What Amount of Debt is Reasonable/Feasible?

Paying for College
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<p>Well I was waitlisted at my number one school (Bowdoin College) and I really can't think of another place for me...if admitted off the waitlist I probably would not get much aid, and the CSS Profile estimator calculator device on their website projected our EFC to be about 26 grand, but obviously their Financial Aid funds are limited to the amount of "No's" Bowdoin gets this year from admitted students. I also have to keep in mind I have a twin brother who's going to college next year as well.</p>

<p>Bowdoin is bar none my dream school and understand the chances of my financial aid package (if admitted off the WL) being accommodating are slim to none due to my status as a waitlistee.</p>

<p>I have met many people who have graduated college with 80-100 grand in debt...but I was told to shoot for a maximum of 40-45 grand in debt if need be...</p>

<p>How much debt is it worth to go to my absolute dream school? (This is of course worst-case scenario) Keep in mind I'd work summers (1.5-2.5 grand), work-study, etc.</p>

<p>I ultimately plan to get an MBA and hopefully make a decent living...</p>

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<p>MaStudent wrote a really great post (thanks so much for sharing your experience)</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=2211241#post2211241%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=2211241#post2211241&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>*I graduated from a private college almost 3 years ago now. This place was my dream school and despite my parents warnings about the costs, I decided to enroll anyways. </p>

<p>I figured that while the costs were high (35k+), I would graduate with a well known degree from a well known college and that would get me a high paying job. 6 months after graduation I got my first student loan bill and it was scary! While most students attain an average of 20k in loans, I had racked up over 80K in 4 years. </p>

<p>My FA package was small, college costs were high, and my parents could afford the difference. Today my total costs are well over 130K including interest. I wish I had gone to a cheaper, perhaps not first choice college...this way today my standard of living would be better. </p>

<p>Right now I struggle between working full-time, going to grad school (for free becuase my employer fronts the bill), and figuring out to afford $500+ a month in loan bills atop of my other basic living bills.
Remember that having that much finanical burden at 22,23 or 24 years old is too much. You will never be able to get back on your feet.*</p>

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<p>Wow...</p>

<p>Paying only $500/month... That's only $6k/yr.... It'll take over 13 years just to pay off the principle.</p>

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<p>Even if I plan on obtaining an MBA?</p>

<p>This college experience is very important to me and I'd be willing to do a lot for it....</p>

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<p>Reasonable would be dependent on your other choices? What are your other choices? Your alternative schools to which you applied and what would be your out-of-pocket costs to attend school there?</p>

<p>Kat</p>

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<p>My alternatives are public UCs</p>

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<p>UC's? Those are really good schools. If you are going for an MBA (which you do go to more than 4 years right?) then you can always go to a different graduate school than your undergrad, and it usually looks just as good to employers. I might be in the same boat as you next year, I really want to go to some good out of state private schools, but if I don't get the level of scholarships I need (I get no FA) then I'm going to be stuck at UF, which isn't such a bad thing. If I go to UF, which is a pretty good school, I would keep my grades up there and apply for a really good med school like Duke or JHU, Wash U, or Harvard. Then I would have tremendously less debt and I wouldn't be afraid to buy a house and such because of crazy bills. And though prestige does seem like everything (I think it is too lol), it isn't the end of the world if your undergrad comes from a cheap school, though UCB and UCLA are really good schools and I wouldn't mind my undergrad degree coming from there. There is a point where you can have too much debt, unless you come right out of college and take over Microsoft lol.</p>

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<p>If I remember correctly, most selective MBA programs like to see some work experience before grad school. That experience, along with GMAT and GPA from undergrad, would be important factors for acceptance -- probably more than the particular undergrad school you attend. I think anything more than about $30K is too much -- that's the high end for a new car out of college. I think it's reasonable to spend money on your education that you might otherwise spend on a new car, and drive something used instead. But you'll probably end up taking out loans for the MBA -- I think that, like medical or dental school, you will be expected to foot the bill. Even a debt of $45 K could make that difficult.</p>

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<p>THe overwhelming majority of MBA holders work a few years before getting the degree (most top MBA programs will not even consider students who have never worked). Depending on where you work many people have their MBAs paid for by their employer.</p>

