I’m currently a high school junior with pretty good grades/ test scores. I’ve been looking into schools for a while and is everyone knows they’re extremely costly. I’ve been blessed enough to have a large college fund set up (~$60k) thanks to my parents but a lot of my top schools are around $40k a year. My family isn’t in the best financial area which means I’ll be taking out loans to pay for school. There’s several local schools that are much cheaper and would leave me with some money after college but my heart isn’t completely there. I guess what I’m asking is for tips and opinions on if I should attend a local school and have financial stability all through college or if I should attend one of my top schools and be faced with college debt after graduation. Please help!!
Do not go over $26-$30K total debt for all four years. It’s not worth it. Save your money for grad school.
It isn’t a dream school if you can’t afford it.
Obviously, less debt is better. But the tradeoff may or may not be worth it. If you plan on going to graduate school, then I think the cheaper a BA/BS you can get, the better. Also consider your ultimate goal. If it’s something like nursing or education, then I’d choose a school in the state where I’d like to work that has a good program and good placement stats. Other majors can be more flexible as far where you can get a job, so I’d look at schools with solid programs.
I’d also suggest applying to several different levels of school. Schools that are just below your GPA and SAT/ACT scores may offer you merit scholarship and grant money. Ivy Leagues give generous need-based aid. Once you have all the offers, then decide where you’d be happiest (both now and after graduating!)
The other option would be to get your Associates degree at a community college, then transfer to a four-year school for your Bachelors. That would save you a lot of money.
Hope that helps!
A little debt (I’d say ~5K/year) is okay if you’re in a degree program that offers good employment salaries post-graduation. But going into debt at the rate of $10-20K/year for undergrad definitely not worth it. Go to a good state school, graduate debt free, and apply to one of your dream schools for grad school. It’ll make a huge difference not to have that debt hanging over you or pressure on your parents.
College can be expensive whichever route you choose. If you can keep your debt below about $20,000 (total after four years), then you may want to pursue your colleges of greatest interest irrespective of apparent cost (which can be deceiving in any event).
@maddie321, The first thing you have to do (if you haven’t already done so) is ask your parents to use the on-line net price calculators (NCPs) for the colleges you are interested in. This is the way you can find out how much need-based aid you may be eligible for. If the NPCs indicate that need-based aid will make up all or part of the shortfall between the your family’s expected family contribution (EFC) and what you can afford, then you can relax.
If it turns put that your EFC is crazy high then you need to look for schools that offer merit aid or that are less expensive. Every family would define “crazy high” differently. To me debt over ~$40K for an undergraduate degree would be too much, but a lot depends on your family’s earning power and your future graduate school and career plans. The most important point is to quantify the costs and to consider the pluses and minuses of the all options.
Need-based aid is based on how much the colleges determine that your family needs minus how much they think you should be able to contribute. Merit aid is generally based on your accomplishments and profile independent of your family’s income. When you need a significant amount of $$$, you have to take the time to understand the difference and know each school’s policy. Many colleges that are generous with need-based aid do not offer merit aid.
Also, bear in mind that as an undergraduate you can only borrow a limited amount each year. Above that the debt will fall on your parents’ shoulders, not yours, so everyone has to be in agreement that accumulating debt is the right move for the family as a whole. in other words, talk to each other!
The good news is that your grades and scores are good and you’ve got a year plus to work through your choices. The parents and students on College Confidential is a great source of information, so ask away!
Often times you see bantered around that one should not borrow more than one years salary after you graduate. So the amounts will differ for a teacher vs. a Chemical Engineer. It is a really tough call because some occupations, such as teachers, want a grad degree. Same as CPA’s. They need a grad degree. So you need to look at the salary you would start with post grad school. Personally I think this is a good hard deck rule. The only problem with it is that it presupposes that one knows what they want to do when they enter college. Any change in major will screw up the initial calc and make it meaningless.
The max Federal amount is also a great rule of thumb = $27K total.
I know. Lots to think about and consider. Unfortunately one size does not fit all.
Good luck.
You can only borrow the standard federal loans on your own. That comes to a whopping $27k. For more debt than that, your college/university would need to include Perkins Loans in your aid package (not all places offer those, and they normally are reserved for the neediest students), and/or your parents would need to co-sign private loans for you. The only way you can get up past your eyeballs in student debt is if your parents help you to do that. Smart parents don’t. My bet is that your parents are the smart kind - after all they have managed to create a college fund for you.
$60k total would be $15k each year for four years. If you qualify for a full tuition and fees scholarship anywhere, then this $15k should easily cover housing, meals, travel, books, etc. Two older threads to look at are:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
if you are a National Merit Scholar, look at this one too:
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
Check each of the websites to find out if the scholarships have changed for this year, and re-check them next year.
Wishing you all the best!