<p>My friend's step daughter took on $15K of debt her freshman year because she stubbornly refused to go to any of the state schools from two states. She wanted to go to a private school where some of her friends are going. She is now a junior and the debt has gone up to $25K . She is likely to be $80k in debt from going there. Doubt if the average graduate from there will be making $20k a year in the first few years out, and grad school is going to be out of the questions with those numbers. How the heck is she going to pay all of this back? </p>
<p>I looked up the school, Weenie, and it does not report this level of debt for ugs; not a whiff of it. But the numbers reported are averages, and there are full pay kids there since only about half are on financial aid which means if the average debt from kids who started in 2001 is about $20k, well......you do the math. That does not count loans that kids take outside of what is offered by the school and not reported to the school, or what the parents have taken in terms of PLUS, home equity or outside loans either. </p>
<p>I would not place an arbitrary number for loan limits, though I like the subsidized Stafford maximums as a guideline, and would be leery of maxing the unsubsidized Stafford amounts. Basically, you need to look at what you can expect to earn upon leaving the school and how you will repay that loan on that income. Especially if you know your family is not going to be able to help you out much financially, and you may need things like car, insurance, clothes, etc. You also need to understand that you are limiting your future options for taking courses by owing that kind of money. Many kids find an interest or angle in a job where some additional courses come in handy for salary increases and advancement. If you are so overburdened with UG loans, how are you going to come up with more money? And sometimes these certificate programs from community,night or local colleges or one year condensed programs can add many $$ and possibilities when paired with a degree. I am not even talking about full professional and grad programs which would be a problem if you are maxed out loan wise. </p>
<p>For a law or med, MBA student to take out heavy loans, can be a good deal, since the income earned after getting such degrees often can shoulder the repayment of considerable debt. Not so with many undergraduate degrees.</p>