<p>My son is interested in studying Urban Planning and has been accepted at UB (in-state for us). His top choices include Rutgers, the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University. We've done our homework and feel that all have decent geography programs. I know my son would prefer to go to school in an exciting town like Boston or Pittsburgh, and this is undoubtedly influencing his thoughts right now.</p>
<p>Asa parent, my concern is the amount of debt he would be incurring to go to his top choices. We are looking at the following four-year student loan estimates:</p>
<p>Boston University - $59,000
Rutgers - $63,000
Pittsburgh - $60,000
Univ. at Buffalo - $20,000</p>
<p>I hate to sound like I'm all about the money, but I'm trying to convince him to seriously look at UB for his undergraduate education. My wife and I are going to be have to stretch just to meet our EFC contribution, so taking out more money to help him is not realistic for us. I know he wants to work in a big city when he graduates, and I believe he would be far better off starting his career with a reasonable student debt load. Am I missing something here? Is a Rutgers or Pitt or Boston Univ. education worth that much more than a school like UB?</p>
<p>How would he possibly secure such large loans on his own? I’m assuming you would have to cosign for them, which would put you on the hook for them, which is a very bad idea. UB does have alot to offer and, while it isn’t a major city, there’s enough for students to do and is close enough to Toronto to visit and explore for a weekend. The fairly decent price may make it possible for him to do summer programs in the US or abroad and take advantage of other opportunities. His future job prospects will be influenced much more by what he actually does in college than where he attends.</p>
<p>He needs to realize that if he racks up huge loans it will be very difficult to live and work in a major city after college. With loan payments close to $700/month, he may be living at home or eating ramen noodles for a long time! Show him the loan calculators on finaid.org and help him figure out how much his likely starting salary would be. Give him a quick overview of what taxes, rent (for city of choice), insurances, utilities, etc. cost every month (I like to use Monopoly money with my kids). Then take 7 bills away for student loans and let him see what he has left for food, car, clothing, dating, vacations…my guess is it will be too little or nothing at all. It won’t take long for him to come to the conclusion that UB will give him the tools he needs for a good career and a more enjoyable life.</p>
<p>i know someone in the urban planning program (diff than geo)… he loves it and it is a great major. we have A LOT of opportunities for them here. make sure you visit, try to coax him but make it his final and explain how it would be difficult to go to a place like BU</p>