<p>Just looking for opinions on taking the maximum in unsubsidized ($27K) loans for an undergraduate degree when the student plans to go into Physical Therapy? Is this too much debt to take on knowing that more will be taken on for the graduate portion of the education?</p>
<p>I think it is, because if it is all unsubsidized, you’ll owe more than $30k at graduation and then what will you do to go to grad school? If there are other options (community college for some course, part time at a 4 year school, picking a cheaper UG school), I think you should consider them.</p>
<p>@twoinanddone thanks for information and advice. I’m thinking that 1/2 that amount ~$15K would be more manageable?</p>
<p>Zero is better if at all possible. Do undergrad as cheap as possible and excel academically whereever that is. Physical Therapy professional school is very expensive.</p>
<p>Can the student work over summers to reduce need to borrow?</p>
<p>Yes the student should the student debt as low as possible; however the Direct Loans are eligible for income-driven repayment plan See <a href=“https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven”>https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven</a></p>
<p>So large Direct Loans may be more manageable than others.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids Yes, the student will work over summer to help with costs…especially books, incidentals, etc. Once the undergrad degree is earned she plans to work while going to PT school…though I don’t know how feasible that is right now. I’m trying to sock away as much as I can right now to help defray the costs, but I still have to plan for a 5%/year cost increase. </p>
<p>@4kidsdad See my post above. I’ll do whatever I can to help defray the costs and contribute as much as I can. Also, the student summer work for the next three years will also help.</p>
<p>If you qualify for the tuition tax credit, can you apply that to costs? </p>
<p>Between working a LOT over the summer, and working part-time during the school year, the student should be able to pay more than just books and incidentals. Incidentals should get paid with part-time school year work. Summer work can pay for books (economically found) and direct school costs.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids Yes, I do qualify for the AOTC. Are you saying to use the refund I’ll get from that credit to help pay for costs?</p>
<p>I think the question is are the $30k loans manageable, and while many on CC think they are, I just don’t think so in most cases. Most kids getting out of school are not going to be making enough to pay current expenses, never mind past, and I think it is worth suffering a little in college to keep expenses down rather than to borrow, live semi-comfortably, and pay for it later. This is especially true if one is planning on grad school. Because a student can borrow easily, she may not take that second job for the summer or do an extra shift because she does not have to have the cash in September. The loans are not horrible, and are the only way some people can go to college, but they are just band-aids to get you to the day you have to pay. Why does the government loan at those levels? They are just arbitrary.</p>
<p>One thing I don’t understand is why the loans would all be unsubsidized. If within the COA and EFC, all but $2000/yr should be subsidized. The subsidization helps a lot because that interest can build quickly over the 4 years. If they are unsubsidized, paying in interest from the beginning might be a goal.</p>
<p>!twoinanddone …I agree with you about that kind of debt. No debt is best, but if you have to carry some carry low and federal loans. Unfortunately we don’t qualify for any need based aid with an EFC of $43K. So it’s best to try and reduce the amount of loans through summer employment.</p>
<p>I think the federal loan limit is a decent figure for engineering majors. It’s about one half an engineer’s starting salary.
