<p>I know that this comparison seems to be out of nowhere, but bear with me before unleashing your Internet fury.</p>
<p>I plan on majoring in International Relations and Political Science, and obviously JHU is one of the best in the country in this regard. However, the issue here is one of cost. Northeastern has accepted me to the honors program and I would only have to pay approximately $20,000 per year. Hopkins, on the other hand, has financially skewered me. I would have to pay $50,000 per year to attend (although that number will likely decrease next year when my sister enters undergraduate school). Is the difference in program quality (and eventual prestige upon entering the job market) really worth graduating with over $100,000 in student loans?</p>
<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Did you get in elsewhere? NU at 20k seems overpriced. And no, no school is worth 50k (who knows how much it will actually godown next year) in debt every year unless your family is wealthy.</p>
<p>I got in to the BC honors program, but they also want me to pay 54,000 per year. Even at my lower-tiered schools (Stonehill, Tulane, American), I would have to pay roughly 20,000 per year.</p>
<p>And no, my family is not wealthy. We make approximately 100,000 per year. My parents said they are willing to contribute 10,000 per year to my education, and the rest I would have to take out in loans.</p>
<p>Realistically, at this point, it is either Northeastern or Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>If your parents make 100,000 grand, why are they expecting you to pay that much money? It doesn’t really make any sense, unless your parents have a lot of assets or actually have a higher income? You should contact the FA office of JHU and tell them about your situation.</p>
<p>My parents are of the firm mindset that the child should pay for college. You may or may not subscribe to this brand of thought, but this is not a forum about parental ethics. I have contacted the FA office, and my parent is meeting with my adviser on Thursday. I do not expect a radical change, though. I think somebody somewhere once said to hope for the best, plan for the worst; that is basically what I have to do now, and that is what I am hoping all of you can help me with.</p>
<p>try to use JHU’s EFC calculator to estimate what type of debt you might graduate with (take into account your sister’s college payments from your parental income). None of us can tell you if JHU is worth it as this is a very subjective decision when money is involved (ironic I know). I can’t give you a quantitative cutoff at which it’s worth it to go to JHU over a cheaper option. If it’s any reassurance, Ph.D. programs actually will <em>pay</em> you should you decide to go that route. So atleast there’s the potential for no more tuition payments down the line.</p>