Is it worth going into debt?

I am looking at colleges and deciding which to apply to and which to not. I was wondering if it is worth applying to a great college where I’ll go into debt or apply to an easy to get in/okay college and get a scholarship. My grades and scores are good enough for scholarships/financial aid at the okay school but not at the great school

Undergrads can take out maximum of $27K during those 4 years. Loans above and beyond that will be on your parents, and generally aren’t recommended.

What is your budget? Run each school’s net price calculator on their website to get an estimated cost of attendance.

If you tell us your stats, budget, and what you are looking for in a college, posters can help you create a balanced list of reach, target and safety schools.

There’s really not anything that a “brand-name” college can offer that you can’t already get from your state university.

Given the pandemic, all bets are off about admission and aid for next year. So provided you have a profile that makes you competitive for admission, go ahead and apply wherever you feel like. Wait to see where you are admitted and what the aid packages look like. Use this summer and fall to work through your feelings on distance ed., and on how far you’d like to be from home (and with how much gee-I-want-this-in-my-dorm-room loot) if/when your college goes in & out of remote status.

The “Great School” is the school which will provide you with the education you need at prices which are affordable for you.

You will have the best “college experience” at a college in which you will feel most at place. The colleges which you call “great colleges” do not provide a better experience and education to any but a small number of students.

Another thing to consider - wouldn’t you rather attend a college which really wants you? Stop thinking like Groucho Marx - just because a place is willing to pay money to you so that you would attend that school doesn’t mean that it’s inferior, and just because a school demands that you pay a lot of money to them for the “privilege” of attending their school doesn’t mean that it’s superior.

Do not choose colleges based on ranking or prestige - choose based on fit and affordability.

Finally, even if the more selective colleges provided an objectively better experience, college is just four years, and there is no four year College Experience which is worth two decades or more of heavy debt. Would you rather attend UPenn at the age of 18 or would you rather own a house at 28?

I agree 100% with @MWolf . College debt is like having a wild night of drinking, and then waking up and looking at the bill you racked up from the night before, regretting it. Sure, it may be fun in the midst of it, but you could have had just as much fun or more by taking it easier, and not breaking the bank.

I also agree 100% with @MWolf. However, I am not sure that a teenager will get the Groucho Marx reference.

Groucho was a great comedian and is famous for many things, including the statement “I DON’T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER”.

I might add that many students after they graduate university make sort of barely enough to live on. Paying off a loan at the same time can be tough. One daughter got a dream job after graduation, but a dream job that paid just well enough to live. She was able to take it because she had no debt.

There are a lot of very good universities each of which have a lot of very good professors. Being in the top 1/2 or even top 1/4 of the class can open up research and internship opportunities which will be more important than any small difference between two different schools.

My age is showing ???