My top choice right now is Rutgers Business School-New Brunswick.
After the scholarship, pell grant, I was given $8000 for this year in federal loans. However, in order to go there my parents and I are considering the PLUS loan, for about another $5000 (this year), which I would help to pay back.
In short, I would graduate with about 30k in loans in my name, and would probably be helping to pay back the PLUS loan with my father. With a bachelor’s in finance from RBS, do you think that this debt is feasible?
Also, my dad is planning to help with books and whatnot, so I would not be left completely out to dry. He says that we can work to pay it off together but I’m worried the debt will be crushing.
Okay, Rutgers is your top choice. What are the runners-up, and how much would they cost?
Still waiting on package from Northeastern. I’m getting the most from Temple, and that would still be about 10k/yr in loans. UCONN is almost identical. So I’m thinking the RBS is the most prestigious, and with help from the new Honor’s College I’d have a bit of an edge.
My income bracket is >35k, so I’m getting max. everything.
Your parents may get $2500 x 4 years tax credit, too. See irs.gov for Publication 970 (American Opportunity Tax Credit). Maybe they can reduce their Plus loan each year by that amount.
Very true, thanks for the tip Madison!
bump?
A good rule of thumb is to not borrow more in four years than what you expect to make working in your first year out in the workforce.
I’m aware of that one
Some students borrow much more than that for college, and some much less. You need to look at your career goals, do some research on how much graduates from that program make and then determine if that salary can support your lifestyle with monthly loan payments. If you feel your return on investment will be high enough to attend Rutgers based on that amount of debt, go for it. If you can reasonably get the same resources and opportunities at another cheaper school, that is also something to consider. Here is the Direct loan repayment estimator to help you can an idea of what you will be paying back: https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/mobile/repayment/repaymentEstimator.action
Everyone here has a different opinion on debt. You and your family are ultimately going to be making the decision based on your income, which we know nothing about.
Don’t forget PLUS loans have a 7-8% interest rate, which is why mom refuses to take any out. You could also trying emailing them and asking them how to make an appeal on your financial aid. I did that and when they sent out emails on how to ask for more aid they said I had a higher chance of getting aid because I showed interest or concern. But 30k isn’t too much, I know one school I applied wanted me to take out 30k a year. But of course I’m not going there. You could also tell them you want to go to that college and have gotten better financial aid letters elsewhere, some colleges will match that.
Is Rutgers worth that much more than Temple or UConn? IMO, no, but that’s just me.
I would assume that more financial companies recruit from Rutgers due to its location.
If you are instate for Rutgers you should also get a state grant. Can you commute? Based on current job market you should expect starting salary at least 50K/year in NYC metro. You will probably be able to secure a paid internship for one or two summers to help with expenses.
Your parents income is too low for them to be taking out Plus loans, even if you both plan on paying it back. With their income, they’ve already indicated that they can help pay for books, that means that with their income, they don’t have much left over each month.
So how would they really be able to help pay the Plus Loan back?
Think about it…if they can’t give you a few hundred dollars a month now towards college, why could they later pay that much each month for a loan?
My dad (divorced, not included on FAFSA, makes about 55k/yr) would take out the loan, which I’d help to pay back