<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>You are smart to consider those loans carefully before you jump into debt. </p>
<p>Are you an ace math/science person who might want to go to Wall Street or banking straight out of college? Or are you more of social science/gov/arts person who might not find a high salary after earning a B.A.? Do you plan to go to for a Ph.D., M.D., etc., which could multiply your loans substantially?</p>
<p>Are you flexible about jobs, location, types of work? If you are, there may be plenty of opportunities at graduation from Princeton. This is a chance of a lifetime, so there are certainly good arguments for taking the plunge. </p>
<p>Can you continue to talk to your parents about upping their contribution? Or are they refusing to contribute anything?</p>
<p>Before you leap make sure that you have accurate information. The financial aid based on need offered by Princeton might equal or exceed Northwestern’s or BU’s athletic scholarship. Use the financial aid calculator to estimate the aid that you might receive at Princeton. See: <a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/financialaid/estimator/[/url]”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/financialaid/estimator/</a>
While Princeton does not give athletic scholarships posters on CC have reported that the financial aid offered by Princeton has been generous. </p>