Well, except that those parents worked hard throughout their entire lives, and have the right to share their success with their kids if they so desire. There’s really nothing “unfair” about it, and it doesn’t hurt anyone else.</p>
<p>On the other hand, need-based financial aid truly could be considered “unfair” because recipients are taking the money from the government/taxpayers. To people who believe there are better uses for their tax dollars, this simply isn’t right. Government grants and student loans also (1.) massively inflate the price of tuition for everyone else (due to interference with the free market) and (2.) involve government spending, which (at $15 trillion debt) we simply need to cut down on.</p>
<p>Why are you ignoring what everyone is telling you? Get your mind wrapped around your budget…which is extremely generous. If you have the stats to even apply to UofM as an out of state student it means you have very good grades and test scores. There are many colleges that you could afford with your parents generosity and a Stafford loan. There are colleges you will be able to afford with your parents generosity, a small merit scholarship and Stafford loans. This is what Kat is telling you. You are sitting in a very good position. I think you need to think about this. The vast, vast majority of kids are NOT in your position. And no, in your financial position quite frankly $70,000 worth of debt is well…stupid and clearly you are not stupid.</p>
<p>It’s hard for anyone to help you with a budget when we don’t know what the cost of your school will be. You know you are going to need money, so start earning money. Work out your budget when you know what your costs will be.</p>
<p>Given how much your parents will finance I think you should go where you want and make it work but start working and saving your money now.</p>
<p>You may need to look at schools that you can afford with the generous support from your parents, the loans you can qualify on your own, and working. Supplement your college list with any schools that will give you guaranteed merit for your stats, and also apply for a few schools with competitive merit where your stats might make you highly competitive.</p>
<p>It may not feel like it now, but you are in an enviable position.</p>
<p>I went to prep school, and can understand that within that context it may feel like your situation is unfair. But within the wider context your situation is actually quite good. Perhaps not what you would prefer, but more than workable. You may have to revise your list of schools, but there are MANY wonderful schools that you can attend for a COA of 40,000 - 50,000 (the higher end will depend on your ability to work to earn the money to support the higher end of the spectrum).</p>
<p>In terms of the advisability of taking out significant… 70,000 in loans to fund an undergraduate education… even if your parents would co-sign these loans so you could obtain them, this kind of undergraduate debt is not advisable. What do you want to study? What are your long term goals. Many to most careers these days require some sort of degree/ training beyond undergraduate school. You will want to consider the long range plans in relation to the short range, and avoid undergraduate debt as much as possible.</p>
<p>Are you a junior, or a senior? If you’re a junior, you have plenty of time to look for excellent schools that you can afford. If you’re a senior, then deadlines are rapidly approaching.</p>
<p>I’d like a Mercedes convertible. But, that isn’t what I can reasonably afford, and so I drive an eleven-year-old, rather pedestrian vehicle. At some point you’ll learn that no matter what “toy” you have, somebody else probably has nicer toys. With $40K annually, plus what you’re allowed to take in Stafford loans, you really have some excellent options if your stats are midrange for Boston College, Vandy, and Duke. You just need to dig around for them. The vast majority of college students would be thrilled to know that they had $40K a year they could rely upon for college. You may find that if you focus on the positive, that you’ll realize how many wonderful options are out there.</p>
<p>From the standpoint of the kid, it’s not fair that he or she was born into a less-wealthy family. And guess what? Not everyone who is wealthy worked hard to get that way, and some people work very hard and don’t get wealthy. </p>
<p>As to your second argument, there are lots of things the government spends money it confiscates from me that I disagree with. Educating the citizenry doesn’t happen to be one of them, though.</p>
<p>70K of undergraduate debt when you have $160K available to you for free is plain stupid. What career are you thinking of? Is grad school in your future? You can get grad school loans in much higher amounts. It is a HUGE gift to graduate undergrad debt-free; you will be far ahead of your peers.</p>
<p>Plus, I don’t think your parents would be willing to cosign for the undergrad loans, would they?</p>
<p>If you are thinking of grad school or a post undergrad professional degree you would be best served by colleges that have a high percentage of kids accepted into top grad schools…these aren’t always the schools that land on the top of people’s undergrad list, so think short term AND long term if you plan on continuing your education past BA/BS.</p>
