<p>It could even be that this young person doesn’t even finish his degree. There are a LOT of young people these days that incur significant debt taking courses from expensive Us & don’t even go on to complete their degree from ANY U!</p>
<p>I love optimism and am an optimist myself. It is hard for a young person to realize what having even $50,000 in debt (which is what he currently has) will feel like to have to repay and how low many starting jobs for college students pay just a bit over the minimum wage, IF they can even get hired.</p>
<p>I also really worry about OP’s mom and aunt. This will cause a lot of pain for a long time, repaying these debts, even if OP honestly BELIEVES he can repay. This does not include additional loans to finish the last two years and get ANY degree from some U or college.</p>
<p>*Does anyone besides me think that is unconsciouable (sp, I know) for the NYU finaid people to encourage this? *</p>
<p>Heck, if NYU started strongly advising students and parents (co-signers) about the dangers of these loans, it wouldn’t have a good % of its attendees. The school is pricey and doesn’t give good aid. If these loans didn’t happen, they’d have to limit enrollment to mostly either rich kids or commuters. I do not believe that NYU is doing all it can to discourage this kind of borrowing. Not at all. </p>
<p>Frankly, if NYU continues to offer lousy aid and really doesn’t want these loans to happen, then they could go to a “need-aware” policy and not accept kids who can’t pay.</p>
<p>*Again, I thank you all for your feedback, but I’m taking it w/ a grain of salt. I’m not worried by the amount of debt I’ll accumulate because I know that I’ll be able to pay it off.
*</p>
<p>A grain of salt? More like a pound of earwax. </p>
<p>And no, you will not cut your costs in half if you go part-time. Your Room and Board costs will remain the same. So will travel and personal expenses…and, since it will take you longer to graduate, then you’ll just rack up more debt.</p>
<p>In very minor defense of NYU, which does in fact package parent plus loans as if it were aid, their fin aid staff were frank and accommodating when my son considered the school for one of it’s excellent programs at tisch. I flew to ny with him and made him sit down with a fin aid officer with our tax return and discuss whether it was a financial fit the fin aid officer was frank and cautionary (but of course I was sitting right there) and in that way my son was better able to actually make and own his decision. It also didn’t hurt that I drove him by a few houses and discussed things like "the mortgage on this one would be less than nyu costs over 30 years of paying.</p>
<p>Kelsmom is right insofar as parents or guardians must put things in context for kids. But I do agree that packaging parent plus loans is slightly suspect conduct.</p>
<p>My son’s friend went through this with Baylor. She borrowed from Peter, Paul and Mary it seems like and she ended up dropping out due to finances her Junior year. She owes nearly $80k in student debt and is 2 years into a religion degree with a concentration on youth ministries. She’s moved back home and realized that a lot of those classes she took at Baylor are not recognized or transferable to other state universities in Texas. Classes like Christian Heritage, etc. They simply do not fit into any other degree programs and one can only have so many electives. Her mother is a high school guidance counselor. When this friend got accepted at Baylor, she told everyone that her degree would be highly valued and instantly recognizable. Her debt frightens me and she isn’t even my kid! I also have to ask, where are the adults in these situations? This girl is back working at the grocery store as a cashier, the same job she had two years ago before college and all of her student debt.</p>
<p>Wow, wonder what advice Baylor debt child’s mom isgiving as HS guidance counselor & how much credibilty she can possibly have with folks seeing her own D working at the same cashier job she had before she took on the Baylor debt with little to show for it? Scary indeed! It would take a very long time on most cashier’s salaries to pay off that kind of det, even living at home.</p>
<p>Himom, this is going off topic, but I suspect many GCs can give good advice for other kids, but are so caught up in prestige of name schools, they want THEIR kid to go to name school. Maybe I am wrong, but I have seen that happen where I live.</p>
<p>Yea, I’m sure that’s right, but would definitely reduce my assessment of the value of her advice. I know other professionals who don’t apply their skills to their families–not something I admire but more common than we’d all like.</p>
<p>Face it, we live in a society that wants what it wants … and will borrow to get it. This is not new, and it is not limited to education. I thought the house of cards came down in 2008, but the lesson just is not sinking in.</p>
<p>My son’s friend went through this with Baylor. She borrowed from Peter, Paul and Mary it seems like and she ended up dropping out due to finances her Junior year. She owes nearly $80k in student debt and is 2 years into a religion degree with a concentration on youth ministries.</p>
<p>So sad…and we’ve seen that here on CC. Kids borrow and borrow for the first year or two for their “dream school” and then they’re unable to borrow more. They either drop out completely…or they end up commuting to a local state school and getting their degree there. That may be fine, but it’s hard to pay back big debt for Dream Univ, when your diploma says “local state school.” Crazy.</p>
<p>It pains me when I read about people who are interviewed in the local paper where the happy HS grad says they’ll beg & borrow to scrape together enough to go to dream U–for the 1st year. It makes me very concerned about what they plan to do for the next 3+ years to get through. Don’t see where the responsible adults are in any of these scenarios where kids end up way over their heads in debt, with or w/o (& often w/o) a degree and job.</p>
<p>I’m sure prestige had a lot to do with DS’ friend going into such debt for Baylor. She also borrowed for a study abroad/mission summer semester that cost a fortune. At that age, kids still need parental guidance, and if your parent is telling you that Baylor is the best thing for you, it’s hard to buck that. I’m sure for Mom, being a guidance counselor and all, it meant a lot to her that her kids go to the best schools in Texas. If not personally, than professionally. But they sure made a lot of us other parents upset when they kept telling us that our kids, who were going to affordable colleges with the best FA packages, wouldn’t have the “prestige” a Baylor degree has. My son will graduate this spring with his BS and right around $2,000 in student debt. We’ve paid as he’s gone, he’s earned merit scholarships and awards and he’s worked every semester and summer he’s been in school. Plus, a blessing on his head, he chose an in-state public university that we could afford and didn’t have to mortgage ours or his future on. It makes no sense to have that kind of debt for an undergrad degree.</p>
<p>ok, thanks for the input, folks. i fortunately have everything covered for this semester and on. </p>
<p>i’ve actually read all of your thoughtful advice, and i am considering transferring to a more affordable (or less expensive) university in new york city after this semester. but that all depends if my financial situation changes. </p>
the fin aid officer was frank and cautionary (but of course I was sitting right there) and in that way my son was better able to actually make and own his decision. It also didn’t hurt that I drove him by a few houses and discussed things like "the mortgage on this one would be less than nyu costs over 30 years of paying.</p>