I’m still in high school but I’m trying to get a better idea of what to major in when I go to college. Political Science to MPA or MPP seems like a reasonable path, but what is the maximum amount of debt I should be okay with taking out for undergrad if this is my plan?
The amount of debt that any particular person should be “okay with taking out” for any reason will depend on many different factors. Unless you want to disclose all kinds of personal financial information, nobody can give you a reasonably accurate answer to this question. In general, it is safe to say this however: the less debt you accumulate, the better.
Who is taking out the loans? Student loans, in the student name only have these limits…
Freshman $5500
Sophomore $6500
Junior $7500
Senior. $7500
Anything in excess of these amounts would either need to be taken out by your parents OR cosigner by them. You, the student, can’t get loans by yourself in excess of the federally funded amounts above.
So…maybe you should be asking your parents “are you willing to take out loans for me to go to,college…and if so…how muchnoer year?”
How much do you think you will be making? PolySci is already a low paying job, especially if you don’t have the connections, and it pretty much useless if you can’t get the networking in.
@thumper1 I would be taking federal loans and private loans co-signed by my parents if necessary.
@RMNiMiTz How would I know how much I will be making? I don’t even know where I’m going to end up for undergrad. I know that Poli Sci by itself doesn’t have a lot of job opportunities—that’s why I would plan to get a Master’s if I were to major in it.
We know staffers in DC…who are barely earning poverty level pay.
What happened to engineering? In March, that was what younwere asking about.
It sounds like you are unsure about college majors…and really…that’s fine! Many, if not most, college students switch majors more than once AFTER they start college.
I think you need a college budget…how much can your parents pay? If they and you plannto pay for all of your college costs with loans…I’ll give my opinion…don’t.
@thumper1
I’m still considering engineering. I am considering a variety of majors and “paths” because I like some parts of STEM and some parts of humanities. I am still leaning towards engineering but I am not entirely sure. I do have a college budget and I know that my parents will pay some, but not all, of the costs for undergrad. I’m not entirely comfortable with disclosing exactly how much they have saved up and will pay, but let’s just say that I will probably take out about 30-35K if I go an in-state school with no merit scholarship, about 10-15K if I go to a state school with tuition covered, and 50K+ if I manage to get into an “elite” school.
Is that per year, or total for four years?
If that is per year, that sounds like your parents have high income/wealth to disqualify you from need-based financial aid, but will not contribute much.
@ucbalumnus That’s total. But if end up at an “elite” school (which probably won’t happen, I don’t have good enough ECs), it would be minimum 50K total, probably more.
Poli sci majors have terrific career prospects BUT you will need to plan ahead. Take statistics-- useful for manipulating large datasets, i.e. Census data if you’re trying to understand why certain zipcodes vote a particular way. Take statistics with programming- even if you don’t want to become a programmer, a poli sci major who can program is incredibly valuable. Take econ- macro and micro and a semester of econometrics. Take history. And become fluent in another language if you aren’t already- and investigate “strategic languages” i.e. Korean, Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin.
Poli sci majors who can write and think get jobs in big corporations doing all sorts of things with fantastic career trajectories. It’s not just working on the Hill (although that’s a terrific launching pad if you don’t have a lot of loans). Most people think Federal- but vast chunks of money run through the 50 states, and every state has staff people who do things like bond financing for new bridges or roads, people who follow legislation to understand what a shake up at the VA is going to mean for their own Veteran’s hospital, etc. Every major corporation has a government relations office, investor relations team, etc. Poli Sci majors also make terrific speechwriters-- you start in government where the pay is low but you get great experience and lots of clips- then go to a corporation where a talented writer can make a lot of money if he/she can think, analyze, knows statistical analysis, and understands economics.
Plan ahead.
I wouldn’t want to go into debt for an MPP program nor is it a good idea to bring much debt along with you into the degree. MPPs often work in the nonprofit or public sector and don’t typically make high salaries.
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If you don’t have a plan, then don’t blow 35k in loans + however much your parents are paying. This “I will worry about my career later” isn’t a conversation you should be having when you are 35k in debt from undergrad, it should be something you need to be thinking of now.
In a major like PolySci, opportunities don’t fall into your lap. You need to already have the connections or make the connections real fast, or else the only employment you are looking at is Starbucks. If you are going to a state school and not an elite school, this is even more important, as the connections are far fewer.
PolySci and Engineering are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Any decent engineer from a typical state public school can easily find employment at a good starting salary. PolySci on the other hand, is a constant struggle. You could spend years as a staffer for a failing politician making low wages if you don’t have good plans.
“maximum amount of debt I should be okay with taking out for undergrad if this is my plan?”
For a bachelor’s degree in political science? My personal opinion is that the maximum acceptable debt is zero, no debt at all.
IMHO, a little debt (perhaps up to the 5,500+6,500+7,500+7,500 federal maximum) is barely acceptable for a degree that will result in an immediate and almost certain well paying job. For a degree that does not result in a job, any debt is a bad idea. For a degree that you expect to lead to graduate school which in turn still leads to some uncertainty regarding job prospects, you really need to avoid debt.
Did you read my original post? I WOULD have a very specific plan—namely, to get an MPP or MPA after the political science degree. Of course, during undergrad I would make sure to intern, network, etc. Also, I would plan to take plenty of statistics courses during undergrad.
No debt? That’s not very realistic.
Lots of companies hire Poli Sci majors for lots of different types of jobs. Even a kid making $35K at a think tank in DC can afford to pay off modest loans with two roommates, no car (nobody has a car in DC- there is no parking), and a “new grad” lifestyle.
But you need a plan.
The OP’s plan is to get an MPP, which leads to public servant positions or other low-to medium salary jobs in the nonprofit sector. So he does have a plan, but the plan does not involve high-paying employment opportunities. It is true that some MPPs (like from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School) go into more high-paying consulting jobs but the typical MPP doesn’t get paid well. Salary-wise, probably not that different from a MSW and students shouldn’t take on much debt for that, either.
“No debt? That’s not very realistic.”
For this plan, no debt is pretty much NECESSARY . Many students get through university with no debt. Parents have a budget, students stick to it. My kids are sticking with the budget we gave them, and will graduate with no debt.
I understand that for some students graduating university with no debt is not possible. For such students, OP’s plan is not very realistic.
I’m going to take the MPP plan with a grain of salt since this kid is still in HS.
I was talking about your plan to get employment, or at least employment that would be good enough to pay off your debt.
Getting an MPP or an MPA from an average university is going to land you a heap of trouble when it comes to debt, (and I sure that masters degree ain’t free either).
I would say the maximum desired debt at graduation is zero. I think you are asking a different question: what is the most I can borrow without being ruined as an adult?
A better approach would be to work backwards. If you major in political science, calculate the average starting salary for a graduate. From that, deduct taxes and estimated expenses based on where you want to live. From there you have to save money for retirement. Figure out the age at which you want to retire and an estimated annual income (including taxes) on which you could live. Factor in a compounding investment return minus estimated inflation. Figure out how much you must save each year in order to retire at that age. This assumes you don’t get married or have children in which case the equation often worsens. From there you can figure out your disposable income which will likely be a negative number for a new graduate. From the negative number subtract your annual debt payments from student loans. That is how much you need to make, after taxes, from your second job.