However, you’d be better off by not borrowing the unsub loans at all. Direct subsidized loans are ok.</p>
<p>I agree that the 27k limit may be too high if the student is either majoring in something unlikely to yield a high starting salary or will take on significant debt for grad school. I think 15-20k is more reasonable. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your input. It appears the general concensus is to either have NO debt or limited debt upon graduating with a bachelor’s degree. I remember remember that old rule of thumb was to graduate with debt equal to your expected first year’s salary. I’m assuming thats no longer an accurate way of thinking.</p>
<p>It’s not an question that simply answerable, Scsiguru. For some students, it’s no big deal. IMO, what really makes the difference is if the student has back up, usually from family, to be able to pay back that loan if things don’t work out as expected. Also, the expected returns from the loan and other choices available all weigh in heavily. A PT degree would be one that would likely result in a great job afterwards, with the job market and pay scales as they currently are, and would be an appropriate reason to borrow. But if, say, you could go to a local school for the program vs a school that 's going to cut you to the quick financially, you’d be cutting the risks down that you don’t end up owing such money and be financially pressed. PT degrees usually require graduate level work, by the way, and you will likely have to borrow even more to get that professional designation and to graduate from such programs. The pay off is good, IF you complete the program. Not all aspiring students do.</p>
<p>My son’s SO, is in a similar program and is borrowing, mainly because she tried for two years to get into state programs and was turned down and finally took a private program that is charging her an arm and leg, and yes, she is taking out loans to do this. Had she had the options of going to a state program, a less costly program, believe me, she would have taken it. She’s already in the field–just needs the advanced degree/cert so she knows pretty much what she will be worth on the market when she completes the program, and her work opportunities are the same whether she got the cert from Private U or from State Directional U. They don’t care. In her case, she’s getting an advanced degree, and the saving grace is that she has no undergrad loans. That’s a consideration also to take when deciding whether to borrow or not. You owe for UG, it’s money that still cranks up the interest if and when your return to school for further education when you may be older and more in the situation to know exactly what you want to do, in addition to that fact that many if not most grad programs will want you to borrow for to pay for the cost if you can’t pay out of pocket. </p>
<p>So, the student loans can be money well invested and used. In your case, if you want to go into PT, check out the field, the requirements, the time it takes, how you will finance the grad part of the program, the job opportunities, and make your decision. Also discuss this with your parents. Are they with you on this, like wiling and able to pitch in, if you need help, or are they in such dire straits they really should not be doing anything like that, or not want to pay penny one? All factors to consider. </p>
<p>Close friend of mine are “investing” as they refer to it, in putting their DD through a 6 year PT program at a top priced school. They are willing to put in the money, borrow and expect their DD to borrow the full max unsub loans for the program, and feel it’s all worth the risk and future payoff. But they can also afford to do this. If they had to light a candle and pray nothing goes wrong with the plan in doing this, that would be a whole other story Not worth risking financial ruin for a teen ager or young adult’s fancies. If you got the money, that’s fine , but if not…, well, you know what I mean, I hope.</p>
<p>Our kids took the max Direct Loans…so had that $27,000 debt leaving undergrad. Our gift to them was repayment of their loans. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to what we were paying for them to attend college.</p>
<p>This student is going to be a physical therapist which is a doctoral level program now. She cannot practice physical therapy without this degree. </p>
<p>So for a student in this boat, they need to look at their debt over the six or seven years it will take to complete the degree. </p>
<p>There is not much funding out there for physical therapy programs.</p>
<p>@cptofthhouse @thumper1 I appreciate both of your thoughts. This is my D that would like to pursue the PT degree. I did tell her that I would help support her as much as I can. I’ve been toying around with the idea of taking a second job, but the wifey gives me the stare. Right now I’m contributing the max to my 401K $23K/year and I really don’t want to reduce that since I’m 54 and trying to be in a good position when I’m eligible to retire in 4 years. My goal is to have the cash each semester (either currently saved, 529, savings bonds) to pay that semester’s tuition. Still saving every month to try and reach this goal. Bring my lunch everyday to work, rarely eat out, only purchase clothes when I absolutely have to, reapair/fix as much as I can around the house myself, drive a truck that is almost 20 years old…so you see I’m maxed out now.</p>
<p>Anyway, I told her that I’ll do what I can to try and get her out of college with her 4-year degrree debt free. If a graduate education is in her plans then she’ll probably have to find a way to pay for it. </p>
<p>But as we all know…80% of college students change their major 4 or 5 times during their undergraduate studies…so who knows…she may go down a different path. Actually, once during this summer she mentioned to her mother that she might think about another major and not pursue PT as a graduate option…could be because of the extra financail burden or possibly the xtra years of study.</p>
<p>So at this point…only time will tell.</p>