<p>Just wondering, what do you consider a reasonable amount of debt to graduate with?</p>
<p>I would consider the Stafford loan limit to be the upper end of “reasonable”. Obviously, as little debt as possible is desirable but the maximum depends on what field you intend on entering (ie. starting salary and job availability). IBR/ICR has softened the blow for entry level employees, but the interest continues to build so it’s best to borrow as little as possible and only for the intended uses. Finaid.org has great loan calculators you can use to run different scenarios and several of them show what salary you’ll need to comfortably make those loans payments.</p>
<p>No more than the Stafford amounts - about $30k total for all 4 years. </p>
<p>And, even that will be painful for most to pay back. It will be like paying an extra car payment for 10 long years in addition to any REAL car payment that you have.</p>
<p>I agree with the previous posters about using Stafford limits as a guide. </p>
<p>However, under certain circumstances, I could see how a debt roughly equivalent to an entry-level starting salary may not be the end of the world.</p>
<p>For most schools, anything above $20k is unreasonable. For the Ivy Leagues, I would bump it up to something around $100k.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree. $100,000 in debt is WAY too much and I don’t care where you get your degree or what field it is in. This is an onerous amount of debt to leave undergrad school with. </p>
<p>Bedouin…do tell…why do you think someone with an Ivy education should assume this HUGE debt?</p>
<p>* For most schools, anything above $20k is unreasonable. For the Ivy Leagues, I would bump it up to something around $100k. *</p>
<p>Ha! Ha!</p>
<p>No WAY!!!</p>
<p>What a joke!!</p>
<p>Do you really think that those who go to ivies have incomes that are so much higher that they can afford 5 times the debt? This is soooo not true, especially during the payback years. </p>
<p>My friend’s son graduated from Columbia last May with student loans. He STILL can’t get a job. So…how would you justify a $100k in debt in such a case??</p>
<p>$100K for Ivy league? Nah, pass that. When I told my co-workers that my Princeton niece is making $45K/year upon graduation, they all rolled their eyes, “what? only 45K?”. I am like, what do you expect? 100K? :)</p>
<p>Hm, cool, so Im actually at a good point. Alright, thanks everyone. I just wanted to make sure I wasnt in over my head.</p>
<p>Truthfully, the amount of “reasonable debt” is something each family should determine. Regardless of the amount, the debt needs to be repaid. So…if your family feels they have the resources to repay a certain amount of debt, it may be very different than another family’s decision or resources. Some students and families feel the max Stafford loans are too much debt. Other families can assume much larger numbers.</p>
<p>But basically I agree with others…no more than the max Stafford loan is really the top…just my opinion.</p>
<p>First rule: The lower the debt the better, and zero debt is better than anything else.</p>
<p>Second, your debt should be related to your chosen career field to a small extent. If you are in engineering or business, where starting salaries are little higher, then at max Stafford will be probably OK. If you go into a field where entry level jobs may not pay much like teaching, music, and some of the humanities fields, then try and limit loans or look at loan forgiveness programs. </p>
<p>Third: Keep mind your graduate school plans when you take loans. If you are going to take say $25000 in undergraduate loans and another $200,000 to go to medical school or law school etc., that is a big burden and you may want to try and limit undergraduate loans to the minimum. It all adds up it may not seem much but the difference between $225000 and $200000 in loans can crimp a lot of your spending ability.</p>
<p>So the figure of 20-25K is the max I would consider for undergraduate, even if you are going a Ivy League school.</p>
<p>$100K for Ivy league? Nah, pass that. When I told my co-workers that my Princeton niece is making $45K/year upon graduation, they all rolled their eyes, “what? only 45K?”. I am like, what do you expect? 100K</p>
<p>that’s a great post. Some think that ivy league undergrads typically have much higher salaries than others. It’s just not true.</p>
<p>I would not want to be the ivy/elite grad with big debt working along side colleagues with much less debt getting paid the same or near same. While the colleagues are moving on with their lives, buying homes, etc, I would be seeing I big chunk of my “take home pay” going to student loans. Yuck!</p>
