<p>For a student considering (but not set on) graduate school of some kind, how much debt is it okay to take on? I'm completely undecided as to what I want to major in, so I want to keep all post-grad options open.</p>
<p>I received the financial package from my dream school, and my family should be able to afford the EFC, but I would be left with $30,000 in loans after four years. Do you think that's too much considering the fact that graduate school is a possibility? </p>
<p>p.s. I should add that I will have at least $2,500 in outside scholarships (at most $12,000) to detract from that loan debt, which will help a bit.</p>
<p>Well for all three of the schools that I’m considering, the EFC is basically the same, so their contribution wouldn’t change too much. The only difference is that the other two schools I’m considering are both no-loans so I’d be able to use my outside scholarships to decrease our EFC. So there would be a slight decrease in their contribution, but I don’t think it would be too significant (plus I think they secretly want me to go to the dream school. It’s my dad’s alma mater and my mom went to school right nearby). </p>
<p>All three schools are top-20 schools, though, which makes this a really tough decision. Basically, I can go to my dream school with minimal extra cost to my family. It just would mean I have $30k in loans versus basically $0 in loans.</p>
<p>As I’m writing this post I realize how ridiculous it sounds to turn down two top-20 schools for another school plus a lot of loans, but I guess all throughout my life I’ve never imagined myself going anywhere else. It would really hurt to turn it down.</p>
<p>So I guess I’m just asking for outside perspectives on the $30,000 in loans. As a high school senior, it’s sort of hard for me to fathom what that amount really means down the road to someone thinking about med/law/mba/masters programs.</p>
<p>$30k is at the far edge of what I would consider manageable. What will you be giving up in order to pay those loans back? Will you not take a year abroad? Will you go to work right out of college rather than to a grad school you have to pay for? Will you not own a car? Run the loan repayment calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) and see what $30k will look like when it comes time to pay it back.</p>
<p>Then go talk with your parents about how much it is worth to you and to them to go to the dream school. It may be. It may not be. Just get all the numbers straight first.</p>
<p>happymomof1, yeah those are the questions I’m struggling with because it’s hard to answer them at this point. I guess my parents are not really helping because they still won’t really give me a clear answer on what they think about the issue. Those loan calculators will be a big help, though; I didn’t know those existed. Thanks for the quick responses. More advice is welcome!</p>
<p>Are you getting any non-loan aid from the schools? If so, your outside scholarships, beyond the first couple thousand, will most likely reduce your “need,” and accordingly, will reduce the amount of your non-loan aid.</p>
<p>I think $30,000 for four years is okay. No more than that, though. And perhaps you can whittle down that number by a summer job or a part time job while at school. I think you can get about $27000 through the Stafford program, right? IF it’s a truly great school, I would go for it.</p>
<p>Yeah, I was trying to avoid it so that people don’t just start arguing for their favorites. But the schools are Yale, Dartmouth, and ND, ND being my dream school. The campus, the traditions, the dorm system, the athletics, the atmosphere are all just unmatched in my mind. Not that I dislike the other two schools or anything, but the thought of being at ND for football saturdays in 5 months is absolutely amazing. I also just feel I fit in the best with ND’s student body, a catholic kid obsessed with sports lol.</p>
<p>What I really appreciate about Yale and Dartmouth is that they are both a lot like ND in that they have really unique campus cultures. I still have to go to Bulldog Days and Dimensions, though, so if I visit and fall in love with either of those schools I will have no problem committing. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Dartmouth and Yale and am extremely grateful for being admitted, I just know that I might always regret the decision if I don’t choose ND (I guess there’s always grad school though). </p>
<p>But back to the thread topic, if $30,000 in debt is really not unmanageable, then my decision becomes a bit easier. I mean I’ve seen some people on this board arguing that you should have $0 in debt while others say to keep it under 40K, so I wanted to get a feel for the implications of 30K in debt (aka see how many people tell me I’m crazy for thinking about taking on that much debt).</p>