<p>Thank you all for your comments! They were incredibly helpful…
I’m pretty set on UGA now- I’ve talked it over with my parents and they think that staying in state and not burdening myself with debt will be the best choice for me as well. I’ll definitely be applying to Georgetown’s graduate program though.</p>
<p>By the way, I am a girl. I find it rather amusing that the majority of the people on this thread assumed that I was male and called me “he” :)</p>
<p>I don’t know about Georgia, but some of these honors programs treat the kids like royalty. They will have #1 priority during registration, only have to share your advisor with 9 other freshman, have very close access to professors through research, social events which will help with grad school recommendations. Plus the honors seminars are usually taught by the head of the department.</p>
<p>I have heard that $80k/year is the most you should assume if you insist on going into debt…but that’s for people who plan on getting a high paid job right after graduation (i.e. nurses, engineers, geologists, etc…)</p>
<p>I would try to avoid debt as much as possible, but if your heart is set on Georgetown, then go for it…try a year and see if it is really worth it; if it’s not, transfer to a cheaper school.</p>
<p>Please don’t go into debt just to go to Georgetown. It’s a great school, but so are thousands of other schools. University of Georgia is a fantastic school. You’ll be so glad you did. When you are starting out after graduation you want to focus on your new exciting life, not your debt! Be proactive now and consider your future. </p>
<p>Think about it this way… you worked so hard in high school that The University of Georgia is willing to pay you for your hard work! Wow! that is super. Congratulations 
It’s like a big fat paycheck for doing well in High School, it doesn’t get any better than that.</p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>GT happens to be the #1 pick for my son but he is rejected. I think most people disagree taking the debt has a solid reason. However, I believe GT and UG is not comparable in terms of rankings and academics and prestige, and most likely career prospects. In NJ, a lot of bright kids choose Rutgers over better schools (NYU,BC,CMU,Emory) for the same reason but the kids are not happy inside. They may do it for the parents or forced to do it. I think if she really like GT, should send a appeal letter to GT detailing her interest, and give UG offer and request them to come closer by giving more grant. If the difference after the appeal becomes less, GT all the way. Otherwise, she then evaluate the affordabiltiy again.</p>
<p>siglio quote: I have heard that $80k/year is the most you should assume if you insist on going into debt…but that’s for people who plan on getting a high paid job right after graduation (i.e. nurses, engineers, geologists, etc…)</p>
<p>NO! That is way too much debt for engineers, nurses, geologists, too. That’s too much debt for ANY undergrad. Who told you that? I don’t think ANYONE on CC recommends that amount.</p>
<p>The recommended amount is no more than the amount a new grad would earn his/her first year.</p>
<p>My personal recommendation is no more than about the max Stafford (about $30k), which gives the person a monthly payment of about $350 a month, which can still be difficult to pay. That’s the equivalent of an extra car payment for 10 years.</p>
<p>Siglio, borrowing $80k gives a person a monthly payment of about $1000 per month. Why would you think that nurses, engineers, etc could afford that much debt? Ask the young engineers and nurses around you if they can afford to pay an extra $1000 towards a student loan in addition to all their own regular expenses/bills. They will tell you, “NO!”</p>
<p>Loan Calculator</p>
<pre><code>Loan Balance: $80,000.00
Adjusted Loan Balance: $80,000.00
Loan Interest Rate: 8.80%
Loan Fees: 0.00%
Loan Term: 10 years
Minimum Payment: $50.00
Monthly Loan Payment: $1,004.77
Number of Payments: 120
Cumulative Payments: $120,571.89
Total Interest Paid: $40,571.89
</code></pre>
<p>**Note: The monthly loan payment was calculated at 119 payments of $1,004.77 plus a final payment of $1,004.26.</p>
<p>It is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $120,572.40 to be able to afford to repay this loan. **</p>
<p>My son was accepted into UGA and a number of other, more expensive institutions. We’re from out of state. UGA is a great value, even for an out of state student. We visited the campus two weeks ago and met with a number of advisors and department heads and were very impressed. He loved Athens (he’s a blues guitarist). We’re from NJ. He was accepted at Rutgers Business School as well as 7 other expensive institutions. For the money UGA offers him the best “package” of advantages. Even with the merit scholarship money offered by some others, UGA has a very strong value proposition for him. At the end of the day, value, no debt, and being happy and comfortable are pretty good reasons to select a university. I used to be fixated on US News and Business Week rankings…now I look at value for dollar spent. Debt is not a good thing. Best of luck</p>
<p>*UGA is a great value, even for an out of state student. *</p>
<p>I never thought of UGa as a great value for an OOS student. Its OOS Cost of Attendance is about $40k for the 2010-2011 school year. </p>
<p>Maybe compared to a private it’s a great value, but usually not when compared to one’s own instate flagship…Unless the student is given a merit scholarship to reduce the OOS costs.</p>
<p>UGA is where my son wanted to go. But I disagree it’s a great value for OOS. We couldn’t afford it and they don’t offer much aid to OOS. Great in-state value.</p>
<p>Good points…my comparison was to schools where tuition and room and board exceed $50K…</p>
<p>I have been having the same dilemma, and have been debating for so long, now i’m leaning toward in-state school. By the way, did you go to the GAAP weekend? If you did, how did you feel? I wanted to go, but was told too late they did not have enough room for all accepted students. Isn’t it a shame that you were accepted into the school but later on were told that they did not have enough room for you to meet and feel your future peers? I did not like that.</p>
<p>My brother goes to Georgetown and he told me a lot rich kids go there really. If your parents have the money to pay and you got good stats your in pretty much. He got a full scholarship and said he is estimated to make around 80k a year coming out of college. But then again he had a load of Ap classes, and is double majoring with a minor currently. It’s a lot of work but if your the type of person who enjoys work its good. </p>
<p>Anyway look at the government sites and websites for information on your major. Around the top 10% engineers are making over 100k a year. And it could be said most of them have a masters. Things aren’t always as they seem. I remember last year this person I knew who went to MIT was working at taco bell once he graduated.</p>
<p>*Anyway look at the government sites and websites for information on your major. Around the top 10% engineers are making over 100k a year. *</p>
<p>Sure, but not right out of college when student loans are being paid back.</p>
<p>Engineers are lucky to start in the $50-70k range (depending on the area’s cost of living and demand). And, it can take many years (and sometimes grad school) to break the 6 figure mark.</p>
<p>Starting at $70k in an area where the cost of living is high makes it very difficult to pay back big loans.</p>
<p>Ask the young engineers that you know if they could afford to pay an additional 3-4 car payments (equivalent to a big loan payment) for 10 years in ADDITION to their own expenses and their own car payment. I doubt any will say yes.</p>