<p>This thread should not exist because you should be going to Minnesota - the more I read about the amount of debt people are taking on the more I am convinced that there should be laws against debt.</p>
<p>*Is there a difference in jobs I can get or grad schools I can go to after undergrad for any of these schools? I think Illinois or Michigan would be much more impressive than the university of MN.
*</p>
<p>No, no, no. No difference. Oh my goodness. A UIUC or UMich eng’g grad wouldn’t even get a higher salary. Total waste of money.</p>
<p>“impressive”??? no. And you’d be so unimpressed after being strangled by debt during your adult years.</p>
<p>Are your parents so nutty that they would co-sign huge loans for UMich or UIUC? If not, then why is there even a discussion?</p>
<p>If you want some excitement, go on a cool Eng’g study abroad for a summer. And, apply to lots of REUs…you get to experience other campuses that way.</p>
<p>Why do people without a financial IQ apply to OOS schools?</p>
<p>Listen, I realize that the U of Minnesota is a really good deal, but I just cannot make myself go there. I am willing to work hard and maybe suffer a little for the debt. I will regret if forever if I go to the University of Minnesota. I would maybe be willing to look at the University of Madison WI for 22K but I think that right now, I am leaning towards University of IL.</p>
<p>Why do people without a financial IQ apply to OOS schools?</p>
<p>It’s sad that otherwise smart kids are just clueless about such matters. BTW…you aren’t going to make for a very good engineer. These days engineers have to have some fiscal sense as well.</p>
<p>Engineer…will your parents co-sign those loans? Have they said that they would???</p>
<p>(BTW…you would “regret it forever” if you took out those loans…that’s a given. Do you realize that some engineering jobs require “clearances” from the federal gov’t? And, guess what? They don’t want to give clearances to those with big debt…because they are a risk.)</p>
<p>$140,000 debt will require a lot more than just “working hard and suffering a little”. That’s major debt to take on for schools that are not far apart academically. UIUC is a great school while Minnesota is a good schools. The gap is not worth $140k. If you were choosing between MIT and some second rate school, I would say the debt may be worth it, but that is not the case here. You may hate the thought of Minnesota now, but take it from me, you will hate the $140k debt far more.</p>
<p>UIUC is a great school while fd.</p>
<p>What are you saying there?</p>
<p>Neither UIUC nor UMich are fiscally responsible options. Each requires debt of over 6 figures. </p>
<p>I don’t know why this kid thinks he’s so “above” UMinn. Unless he’s got super tippy top stats, he’s going to find a whole bunch of smarter people at UMinn.</p>
<p>* I am willing to work hard and maybe suffer a little for the debt. *</p>
<p>You won’t suffer “a little.” $144K in debt is a $1700/month payment. Even if you come out of school making $60K as an engineer, after taxes and health benefits, you will not be able to afford that debt. And more likely you will be making about $40-50K. At best you will have to live at home for years (and when I say years, I mean until your debt is paid off, not 2 or 3) while you struggle to make the monthly payments (and even then you may not have enough). And student loans do not go away with bankruptcy. They are with you until you pay them off. That kind of debt is simply not tenable.</p>
<p>I will regret if forever if I go to the University of Minnesota.</p>
<p>You think that, but you will probably not. Every 18-year-old thinks that the college they go to is going to shape the direction of the rest of their life, but really, YOU are the one who shapes the direction of the rest of your life. UMN, Michigan and UIUC are actually all very similar - large public flagship universities with great facilities and great opportunities. Your college experience will be what you make of it. It won’t rely on the university; it will rely on you.</p>
<p>Not to mention that - I am 4 years post college; most of my friends are also between 1 and 7 years post college. I chose a safety with a full scholarship over a top 20 school. I don’t regret it for an instant; I had a blast. Listening to my friends, I have heard quite a few of them regret the massive debt they borrowed to go to schools they perceived as “better,” but I haven’t heard any of the ones who chose their public universities say that they regretted going there. Most of my friends who went to publics had a great time. (And to add to that, I currently go to Columbia for grad school, and most of my friends do, too. We came here from all kinds of schools. None of us went to Ivies for undergrad. In fact, none of us went to schools even as prestigious as Minnesota for undergrad.) You move onto other things in your life after you graduate; there’s no time to sit around thinking about where you could’ve gone for undergrad instead of where you went.</p>
<p>There are 52,000+ students at Minnesota. If you don’t want to see your high school friends, you won’t.</p>
<p>The debt is NOT worth it. Not to mention that you may not even be able to borrow it anyway.</p>
<p>Seriously, engineer2012, it is troubling that you are coming to this conclusion in the face of such compelling evidence. The fiscally reasonable choice is still the University of Minnesota even if the choice is Wisconsin at $88K worth of debt. Work harder and suffer a little? Are you paying attention at all? Where are your parents in this decision-making process?</p>
<p>I’ve read this thread literally with my mouth open at the ridiculousness of this question. There must be something you must not be telling us - maybe your parents are wealthy and you are borrowing directly from them? If not, and you are seriously going to be taking out over 100k-220k in loans, then I just feel sorry for you given your choice of a full ride at UMinn. Your lack of financial/business sense is disappointing for a future engineer. So what did you decide?</p>
<p>Since UMinn has tens of thousands of students, this kid isn’t going to be with former high school kids all day long. It just doesn’t work that way. </p>
<p>I’m getting the feeling that this kid spent the last year talking to classmates about “going away” to schools like Cornell or UMich or UIUC, while the classmates have largely been talking about local schools (I doubt ALL of them are going to UMinn). So, he doesn’t want to “lose face” by going where they’re going. He’s willing to sell his soul (borrowing) to save face.</p>