Question for you parents

Parents Forum
1

<p>Considering this economy and the cost of private schools approaching 50-55 grand, are you guys pushing your kids at all to look more at public schools? I attend a top 20 private school, and I can say that I did not take into accord cost when I was applying.</p>

<p>I absolutely love it here, we have a top notch gourmet dining hall, brand new facilities everywhere, free newspapers, an easy life, etc., but recently I've been thinking about my upcoming debt. If I had to do all over again, I think I would've gone to a public school and had less debt. Especially considering this economy and the fact that I want to attend medical school(another 50 grand a year). </p>

<p>I'm a bit terrified about how deep I'll be in by the end of all this, and I was wondering how you all feel about this. It seems like most of the posters on this board are like how I was, and are mainly looking to get into the best college they can get into- not the financials.</p>

<p>My parents are upper middle class, so scholarships were a no go for me. Just financial aid loans... it's starting to bother me a lot.</p>

2

<p>My children are both attending private schools with merit scholarships that make them comparable to our in state school. We are able to cover the cost with savings, etc.
I have been advising people, as have other parents, that it is not a good idea to incur substantial debt for an undergraduate degree.<br>
If finances are an issue incoming freshmen should look at schools which will offer merit aid, community college, instate schools, etc.<br>
That said, in your situation I would probably stay put. What you can do now is to do your best in all of your classes and look for any practical experience in your field to give you a leg up on the job market when you graduate.</p>

3

<p>We gave our older son and now our second son a "budget" that his dad and I were comfortable with. How that money gets spent (private or state) and the difference between the budget and actual is up to them and the schools. My oldest son decided to close the gap with Stafford loans which his dad and I think is reasonable for his choice. I have no idea what our middle son will do. We are firm with the budget. Your parents would probably be pleased if you had this conversation with them. They would appreciate your concerns. If YOU are carrying the debt for your undergraduate degree then you need to carefully weigh that against your future. My advice as a parent is to advise that starting salaries are, in general, lower than most "kids" think they will be, so factor that in as you think and maybe do alittle research on starting salaries out of your particular school. Long term debt is a tough concept for young people to understand.</p>

4

<p>A good question. Our finances were and are such that it made the most sense for S to try to get into one of the need-blind, meets 100% need schools with deep pockets. </p>

<p>He ended up choosing between two private schools, one as described above, the other of which would have required that we borrow a sum equal to 2/3 of our income every year. If he had chosen that school, he would probably be making plans to withdraw right now, since no way could or should he take on a loan of that size each year, and they had already proved intransigent when we appealed. The family cost at his school is less than that at our state U.</p>

5

<p>DD is a junior at a private university. DS graduated from a private university. DS is now a grad student at a public university OOS but still much less costly than his private. Both got merit scholarships that help(ed). But we were fortunate that we didn't have to make a private/public decision based on finances. Still...we are very much looking forward to DDs graduation...only 15 more payments!! Woohoo.</p>

6

<p>I do take into account of cost when picking a undergraduate college. However, I did not drive to minimal cost, ie asking her to pick the school that are the cheapest. I plan to foot the bill for 2 UGs + 2 Professionals. DD is at private college with merit aid which makes it compatible with a good state university. On top of that, she has so many AP credits that she should be able to graduate in roughly 3 years.</p>

7

<p>Ace - I'm not going to address the issue of choosing a cheaper alternative. Rather I'll start with your current situation. You are at a place you love. Congrats, you've chosen well. This alone may be enough to warrant staying. It would be "very adult of you" to look ahead at how to maximize your educational experience. Are you in a program that will allow you to repay your loans? Is graduate (or professional) school in your plans? Are you familiar with student loan consolidation rules? Are you willing to apply for outside scholarships? Once you have a firm grasp of what your situation will be after graduation, you will want to discuss your assessment with your parents. Trust me, they'll be impressed.</p>

8

<p>Private colleges have a perception problem when it comes to cost, separate from the issue of whether after financial aid they actually cost more than publics, so it will indeed be interesting to see the impact the economy has on application numbers at publics and privates.</p>

9

<p>I'll be applying to medical schools after graduation. I haven't even considered transferring since I'm already a junior. </p>

<p>Life is fine, but I'm just getting woozy about my debt, which is going to be hovering around half a million by the time I'm done. I'll be considering a military HPSP scholarships for graduate school, though. I hadn't really started worrying about how much I would owe until this whole credit/default crisis came.</p>

<p>I didn't really post here about my future; I think I have a good idea of what needs to be done. I just wanted to start a dialogue about how the credit crisis is affecting looking at colleges. Do you guys think we'll start seeing a spike in student loan defaults?</p>

10

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<p>Well...I know you're not asking for this advice...but...here it is anyway. THAT IS TOO MUCH DEBT!! I don't care what profession you think you are going to be entering...but having $500,000 in college debt is just way too much for any reason. I would be thinking about ways to reduce the reasons for that debt.</p>

11

<p>It was just an estimate, I didn't mean exactly $500,000.
College: $150,000
Medical School: $150-200,000
These two plus interest add up to near that amount. That's why I'm probably going to apply for a military scholarship.</p>

12

<p>If you have $150,000 in undergrad debt...you should do almost anything necessary to reduce your future debt for ANY kind of graduate school. Did your parents co-sign a loan for you or did they take out a loan themselves with the understanding you would pay it back? Even a beginning doctor's salary is not so exhorbitantly high that the payments on this kind of loan will be easy.</p>

13

<p>I think its dangerous to think that debt will be judged in the future the same as it has been these past few years, maybe even the last decade. It has been entirely too loose and free wheeling, not so in the future(IMHO). That said students prepare for the future. That's what you do. My recommendation would be to lower your debt load. While unemployment is rising, advise to look for a job is difficult, but not impossible.
Dont change schools for financial consideration. Just work on changing your finances. Go back and revisit those scholarships you thought you missed because parents were upper middle class, you might be surprised and get one now. As more of us parents are getting the news that we are no longer in the class we thought we were in, it a good time to revisit the scholarship and financial aid office.</p>