<p>I need advice on choosing a college. I am a student-athlete and have been lucky enough to talk to several coaches, including Northwestern, BU and Princeton.
All three are D1 schools, but as many know Ivies do not give athletic scholarships while the others do. I really like the Princeton team and coach and if I had to choose a school right now it would absolutely be Princeton. It is a perfect fit. However, at the other two schools I most likely wouldn't bear the burden of tuition while at Princeton I would have to take out a $10,000/year loan because my family doesn't qualify for much financial aid & parents don't have college in their budget.</p>
<p>Any suggestions or past experience with student loans? It's been my dream to go to Princeton for quite a while, but is it worth it financially? My initial thought was to just do it because most other students deal with the same things, but it's ultimately better to look before you leap.
Thanks!!</p>
<p>Unless your parents co-sign for a private loan, you won’t be able to borrow $10,000 each year. You are limited to the Stafford Loan maximum of $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year. Talk money with the people at Princeton. They may be able to do a bit more for you somehow. If they absolutely can’t, and your parents aren’t in a position to co-sign any private loans, then you will have to find a more affordable school.</p>
<p>If Princeton is not giving you aid and your parents aren’t paying either, you are going to have to borrow a lot more than $10K/year to go there–tuition, room, and board is in excess of $50K/year.</p>
<p>If your expenses really are covered, except for the $10K (remember you will have expenses above and beyond tuition, room, and board for travel, books, etc.) then find out what the repayment plan would look like, and think about what your plans are for after graduation. Are you planning to major in a field that’s in demand, and where kids make good salaries right out of school? In that case, it’s probably safe to borrow money. But if you are planning to go to law, business, or med school, which costs big bucks, you might want to save your borrowing for later. And if you want to major in one of the arts or a humanities subject, you should likewise be cautious.</p>
<p>Princeton offers a truly fabulous undergraduate education, so you’re right to find it enticing, but Northwestern and BU are good schools too.</p>
<p>*However, at the other two schools I most likely wouldn’t bear the burden of tuition while at Princeton I would have to take out a $10,000/year loan because my family doesn’t qualify for much financial aid & parents don’t have college in their budget.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Why do you think that you’ll “only” have to borrow $10k per year? How much WILL your parents pay each year? How much FA would you qualify for?</p>
<p>BTW…most students do not have to borrow that much…so your issue isn’t a common one.</p>