<p>So here's my bottom line: minus parental contribution, work-study, and Duke's need-based grants, there's a $5,000 annual gap in my financial aid package, which they offered to cover with Stafford loans.</p>
<p>My parents have explained to me quite clearly that I would have to cover this $5,000 per year myself (meaning I would have to eventually pay back the $20,000+).</p>
<p>Vanderbilt (and mostly likely Davidson..although I haven't heard back from them yet) have offered me packages nearly identical to Duke's, except that they included grants in place of the loans. My only other option is UT-Austin (and their liberal arts honors program), which is only slightly cheaper (but again, no loans required).</p>
<p>So...this begs the ultimate question: is Duke really worth $20,000+ out of my own pocket?</p>
<p>P.S. Currently, I plan on majoring in something very "impractical" and humanities-oriented, like English or Philosophy, and then going to law school (more $$$), so keep that in mind.</p>
<p>What would make Duke worth $20,000+ compared to Vanderbilt or Davidson? Nothing that I can think of. I would recommend Davidson without a doubt, but I admit to a LAC bias.</p>
<p>^ I admit to the opposite: anti-LAC bias, lol. I am an incredibly extroverted, social butterfly-type person. I feel like I need at least a medium-sized school like Duke, where I can run into people I don’t know all the time.</p>
<p>Also (and this is admittedly hearsay), one of my friends who currently attends UNC said she has met several Davidson students and claims that they’re all “a little off” or “just a tad weird” lolz. Others claim it’s like a bubble (which I strongly dislike). I mean, it’s tiny, and it’s in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>Vandy is similar to Duke in many ways, with a few notable exceptions:
It’s not as academically prestigious
It has a widespread reputation as a white, rich school, populated by frat boys and sorority girls. Whether or not this is* entirely* true does not change the fact that CCers like “VandySAE” repeatedly post here that you’re “not cool enough” if you don’t go Greek at Vandy, or that you “just don’t get it.”
One of my friends in the Vandy Class of 2011 says he finds a remarkable lack of intellectual vitality in the average student.
I can’t stand country music for longer than 5 seconds. My ears might explode.</p>
<p>Your attitude does not sound good for Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>Are you serious that you think you can stereotype the entire Vanderbilt student body by one or two CC posters who have driven everybody else off the VU site? Join the real world, please. This isn’t it.</p>
<p>You don’t have to listen to country music. Certainly my son does not. His ears are still intact.</p>
<p>So one of your friends finds the average student is lacking in intellectual vitality? That is certainly scientific. Maybe your friend is in the wrong classes, or involved in the wrong organizations. My son is pretty intellectual, and he has managed to find like-minded friends, a lot of them. Believe it or not, some of the students at Duke are not exactly intellectuals, either.</p>
<p>Fewer than 1/3 of the male students at Vanderbilt belong, even nominally, to a fraternity. About 1/2 of the females belong to a sorority. Clearly the majority of the students find plenty to do outside of Greek organizations.</p>
<p>None of this information is new to you. I think you really are just looking to justify to yourself the extra expenditure. If you were asking my opinion, I would say Vanderbilt over Duke, but only if you take a positive attitude to Nashville with you. Otherwise you do no one a favor by attending.</p>
<p>Avoid multiplying first year loans by 4. There’s no guarantee that your loans will be $5000 all 4 years. I’d say that $20,000 in loans is a best-case scenario. In fact, your loans are likely to increase during your stay. The Stafford loan limits increase each year. As such you might expect to graduate with closer to $24,000 in loans.</p>
<p>This is a decision that only YOU can make. For some folks, $20K is well worth it for one school over another. For others, it is not. It depends on many factors, and many of them are personal. IF $20k is all the debt you will have over those 4 years, it is considered a manageable amount that many students are taking. Much more than that become an onerous burden and not a wise decision.</p>
<p>My opinion is to get the loans from your grandparents. They can forgive them at the end of the 4 years. The next best place is the Staffords. I doubt that you personally will get better rates. You parents may be able to get a good rate on a HELOC but that is something they need to investigate.</p>
<p>Well if you do what i will do and pay back the loan each year then you would be fine but choose wisely cause once you graduate the intrest will start to pile up. I’d take the no loans Vanderbilt. It’s a good school too.</p>
<p>Are the loans subsidized (interest paid by govt while in school) or unsubsidized (you owe interest payments while in school)…regardless there are often interest and origination fees, so $20,000 can accrue alot of interest, etc. and leave you with more debt than just he original $20,000, also school costs rise every year so you may need more than the original $5,000 per year…plus then grad school debt…many VERY successful people choose no loans and the less prestigious name…and are very happy to accrue less debt…again, debt is a very personal choice, as is the college fit.</p>
<p>$20,000 isn’t a huge debt load. That would be worth it to me if Duke was a great fit and the school I really wanted to attend. If you think you’d be equally happy at Vanderbilt and Davidson, I think they are great enough schools that a decision is favor of one of them would be reasonable, though. You seem concerned only with what you’re paying out of YOUR pocket. What about what your parents are paying? That’s certainly a relevant consideration. How do the finances play out when you include the entire family contribution?</p>
<p>I like how you recognize you’re majoring in something that’s unlikely to get you a lucrative job right out of college! It is a good thing to be concerned about debt and I think graduating debt free is great, you will have more choices at graduation. Just because a lot of students graduate with $20,000 in debt doesn’t mean it is right for you. Congrats on all your acceptances!</p>
<p>While 20k might seem like a lot for a 22 yr old, when you’re done and buy a CAR, you’re going to probably take on more than that for a depreciating asset that you’ll have to pay down in 5 years.</p>
<p>your schooling is a LIFETIME investment and you have YEARS to pay it off. Of course, I would say use every summer job and tax return dime to pay it off quick cause the interest rate isn’t that attractive.</p>
<p>If you are going for something inpractical, go to a cheaper school for the first couple years (take all transferable credits) and then transfer and you will get the same 4 year degree as everyone else there. It will also be easy to transfer with a lower GPA if you are going into their english or sociology program. Either way its just money, and these are important years.</p>
<p>Are you kidding? Duke is offering you the equivalent of a near-free ride through need based grants leaving you with 5000 in sub & unsub Stafford loans, and you are questioning whether this is worth it?</p>