<p>I'm thinking of a major in political science but possibly journalism. I probably want to go to graduate school for political science or journalism as well. This could change during college, but that is what I think I want to do. I'm down to Loyola University of Maryland and Georgetown.</p>
<p>Loyola: Got a good scholarship, and my parents and grandparents are willing to cover the rest for me so I don't need to pay anything. I will also then have money left over from them to pay for some of grad school. Loyola has a good Communications and Journalism undergraduate program but aren't as well known for Political Science (but its still a decent program). I liked the campus okay but felt it might be a little small for me. Dorms are amazing though.</p>
<p>Georgetown: This would cost around 20k more per year than Loyola. I wouldn't have any money left over for grad school either. However, Georgetown has a much better known political science program and I feel like it would be easier to find good opportunities for jobs and internships. They do not have a communications or journalism program though. I loved the campus and thought it was nicer than Loyola's campus.</p>
<p>I liked Georgetown more but I don't know if I feel comfortable paying so much money for college. They lack the communications, but their political science is so strong i don't think this would be an issue. What seems to be the right thing to do here?</p>
<p>Hmmmmm, this is tough. </p>
<p>How important is grad school for you? Sounds like you would be happy at both, maybe a little bit more at GU and I agree with you GU seems like a great school. High price tag though.</p>
<p>But you would not have to go into debt for GU, and just not have money left for grad school? Or would you have to take on some debt?</p>
<p>Grad school is very important for me, I definitely plan on going.</p>
<p>I would have a total of about 20-60k in loans from GU in addition to having no money for grad school. I just feel bad for my parents paying so much.</p>
<p>*What i mean is that my parents would cover everything except for 20-60k at GU, but they will cover everything at Loyola</p>
<p>Also, I can use outside scholarships at Loyola but not at GU</p>
<p>And the money I got from georgetown will probably be less next year, but loyola’s will stay the same</p>
<p>You were rather unspecific about graduate school (I not being critical–I undertand that you are still in high school) but what you want to study in graduate school may make an important difference. </p>
<p>For example–if you are talking about a PhD in political science–most decent programs and all top programs are fully funded–meaning that tuition is waived and you receive a living stipend in return for being a teaching assistant, research assistant, or both. If that is your goal, I’d suggest going to Georgetown, work hard and do well enough to get into a good Phd program. </p>
<p>Most master’s level graduate programs are not funded (although, if you go to a school that doesn’t have PhD students–you may be able to get a teaching or research fellowship) you may need money for graduate school. Journalism schools are considered professional schools and you usually need to pay (or borrow) your own way.</p>
<p>“I would have a total of about 20-60k in loans from GU”</p>
<p>The low end of that scale is much more do-able than the high end. The low end would not preclude taking out some loans for grad school, but the high end would because the sum of your undergrad and grad loans would be extremely difficult to repay on a typical journalist salary, or on the kind of salary you would get with one of the terminal masters degrees such as M Public Admin. that political science majors often end up with. </p>
<p>To get a better sense of how much you’d have to pay each month to pay off these kinds of loans, run the calculator at: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Loan Calculator](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Loan Payment Calculator - Finaid)</p>
<p>Thank you for all the advice, I appreciate it.</p>
<p>Might not be the popular thing to do, but unless you’re debt at GU is only going to be $20k when you graduate from undergrad, I would probably pick Loyola and strive for GU for grad school. </p>
<p>good luck, you still have a little bit of time.</p>
<p>If we are talking 25K-30K or less in loans than go to Georgetown - anything more than that - go to Loyola.</p>