<p>I find that very sad. This young lady is not learning to live within her means and she has some very expensive lessons that she will be learning. My son survives without a car, and he does not run up credit card debt. He knows how to make due with what we can afford.</p>
<p>NikkiiL: I am not denying the cost of private schools (I have a son at one!). What I am saying is what cptofthehouse just outlined - that there are many full-pay or partial-pay kids who are not borrowing, or only borrowing their Stafford limit. Again, I do not want to give students the impression that "everybody borrows the full cost of a private school." That is far from the truth.</p>
<p>It's entirely too much debt. If anyone chooses that route they should be working towards a profession that will give a high rate of return (no poetry, English, history, Art - etc... - majors) .</p>
<p>It will take a very looooonnnnngggg time to pay off that kind of debt - remember it doesn't end with undergrad. Adults have all kinds of needs/responsibilities to pay for.</p>
<p>lil-killer129-----agree with cpt here, that is way too much debt to take on for PSU. SUNY's are wonderful schools and VERY affordable. There are also many comm colleges in the nyc area that would do as well. No need to get yourself in debt at this stage of the game. Just do well and get a high GPA at an affordable school and take it from there.</p>
<p>wow you can't even escape that debt through bankruptcy. what a racket!</p>
<p>so lets see, we're in the process of moving the last big industry (infotech) overseas, we're incenting and advocating that the next generation take on mountains of debt before they even start working and we're destroying the environment.</p>
<p>the older generation really is sticking it to their offspring. how sad.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sometimes, these are "career students"....students who make a career out of going to school so they "never" have to repay their loans...
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</p>
<p>Good gosh darn. Would there not be some sort of cap on that type of thing?</p>
<p>I have run into a few folks who are going to Community College, for no real reason, because they graduated University with a ton of debt. And, where I live Community College is over $400.00 a class. So weird.</p>
<p>Edited to add...</p>
<p>I am not trying to put down Community College, alright? But, if you graduated from a big old brand name private University and go to Community College for no reason other than to circumvent the student loans, then that is silly. Community College, in and of itself, is not silly.</p>
<p>I've been reading this very interesting thread. My d has been accepted to a private institution but after completing our FAFSA there is no way we can afford the tuition even with $9k scholarship she's been offered. I can see how some parents will allow to take out the loans because they feel their child deserves that type of education. My husband and I have been beating our brains out how we can make this possible. My d really wants to go to this school but understand our financial situation. </p>
<p>Anyway, I wanted all your thoughts on the ROTC programs that most schools offer. As a nursing major, I understand that the in-college scholarships for nursing majors are pretty available with a maximum of $15,000 a year for 3 years. She's a military brat herself so she's familiar with the commitments.<br>
Factoring in our "real" EFC with this plan, that would leave us with $8k-10k loan per year....which will probably be the same if we sent her to our state school where financial aid/scholarships are slim.</p>
<p>Of course if she did the ROTC program at the state school we would have no loans.</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>newdawn: Maybe you should start a new thread on the Parents Forum. You might get better help.</p>