<p>Ok so I am a Florida student who just recently got accepted to the Anneberg School of Communications at USC. My decision on schools has been narrowed down to either USC or staying in state and going to University of Florida. I am going to be studying journalism at wherever I go to school.</p>
<p>What my decision really all comes down to is the money situation. I am kind of in a catch-22 type mess where my parents are divorced, and my father makes significantly more money than my mother. Unfortunately he refuses to pay any money towards my education and leaves it all on my mother's income. So basically my fafsa says that my family has a lot of wealth even though I can't use it to pay for school. Because of this, I most likely won't be getting any money from USC in regards to aid.</p>
<p>My question to you all is that is it worth it to attend USC when I will most likely have well over 100K in loans? I understand that their journalism program is leaps and bounds ahead of UF's, but at UF it would be SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper and more affordable. Is a better education worth that much money?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help everyone,</p>
<p>Brandon from South Florida</p>
<p>High debt is almost never worth it. It’s even less worth it if your predicted career income will not be extra-high, or if your plans include grad school expenses. </p>
<p>You are lucky to have an affordable option and college success is often what you can put into it.</p>
<p>U of F is great! USC is awesome but the leap is not worth the backbreaking debt… </p>
<p>That said, Roll Tide.</p>
<p>If you were entering a field where salary could knock that debt out quickly, I could see the temptation, say for engineering maybe…but journalism is a field with less certain income so I personally would not incur that debt. Also, don’t forget about the travel back and forth, those who choose schools across the country have to spend a great deal on air/hotel/car. If parents want to visit, more travel costs. Many forget about that expense in their initial estimate of costs. I too hear good things about UF.</p>
<p>I am under the impression that many on here are considering loans for their education and for some it may make sense, because the environment at one school is just so much better for whatever reason. For others, not so much. I will say, in CA many people are driving 80K cars in their twenties, I would rather see it borrowed for education than a new Benz.</p>
<p>$100,000 in debt would not be a good idea. In addition, you will not be able to qualify for loans of that size without a cosigner. You will qualify for $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year and $7,500 senior year for a total of $27,000. That’s it.</p>
<p>UF is a GREAT option - it shows that you had a good college application list that you find yourself with a wonderful, affordable option. Congratulations!</p>