannot pay the expected contribution but my parents refuse to consider it as an option.
This is assuming that the student would pay it off him/herself w/o parent help.</p>

<p>Everyone is different. Personally, I don't believe any school is worth tens of thousands in debt ... but that is my opinion. Others feel differently. I suggest you go to finaid.org and use the loan calculators to find out how much your monthly payments would be for various loan balances.</p>

<p>Remember that as a dependent student (which you would be, I imagine), you will only be eligible for Stafford subsidized/unsubsidized loan mix of up to $5500 freshman/$6500 sophomore, and $7500 junior/senior year. There is a possibility of a couple thousand in Perkins (MAYBE) or some other loan through the school (some schools do have such programs). Other than that, your loans would have to be alternative loans, which are very hard to get these days. Please consider the reality of our credit-crunched economy as you make your plans.</p>

<p>I think $50,000 would be the maximum I would borrow, since the average student is 21k-22k in debt.</p>

<p>I would not go above the subsidized amounts</p>

<p>Depends. After you've looked at the loan calculators and seen what your monthly loan payment would be, consider the following:</p>

<p>*Do you have plans for graduate or professional school? For some people, this means taking on loans of up to $200k, outside of any loans for undergrad. </p>

<p>*What kind of work are you interested in doing after college, and what is a typical starting salary? If you want to teach, or work for an NGO, or start a business, you might not be able to do so if you have large undergraduate debt. </p>

<p>*Where do you want to live when you finish school--is it somewhere where the cost of living is high? Your loan payments may restrict your post-college lifestyle really, really significantly. </p>

<p>*Are you planning on buying a house/condo at some point? This will seem like the far-off future, but student loans may delay being able to afford a mortgage. </p>

<p>You might want to look up the experiences of EvilRobot, a poster who took a significant scholarship at his not-dream-school-but-still-excellent-option. He recently graduated, and posted a followup on what it's meant to him not having undergraduate debt.</p>

<p>Also, if you want to have transportation & may need to purchase a car (even 2nd hand), it may require you to get a loan which will have monthly payments as well. Credit card debt adds to all of this & it's really not pretty to start off with lots of debt. You may also take longer than 4 years to get your degree, as many students do for many reasons. This will significantly increase your total debt as well.</p>

<p>It is wise to consider all your options & really be open to them. Your grad school is more important to employers than your undergrad school (if you're planning to go on to grad school as many do).</p>

<p>I put the limit at $20,000 for undergrad.</p>