<p>I'm looking at some schools I'm interested in, and I'm a little lost on how much some of them are going to cost. I think, like most folk here, that I would definitely prefer graduating without much debt, but I still want to attend a good school. </p>
<p>From what I've seen, the University of Chicago looks pretty decent, but I'm confused on how much debt graduates have when they leave? On the College Board, it says about 20K, and that seems pretty steep to me.</p>
<p>$20k in debt at graduation is probably right. </p>
<p>If each year, a student takes out the max Federal loans, the student would graduate with about $27k -30k in debt.</p>
<p>Do you know how much your family is going to contribute? Do you know what their likely expected contribution will be?</p>
<p>My parent don’t have much, but my mom may be able to pay off a certain sum, a couple thousand dollars but not a whole lot. I’m relying on scholarships a lot.</p>
<p>Are you relying on scholarships from UChicago or from outside sources?</p>
<p>If you’re relying on outside sources, that’s not a good idea.</p>
<p>UChicago doesn’t give many scholarships.</p>
<p>Do you qualify for aid?</p>
<p>The average debt really means NOTHING…it’s an average. You need to use one of the online financial aid calculators using the institutional methodology. This will give you an ESTIMATE of what the colleges might expect your family to contribute annually to your college education. That is a number you need to see and discuss with your family. More important…you need to know how much they are able to contribute each year for your schooling.</p>
<p>There are two kinds of aid…merit which is based on your academic stats (standardized test scores and high school GPA)…and need based which is based on your family’s income (mostly) and assets. Some schools give only need based aid. Some schools give both. </p>
<p>As it happens, UChi does give some scholarship awards. They are very competitive. Most of their aid is need based. </p>
<p>The Stafford loans can total up to $27000 for four years. This might very well be the loan debt of the STUDENT as really the Stafford loans are the only loans students can get in their own names even without need. There are also Perkins Loans which are available to those who qualify based on their income/assets.</p>
<p>BUT what is not included here is what the loan amount the PARENTS might have to take on. For example, if the school computes that your family needs to pay $25,000 a year, but they only have $15,000 in savings or income to contribute, they would need to take an additional $10,000 in loans. </p>
<p>So…run a financial aid calculator using your family’s income and assets. Discuss the finances with your parents…and then go from there.</p>
<p>
I would say one of the top colleges in the country would be pretty decent. Most schools that meet full need (for students that don’t have much family money) are extremely competitive. To be accepted you will need an excellent GPA and top scores. Generally the most affordable schools are in-state public Us. If you make National Merit Finalist there are many schools that will offer a scholarship.</p>
<p>No University of Chicago is not known for good aid. As pointed out, these figures can be misleading as everything depends on the way the school wants to count it. As thumper1 points out, the student may have $20,000 in loans but the parents may have $60,000 in loans.</p>
<p>A lot depends on your profile (scores, grades, EC’s etc). If you post those some might be able to tell your realistic chances of getting aid.</p>