<p>My personal opinion on this as parent is, without aid or means to finance, one word-NO.</p>
<p>I don’t think I would take such a huge loan to send my kid to college. Because in our family thinking about college in class 10/11, the first discussion was finances.</p>
<p>If a US College did not fit my budget, definitely would have looked at other options like UK, as it offers a 3 year degree program and costs much less per year as well.</p>
<p>And were open to next more affordable ones like Singapore and Australia.</p>
<p>Also on the list would be Indian Colleges, which , in my opinion be the toughest to get into, in terms of one’s own choices, and in our case also complicated by funny Mumbai/Delhi domicile clause, since we are Gurgaon residents.</p>
<p>Do I want the best for my child, absolutely. But a balance has to made. There were lot of things to be considered while taking this decision and things like weighing in our post-retirement scenario and serious thought to where and how the money will come from next 4 years and not upsetting our curent quality of life. All said and done parents are people too and deserve to live well after having worked so hard for all these years. And there was also the option to do undergrad in India and then spend so much dough on Post Grad in US. One more factor is that we need to finance only one child’s education, she being an only child, makes lot of difference.</p>
<p>I think we belong to the old school where we do not like to live with too many EMIs. But this is what I am saying now that you are asking me, but like they say Never say Never. What I am saying is that it was a very deliberate decision in my family.</p>
<p>So if in your case it does not burden your family in a way of hampering their lifestyle drastically and they have a roof on their head, and have some decent savings and/or they have some ancestral property and something to fall back on, it would be their call. And we are talking of 45 lakhs and that would equivalent to buying an apartment in the suburbs…but a child is not our biggest investment… but somebody more precious than all the worldly things around and for whom parents, here in India, will do anything, that is for sure. So it has to be your parent’s call rew. I am sorry it would be foolish on my part to comment on that, wise or otherwise…</p>
<p>Also to consider is two more things,</p>
<p>First is that based on your freshman year GPA you might be eligible for merit scholarships sophomore year onwards.</p>
<p>[UCLA</a> Engineering: 2009-2010 Undergraduate Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/giving/scholarships/]UCLA”>http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/giving/scholarships/)</p>
<p>Second, you can take a job in the sophomore year, and help pay some of your bills. Under F-1 visa Internationals not allowed to work in freshman year.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/starting/archive/great-part-time-jobs-for-college-students.html[/url]”>Great Part-Time Jobs for College Students | Kiplinger;
<p>Tutoring is a great way to earn money.</p>
you are good for athletic recruit else you will be one among the pack. I know a bit more about swimming …last year…this girl I know who got recruited for swim at a top 10 college, she made US national swim team and competing at the olympic trials this year.</p>