<p>How much debt will an undergraduate business student rack up from a private university like USC for example versus a state school like San Diego?
Tuition at USC is about 7 or 8 times what San Diego is, but I hear opportunities for internships and jobs are much better at USC.
So is it worth it to attend a private school for all the opportunities or take a gamble and work harder at a state school to build my own network and hopefully get a job just as good as a USC graduate</p>
<p>No, it is not worth is. Going to a public state school at a great price is not “taking a gamble.” Taking an insane amount of debt to go to a private school that MIGHT give you better opportunities is the gamble, and a very dangerous gamble.</p>
<p>Pancaked is right. Big debt is NOT worth the risk. </p>
<p>However, what is your situation? Would you qualify for a lot of need-based aid if you went to USC? Or is your family’s income/assets such that they would be expected to pay a lot more than they can afford? </p>
<p>If you have demonstrated need, then USC does give good aid. </p>
<p>That said, if you have strong stats, you might get a merit scholarship to some other schools.</p>
<p>Do you know how much your family will pay each year? If not, ask them.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that YOU can only borrow the following amounts:</p>
<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>
<p>To borrow more than that is NOT a good idea AND would require parent co-signers. Many parents refuse to co-sign for larger loans because it’s a big risk to the student and the parent.</p>
<p>Yeah I have sort of planned to attend possibly San Diego State for Accounting as a transfer in the future or UCLA as a Business Economics major, and maybe go for an MBA at USC or some where else</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, that’s not quite true. Some institutions that meet full demonstrated need will offer <em>the student</em> more than 5500 in loans for freshman year as part of the package (i.e. not to meet the actual expected student contribution from summer earnings). They do this by offering their own institution-sponsored loans. They then offer <em>the student</em> <em>additional</em> loans if needed to cover things not included in EFC such as a 21-meal meal plan (heaven forbid the student wants to eat 3 meals a day) or health insurance, or if the student cannot meet their expected contribution from summer earnings, etc. So… a student can rack up more than the “standard” $27K in loans.</p>
<p>Yes, but then some of us feel that such loans do not legitimately meet full need if they go over federal limits, that they are gapping students when they offer such loans. Perhaps it’s just philosophical.</p>
<p>The one school I know about in detail only “gaps” the middle-class students this way. Lower income students get packages without loans, or with loans capped below the federal maximum.</p>
<p>Mathmom…</p>
<p>Yes, some schools offer their own loans, but in reality, most schools do not do this. And, the few that I’ve seen, the loans aren’t that big. </p>
<p>Since the majority of schools do not offer their own loans, it’s best for a student to proceed knowing what the norm is. Many kids hear about others taking out these big student loans and they wrongly think that they will be able to take these on by themselves.</p>