Huge Dilemma... Debt

Paying for College
21

Your stats make you viable for some full tuition scholarships. Sure you might get accepted to a Cornell or whatnot – but the fact is it seems you’re unable to afford it. On top of that, you have some dreams of going to med school afterward – that’s another $300K of debt. My 40 year old friend (who commuted to undergrad and commuted to med school) is only NOW close to paying off her debt – and she’s way ahead of some of her peers.

You’re talking eating ramen for the next 18 years.

You need to simply see expensive schools as unattainable. Period. And go where they’ll cover you in scholarships.

22

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They may very well qualify for Plus loans,
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The OP was talking about loans that he, the student, would be taking. Yes, their debt may be managed and payments current, but he said they have " a lot of debt. I’m talking a lot a lot." to me that suggests debt ratios that would not qualify to cosign for all four years. Maybe the first year they would qualify, but once they’ve consigned a time or two, they would get declined and the student couldn’t finish his education.

We agree that taking out more debt isn’t a good idea.

When a child knows that his parents have “I’m talking a lot a lot” of debt, that sounds to me that it’s so much that it’s impacting their lives. Otherwise, why would he even know much about it to comment on it.

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It’s an assumption that they have no money left at the end of the month because they are in debt. For all we know they pay the minimum amts on their credit cards and have disposable cash each month.

OP. I would focus on schools that would be thrilled to have someone with your stats. I would also focus on full-ride schools. Good luck.


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These were my words…


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BTW....if your parents have a lot of debt, I can almost assure that they will NOT be able to contribute more than a few hundred per month. ....maybe $3k-5k per year. People with a lot of debt do NOT have an extra $500-1000 a month to put towards a NEW expense (college). People with a lot of debt have no extra money at the end of each month....that's why they have a lot of debt (unless the debt is from a mega medical expense

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I stand by the first part of that paragraph. I should have further clarified at the end. Yes, there are some people who make minimum CC payments so that they’ll still have some disposable cash at the end. Usually, that is so that they can still spend money and not deny themselves (buy new clothes, eat out, entertainment, etc). That doesn’t usually translate into dedicating more than a few hundred each month of that “disposable cash” towards college for 48 straight months.

I completely agree that the OP needs to focus on full or near full scholarship schools.

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This confuses me. I copied this from your earlier thread in which you wrote…:

12-14-2016 at 5:33 pm
Sorry for all the confusion with the finances part. What I meant is that finances are not a problem for me, so that isn’t a concern. About the type of school etc, the only thing that really matters to me is the academic prestige and how good their premed track is (options etc). Thanks for all the comments so far.

What’s changed in a week?


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Very good question. and, as mentioned, someone who wants to go to med school should NOT be borrowing much or anything for undergrad.

And med schools don’t care about “prestige.” (And residencies don’t much either.)

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You are a HS junior…right?

Start looking for places that are going to be affordable for your family…and these can include places wothngood merit aid for YOU.

  1. Find out how much your parents WILL pay annually for college...not with loans.
  2. Remember that you don't HAVE TO attend a $60,000 or more college to,get a bachelors degree.
  3. Your parent consumer debt will not be a consideration when colleges determine need based aid.
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If the parents income is $180k and they only can afford to pay $5k-$10k a year - there is no extra money after regular expenses - mgt, food, utilities, car payments, insurance, property taxes, 401k - if that are even doing that - and their debt payments.

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You don’t have to go to a selective school for pre-med. Your instate schools would be fine.

You might get merit at Rowan, Stockton, TCNJ, or go to some OOS guaranteed full tuition merit schools from lists others posted upthread. Then your student loan, parent contribution and summer work earnings could cover room and board and travel.

26

@kobeman2000
Thrilled to hear you are a junior and from NJ, my state.
What are your SAT Scores? I see you wrote:
"My GPA is a 4.3 on a 4 scale. 34 ACT. I’m interested in doing with premed, so a bio-related major. I live in NJ.

My parents are willing to pay anywhere from 5-10k per year out of pocket."

I would highly recommend you consider in state, specifically Rowan University and TCNJ. Rowan gives excellent merit aid and is reasonably priced (about 28K cost of attendance). It has an excellent honors program, your classes are small and taught by professors (not grad students). There are plentiful opportunities to do research, get noticed and excel. They are affiliated with a medical school as well. I have two kids there now so speak directly from experience.

I am an alum of TCNJ. It is a higher ranked school currently, however they are getting a bit full of themselves and do not give out much in the way of merit aid, but again, in state public comes with a lower price tag to begin with. Especially if you are considering med or grad school, you really do not want to have student loan debt for undergrad.

I am happy you are here as a junior - bravo! You have plenty of time to read and learn and make an excellent choice, which will set you up well for the rest of your life. Having little debt provides tremendous freedom - to choose a job / career path, place to live, life partner. Highly recommend it :slight_smile:

Best to you!

27

Basically, you need to identify schools where you can get merit-based full tuition scholarships for your stats. If you qualify for National Merit, that may open additional doors.

Colleges do not care about debt or regional disparities in cost of living when calculating EFC. Also most places do not stack merit plus need-based aid. Should you obtain outside scholarships, they would most likely reduce the quantity of need-based aid you would receive.

Your parents’ budget of 5-10K per year won’t cover room and board at most places. With a direct student loan and part time/summer work, you might be able to stretch your annual budget to 18K, which would cover room, board, books, and incidentals.

I would look into U of Alabama and Rutgers (Honors program is very good). There are schools in the west like Arizona State University (Barrett Honors Program) and University of New Mexico, where you might be able to obtain full tuition or full ride for your stats. Look to the excellent suggestions in post #10 for more ideas.

It’s good that you are figuring this out now as a junior, so you can develop a list of affordable options. You sound smart and hard working, I’m sure you will do well.

28

Seconding the above suggestions, as well as TCNJ, Rowan - plus Njit where your scores would likely get you a full ride. For private universities, target LACs with merit and strong premed support/opportunities, such as Rhodes or St.Olaf. Start expressing interest NOW because merit will often be tied to interest (no point in ‘wasting’ a scholarship offer in a student who won’t come.)
Forget Cornell or ivies where you won’t get merit (they don’t have it.)