<p>Is $7500 a year a lot?</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>It’s at the upper most limits…$30k total. You will “feel it” when you’re paying it back. It’s about $345 a month…about the cost of an additional car payment for 10 years (in addition to any REAL car payment you might have and all other living expenses (rent, utilities, cell phone, car insurance, food, clothing, cable bill, internet bill, etc…it all adds up!!!)</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, you’re planning on some kind of grad school training (was it nurse practitioner or something like that?? ) IF so, then you really need to minimize undergrad debt. </p>
<p>Did you decide on a UC or Cal State? I know you were considering USeattle, but that was too expensive. </p>
<p>What is the aid situation for your chosen school?</p>
<p>^^^^ So, it depends. It’s manageable for an engineering major but it could be tough for an art history or theater major. Do some research on your potential career, see what kind of earning right after school, five year afterward etc.</p>
<p>This article may is a little dated 2008 but still very relevent</p>
<p>[How</a> much college debt is too much? - MSN Money](<a href=“http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/CutCollegeCosts/HowMuchCollegeDebtIsTooMuch.aspx?page=1]How”>http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/CutCollegeCosts/HowMuchCollegeDebtIsTooMuch.aspx?page=1)</p>
<p>*At 8%, each $1,000 you borrow will cost you about $12 a month to repay, assuming a 10-year loan. If you’re a student and you borrow the maximum allowed under current federal student loan programs – $23,000 in subsidized and unsubsidized borrowing for undergraduates who are still their parents’ dependents – your monthly payments will be around $276.</p>
<p>That payment level should be manageable if you’re making at least $33,000, which means you’d better be an accounting or business major. Starting salaries in those fields range from about $36,000 for business administration types to $43,000 for management-information-systems graduates.</p>
<p>Liberal arts grads, on the other hand, generally have to settle for salaries under $30,000 to start. </p>
<p>Beginning pay for psychology majors is about $26,000, while English majors are getting about $28,000. At those pay levels, you’re better off borrowing no more than about $18,000 over your college career.*</p>
<p>mom2collegekids-
Thanks for remembering me! lol Yes, I’m going to UC Santa Cruz and most likely will major in Molecular,developmental and cell bio. I’m still thinking about what to do after, but for sure it will require more schooling. (Something in medical field) </p>
<p>The good thing is all the loans aren’t necessary. Everything I owe to the school (tuition/room/food) is covered by grants. (Except a couple hundred) So depending on how I spend I might not need all the loans since my family is sending me money also.</p>
<p>Correction: It’s covered by grants and loans that will be subsidized</p>
<p>I also have the Blue and Gold opportunity plan. Still confused about it lol, but I know it’s a good thing.</p>
<p>Well, since you’re likely going to grad school, please minimize your loans. Try to work part-time and in the summer to cover any additional shortfalls.</p>
<p>However, you might want to take a sub loan and keep the money “for emergencies”.</p>
<p>Were you given any work-study to provide any “pocket money”?</p>
<p>I remember that you’re independent, so do you know how much you are allowed to earn (not counting w/s) so it won’t affect your aid/EFC?</p>
<p>Maybe Swimcat or Kelsmom can chime in here.</p>
<p>I am def. going to work in the summer. (Going to look for a job after AP tests)
I have work study for $1,500 during the year.
Dad opened me a bank account and pays me $270 a month
My mom and Grandma are going to open me a separate bank account. Not sure how much they’ll pay me.
And yes I am independent so I think a job in the summer won’t hurt my efc.
For the first quarter I am going to take out all the unsub. loans they offer. (around $2700 for a whole year.)
If I don’t need it, I won’t take it out any more and then I will only be using a 1,299 Perkins and 3,500 subsidized Stafford.</p>
<p>Do my bank accounts affect my EFC?</p>
<p>*
And yes I am independent so I think a job in the summer won’t hurt my efc.*</p>
<p>You need to check on this…for independents, the income levels are different. You may be fine if you’re just going to be earning a few thousand.</p>
<p>You need to accept the SUB loans first. Try to avoid taking any unsub loans.</p>