As some of my older friends’ children were getting beat up (or not) by the college game, I started browsing CC. As someone who graduated (and applied) a while ago, I was amused/horrified by the college craze, and especially the obsession with brand names. I’ve noticed that most of the prominent parent posters on this site are not caught up in this craze, and for that I applaud them (knowing some college-crazy parents myself). The general advice is: don’t bother with the elite school if it requires taking on a crazy amount of debt. Go to your state college instead. And for the most part, I agree. But I definitely went against that advice, and I don’t regret it. I want to share my story to give another perspective on this very common issue.
I took on $120k in loans to attend MIT. I had a job in school and I did internships, working on preventing interest accumulation. That plus support from my family led to having roughly the same amount of debt when I graduated as when I started out. As soon as I was out of school, I took a well-paying job in the finance industry related to my major (comp sci). For five years after college, I lived with my parents (who were so kind as to not ask for rent). My post-tax income was around $110k, and I would put more than a third of it into paying off loans. Naturally, this meant almost no discretionary spending: no clothes, no books, no fancy technology, no entertainment. Really, my “fun money” was only spent on eating out for work meetings (and unfortunately, my bosses all had crazy expensive tastes).
Within five years I had paid off my debt. I was also miserable and burnt out from the 100-hour weeks and lack of socialization with anyone except for family and coworkers. Each day was a chore, and I would often wish myself dead on my way to work, before taking it back because my parents would then be burdened with my debt. I was incredibly lonely, and felt like I had been chewed up and spit out by the system. As soon as my debt was gone, I resigned and went off to a job with a smaller salary/bonuses and fewer benefits. I moved out and rented a relatively cheap apartment in a satellite city of the city I worked in.
I don’t have any regrets, despite being sure at 18, when I first took on these loans, that I would hate my teenage self when I graduated four years later. For most of my high school career, actually, I had expected to go to the state school on a full ride. I shocked MYSELF when I turned it down.
But I would say for most people, this is not the path to take. If you see college mostly as an economic investment, GO TO THE STATE SCHOOL and save your money. For people smart enough to get into HYPMS (and a ton of other good schools on the same level), you will not see a big difference in results five years after graduating. Below I say why this was the right choice for me.
- I prized education above a good lifestyle. Hell, I thought I'd live like a troll for at least ten years to pay off this debt. My family, despite being too rich to get financial aid when I applied, still had a poor person mentality, where every cent was scrutinized (at least on my father's side). I was used to telling myself "I want that, but I don't need that." Of my friends who faced a similar situation, most could not handle the change in lifestyle that was required to pay off the debt as fast as I did. Ten years on, they are still expecting to keep paying for at least another decade.
- I understood that this was a luxury. An MIT education was very much a case of "I don't need that, but I want it." It was NOT necessary. But the people I met and resources I had access to made those four years of my life very enjoyable.
- I would have let myself slip at the state school. Although it is a common saying on CC that you should be the best at your state school, it is very easy for many people (including myself) to be pulled down by the casual air of the people around you. Even in high school, despite being the superstar valedictorian, I would join in with my classmates in not doing any work on the days we had subs. I did as little as humanly possible to maintain my position.
Finally, I must note that my situation was EXTREMELY atypical. MIT (insert your elite school here) grads almost never make 130k post-tax straight out of college. It is a very, very small minority who do. Hell, even now the median income for comp sci (before taxes) is about $100k. 50% of graduates earn less, and I imagine that most of the people who earn more do so within $30k more. Expect, at best, a median income.
I guess I’m going to end up agreeing with most CC parents in saying that, no, you do not need to go to the most prestigious school that accepted you. It is like buying a Rolex instead of a Timex. For the purpose of telling time, the latter fares no worse, I promise. If you want to pay off your debt before your own children start college, you will most likely have to suffer for a few years. My story is a very rare example of incredible luck.