<p>@Nihility, it’s purely for school, not for me. I appreciate those giving advice. At the beginning of this whole collegeapp process, my parents assured me that costs should have no bearing on where I want to go to college and can go anywhere I like. So I applied to 12 schools, many of these expensive privates, figuring I’d have to take out 40k in loans just like my sister did 5 years ago. Well today I got some financial aid packet from Northwestern today giving all the details of the school. The CoA listed in it was 58k per year. My mom was astonished, saying how much more expensive the school was compared to my others. I remarked that a good majority of my schools were around that price. She then stated that it’ll be expensive for me since they’re only contributing 40k a year. After thinking about the massive loans I’d have to take out to just even go to the school, here I am trying to figure out what to do. I’ve already been accepted to Pitt and Penn state, so I definitely have a backup plan, I just feel as if I wasted my time on my other schools. My dad always says my schooling is the most important thing and money comes second, so maybe I’ll try to talk to him about the situation. If not, hopefully I’ll get into UVA, Mich, or UNC, where even the OOS prices are more reasonable than the privates (UNC would be great b/c it’s only 38k a year OOS). I didn’t mean to be derogatory towards anyone (specifically those on financial aid), I just know some kid who got full aid somewhere because his parents took money out of the bank gradually and hid it so they’d look poor (or so the kid said).</p>
<p>@KatMT, I’m planning on majoring in finance.</p>
<p>No, a top school is NOT worth $70k in debt. And your parents would have to cosign for about $40k of that…which they might not do anyway.</p>
<p>*theres really no hope for me to get merit aid at schools like vandy, nwestern, duke, boston college because i’m not a superqualified applicant as it is. *</p>
<p>What are your stats? Many schools give merit.</p>
<p>*How will I be able to cover the other expenses with a maximum of ~6k in loans a year? I know my sister was able to somehow… *</p>
<p>If your sister had the same $40k budget, then with a $6k loan all costs were probably covered back then. Schools were cheaper 5 years ago.</p>
<p>The 58K cost of attendance per year to Northwestern includes expenses for travel. Maybe you can travel more cheaply than what they have budgeted. Is off-campus housing a possibility in Evanston? Being off the meal plans would save you a lot of money. Did Northwestern itemize what they estimate the costs to be? Did you look at it?</p>
<p>*3.87 UW, 4.4 W
2000 SAT (1350) awaiting Nov *</p>
<p>Unless your scores go up a lot, you’re not very competitive for vandy, nwestern, duke, boston college anyway. It doesn’t sound like you’d have a hook for those schools to make up for having scores that are lowish for these schools.</p>
<p>With your stats, you might be better off looking at some mid-tiers where you’d likely be admitted and maybe get some merit.</p>
<p>except i’m at the midpoint SAT for Boston College and still around the 30% percentile for the others. granted my SAT is low, my GPA is competitive and my essays and rec’s (i’ve heard) are stellar. i’m expecting to get denied at most of my schools so i’m not really expecting too much but at UVa, UNC, mich, and bc i would think i’m competitive.</p>
<p>for both, although i lived in virginia for five years before moving. obviously theyre still extremely difficult to get in, what i was implying was that my SAT isn’t as much as a detriment at these schools. in fact, if i remember correctly, UNC’s out of state average SAT is only a 1330</p>
<p>I am about $70k in student loan debt, and I think you should listen to what other posters are telling you. I graduated from a small private LAC that was a little less than $35k a year. It was a good school. I received an amazing education. But the debt is only worth it if you get a good job - so it really depends on your major and what you can realistically expect as an income upon graduation. It also depends how good of a job applicant you will be, if you put in the hard work in undergrad to get good internships and other experiences that will be highly valuable. Even some excellent students don’t get excellent jobs. Again, it depends on the area you’re searching in and your major/prospective career path.</p>
<p>Did you get in to Penn State University Park? I’m assuming this is it, since it’s the main campus. That is a great school. So is Pitt. I don’t see why you wouldn’t choose financial freedom after graduation over a lot of debt to stress over when you near graduation.</p>
<p>I’d absolutely go to Pitt or Penn State if those are in-state.
With your budget, that would allow you to do things like study abroad and take low paying/no-paying internships to get experience. If you go where your budget is topped out and you have to take lots of loans, you won’t have the flexibility to do things like that–you’ll be too busy working part-time jobs.</p>
<p>Graduating with little or no debt is a better plan!</p>
<p>And, I think you getting into UNC will be a reach. OOS is quite competitive. Might happen, but…However, if you do get in, that’s a much better option than going 70k in debt for a private!</p>
<p>I still think Pitt or Penn State are your best bets.</p>