I have to now decide which school to attend and I’m going through a bit of a dilemma. The two schools that I am highly considering are Mount Holyoke College and Rhodes College. I would rather go to Mount Holyoke as it offers Italian, which is a language that I really, really want to study and become proficient in. And, though this is a bit superficial, Mount Holyoke has much better dorms and food. However, Rhodes College is a bit cheaper and a bit more affordable for my family. Plus, it’s not a bad school either.
If I were to attend Mount Holyoke, I will end up taking out a bit less than 30k in loans for all four years (they included loans in my package). Rhodes didn’t include any loans in my financial package.
As I mentioned, I would much prefer to attend Mount Holyoke, but it is the loans that it is stopping me from sending in the deposit. In short, Mount Holyoke makes more academic sense. And Rhodes makes more financial sense.
Would you say taking out 30k in loans for Mount Holyoke is worth it? Or should I just go to Rhodes?
PS. I am planning to attend graduate school right after college.
If you are planning on grad school, I think it is wise to avoid undergrad debt.
It looks like MHC has included the standard federal loans (often called Stafford loans) in your package. Right now that works out to be $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year, for a total of $27,000. Is any part of the loan for your freshman year subsidized? That means it won’t accumulate interest until you graduate. As far as loans go, this is a pretty good deal. Most college graduates find that they are able to pay down this level of debt. But it still will be the equivalent of an extra car payment (about $270) each month for ten long years. There are a lot of other things you can do with that much money.
What kind of grad school? A PhD program that won’t fully fund you is one you don’t want to attend - there might not be any job afterwards anyway because the academic job market is so tight. MA/MFA/MS you might get partial funding, but it isn’t likely that you will have all the costs covered. MBA an employer might pay part of. Med/Dent/Vet/Law you will have to pay for yourself, so then yes, you do indeed want to limit your undergrad debt.
That said, you need to look at what MHC publishes as its estimated Cost of Attendance (COA). Are there any factors that you have some control over? For example, if the book or travel estimates are generous, your actual costs could be lower if you are careful with your expenses.
For the right student, MHC is one of the few places where I would say that taking on debt equivalent to the Stafford loans, rather than graduating debt-free elsewhere, can be the right choice. Only you know if you are that kind of “right student”. Sit down with the course descriptions for the majors that you are considering at both Rhodes and MHC, and see what you think about what each place can offer you, and whether you think the difference for MHC is worth it.
Wishing you all the best.
I am in a very similar situation to you. I was also admitted to MHC, and if I wanted to attend, I would come out with around 20k in loans.
I could also attend my local state school, which is a very good school with a solid program… but I feel like I will get a better education at MHC overall. MHC is my dream school. Its an honor just to get in.
I do want to go to grad school, so I don’t want to be drowning in debt when I come out… I just don’t know what to do.