What great ideas, @blossom.
One of my kids attended college near downtown Chicago (graduated last summer). A U Pass was included in student fees, so she got around the city for free during the academic year… She had an art museum student membership, and her college would often have very discounted tickets to shows and sporting events available to students that she would sometimes take advantage of. She and a friend also had Lyric Opera season tickets for a couple of seasons. (Very affordable if you’re young). Chicago is great to explore when the weather is nice as well. She was not a big spender but managed to find plenty of inexpensive fun.
Urban campuses are super popular right now and rural colleges are definitely feeling the pinch. My S19 appears to want rural but D20 wants no part of being in the country having spent her high school years in western MA. We live about an hour south of Boston and the draw to attend college there is very real.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with incentive to give someone an extra push to achieve. My kids will take out the federal loans. That allows us a bit more wiggle room to allow them to go to a residential college out of state. They could choose to live at home and commute 75 minutes each way to Chicago and have no loan. $300 or so per month is very doable, if they have trouble paying that, I would have to wonder if spending all that money on a degree was even a good idea.
This student is going to be in a music related field. While it’s possible she will land a full time job, with benefits, it’s also possible she won’t. So…add the $300 a month loan payment to whatever the costs are for her individual health insurance plan. It won’t be free.
Everyone is different…my kids have work/study, and that is their spending money for books, spending money, and we expect them to increase their work hours in the summer to be able to contribute $2000 to the COA each year.
I’m frankly surprised neither of mine has blamed us for their student loans.
$300 can definitely be a burden. Add that on top of rent, utilities, transportation, food etc and you’re looking at a lot of money going out every month.
Not to mention that this $300 is $300 that is not going into a 401k for example. Obviously if student loans are necessary, they are necessary, but I’m very happy that both my kids were able to start on their savings without that burden.
@donnaleighg $300 per month doesn’t necessarily preclude skipping 401k or being so tight on a budget that rent is a problem. College grads at my company start at 70k right after graduation. Now getting a degree in elementary education, fine arts, etc., you would be wary about being able to pay any debt. For my kids, at least my oldest two for sure, are looking to enter fields that have good pay where the job market is growing.
Every family has to decide to do what is best for each kid.
@elodyCOH well we will always need elementary school teachers. And not all entry level jobs pay 70k after graduation. Personally, I think it’s best to avoid loans if you can…
I agree with @natty1988 - avoid loans if possible. Starting your life with debt, especially debt which cannot be shed, is not advisable.
That being said, sometimes it’s better to take loans to get into a school where there is a higher likelihood of success. Being $20K in debt with an undergraduate degree from a good school is better than having zero debt after dropping out of a school which wasn’t a fit. If somebody is looking at graduate school, than having debt, but a much better chance of getting into a good graduate school is preferable to getting an undergrad with a GPA that is too low to get into grad school. There is also the issue of opportunities - it is worthwhile going into debt to do an undergrad at a school which provides internship opportunities and has higher job placement rates (these things go together).
Sometimes this works. Sometimes living off campus can actually INCREASE expenses.
If you’re hoping that your kid can save money on food, make sure there’s a supermarket within walking distance of the apartment or that your kid has a car. Without easy access to a supermarket, the kid is going to end up living on takeout and/or meals bought for cash in on-campus facilities. Both of those options are pricey.
Both my kids took on undergrad debt in the form of subsidized federal loans, and neither had any difficulties with that amount of debt. My son paid off his undergrad debt completely – I think my daughter was still carrying debt when she started grad school.
High debt can be crippling, but the federal loan limits are reasonable for undergrad. I expected my kids to take the maximum in subsidized loans, but did not want them to take unsubsidized loans. (My son actually only took the loans for the first 2 years of undergrad, because he took a 3-year gap & later transferred to a public college, and he was able to support himself, and pay his own way from earnings and savings during his final 2 years. He paid off the balance left from his first two years immediately after graduating).
If the parent is going to have to borrow and the student is eligible for subsidized loans, then I really think the student loan should come first – it simply makes financial sense based on the difference between -0- interest on a loan that is in remission during the student’s enrollment vs. ongoing interest on the parent’s end of things.
@MWolf entering retirement with debt is even less advisable though
@toomanyteens That’s a good point too.
@toomanyteens true. It’s probably best if students and parents can avoid too much debt…