<p>How much is too much to pay for a UPenn degree? I mean straight debt, especially if grad school is probably in your future.</p>
<p>IMO, I think if your loans wind up being more then 1/2 a year’s pay or so, it will really impact your life after school, especially if you go to grad school for a few years and the interest piles up. You will be paying those loans a long time…</p>
<p>Even 1/2 a year might be too much if you are in a low-paying field.</p>
<p>Another guideline people mention is to take no additional loans beyond the Stafford</p>
<p>I think it depends on what you want to do and what you mean by grad school. I’m in a Ph.D program and I’m not paying anything - I did have to take out a small loan for educational expenses (like my security deposit for my apartment and my computer) but I don’t have to pay tuition. If you want a professional degree, however, like an MD or a JD or an MBA or any number of master’s degrees, likely you will be paying tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands in loans per year.</p>
<p>In any case, if you’re planning graduate school your grad school matters the most. It’s a good idea to minimize costs by possibly going to a lower-ranked, but still solid, undergrad school, doing well, and choosing a top-notch program for your graduate degree. I was originally planning to do a JD, so I took a full-ride scholarship at a second-tier school because I wanted very minimal loans. That opened me up for a lot of possibilities because I only had around $8,000 in loan principal when I graduated from my undergrad, so I could plan to go to more expensive graduate schools because I had less debt. Then it worked out that I got into this Ph.D program, so right now I only have about $18,000 in combined debt, and I’m not planning on taking out anymore loans!</p>
<p>Anyway, think about what kind of jobs you plan to do. Know that the average graduate makes around $40,000-50,000 a year, give or take some depending on your job type. $40,000 a year is roughly $3,300 a month; $50,000 a year is roughly $4,100 a month. Now go to Finaid.com and use the loan calculator to calculate your monthly loan payment if you take out X amount of $$$ with X.x% interest rate (usually 6.8% for Stafford loans). Do you think you could comfortably pay that amount making $3,000-$4,000 a month after you pay rent, utilities, food, etc.?</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s the main problem for me right now. I have a full scholarship where I am and would have absolutely no debt when I graduate. Thing is, I think I want to go to grad school. Originally, I wanted to get a Ph.D., but now I’m considering just a master’s in either public policy or economics. But, if I don’t go to grad school, I want my undergrad to be at the best school possible. So, I can either stay (at Ohio State) and save money for grad school or go to Penn and have an excellent degree out of the gate in case I don’t go to grad school. Either way, it’s a gamble, especially financially.</p>
<p>I just addressed this in my blog yesterday. </p>
<p>Here is probably one of the best things you can do right now. Go get a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and read it. It’s not a long read. But after reading that book, I guarantee that you will be able to far better answer your question than any answers provided on this forum.</p>
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<p>What is wrong with Ohio State? It is a fine, highly regarded flagship university.</p>
<p>Sorry, I lurk around the financial aid forum but I had to respond here:</p>
<p>Rich Dad, Poor Dad? That’s a real fluff book if you ask most people. The only real lesson I got from it (I read it about 5-6 years ago) was that you can be rich through unscrupulous means, or just by getting a bit lucky through common sense. IMO, that’s not everyone’s purpose in life.</p>
<p>You can read this Slate article and another online critic of the book, even if the second guy clearly has a bone to pick with Kiyosaki.</p>
<p>[Why</a> millions buy Rich Dad, Poor Dad’s nonsense. - By Rob Walker - Slate Magazine](<a href=“Slate Magazine - Politics, Business, Technology, and the Arts”>http://www.slate.com/?id=2067175)
[John</a> T. Reed’s analysis of Robert T. Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad, Poor Dad](<a href=“http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html]John”>John T. Reed's analysis of Robert T. Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad, Poor Da)</p>
<p>Let’s get back on topic then.</p>
<p>Well, I know OSU is viewed as a solid school, but I don’t know if I can pass up an opportunity to attend a school of Penn’s caliber. After all, if I do well there, it will probably get me into a much better grad school or job than a good performance at Ohio State…or so I’m told.</p>