<p>If your best bet would be to look at career services at the schools that you are considering. What companies recruit from that school. Also don't underestimate the value of getting a summer internship during college as many can lead to permanent employment.</p>

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<p>lecorbeau, even schools that are need-blind in admissions are usually need-aware when they go to the waitlist, if they guarantee to meet 100% need of their applicants. That's because their financial aid budget is already fully committed, and so they can only offer spots to needy students if they have the funds. If the college does not guarantee to meet full need, then they may offer some spots to students but tell them that there is no aid available.</p>

<p>Now this doesn't mean it is impossible to get off a waiting list and get a good aid package -- it just depends on what the financial aid budget is looking like that year. If Bowdoin has funds, then they may offers spots to students who need substantial aid; but if they are already all tapped out, then they are going to go the students on their wait list who don't need the money. </p>

<p>My point is -- for a student who needs substantial financial aid, a spot on a wait list is unlikely to open up. The "debt" question is irrelevant - the maximum Bowdoin will offer you is a $2625 Stafford loan; they legally can't offer more. It is unlikely that they have unallocated Perkins loan money -- that is a second federally-subsidized program, but there are limits to the overall amount that each college has to offer under those programs. </p>

<p>In terms of long-term earning ability, the UCs are a better option that Bowdoin. Bowdoin is an excellent college, and may very well provide a better experience acamically; but it is small and not well known outside of academic circles -- the UC's are going to provide more in the way of employment prospects.</p>

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<p>Which UCs are you considering? If we're talking Berkeley or UCLA, you would have to be out of your mind to go into debt to attend Bowdoin. Even some of the lower UCs, you'd still be making a poor move.</p>

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<p>wen you guys are talkin about student debt, are you guys talkin about just the amount of debt accumulated from a private student loan or are you guys talkin about ALL the debt( student private loan + stafford subsidized loan + perkins loan) a student would owe after 4 years? i get confused about what kinds of loans the student debt consists of.... thanks</p>

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<p>I would consider all student debt -- it all has to be repaid.</p>

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<p>Dcho711- When I talked about my student loan debt (130K), it included everything from a Perkins loan, Stafford Loan, Federal Loans, and Private Loans. It doesnt include credit card debt which was also accumulated during my 4 years at college. But luckily I managed to pay those off.</p>

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<p>so if i accumulated about 50,000-60,000 student loan debt, wouldnt that be feasible to pay off without it seriously hindering me from living a normal life?</p>

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<p>Are you planning to attend grad school? And will you have bank loans, in addition to federal loans, that will need an adult co-signor and which will require you to pay interest immediately upon initiation of the loan?</p>

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<p>It's between UC-San Diego, UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Santa Cruz...and as of now I'm leaning toward UCSD...</p>

<p>Bowdoin, especially on the west coast, does not raise many eyebrows--if any...If I had been wanting to go merely on the grounds of prestige I wouldn't have chosen Bowdoin...this is entirely from an experiential and intellectual standpoint...</p>

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<p>and yes, I have heard about companies paying for MBAs...however I realistically shouldn't rely on such hypotheticals...</p>

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<p>I'm in sort of a similar situation--I'm waitlisted at Vassar, my dream school, but I know that even if I do get in off of the waitlist (and I realize that the chances are slim), it's not likely that my aid will be great/existant. I'm deciding between attending Dickinson and the University of Rochester, both of which gave me money, but from reading the numbers on this thread, it looks like I'm still in a bad situation money-wise. What do you think? </p>

<p>My parents are very confusing about what exactly they will be paying since they've told me that they can't meet the EFC. Neither parent agrees on exactly how much they will be able to manage--Dad says state school tuition (half each), whereas Mom doesn't seem to think they (she?) will be able to give me that much but repeats that they will both try to help me as much as they can. </p>

<p>My parents constantly give mixed messages about their financial situations...it's really confusing and hard to know who's being more realistic. Basically, though, neither of them has handled their money very well, so I'm honestly hesitant to take their advice. Is that horrible?</p>

<p>Anyway, if I go to Dickinson, I'll have somewhere between 22,000 (best case if my parents can meet their EFC) and 50,000 (if my parents can pay the state school price) total debt. If I go to Rochester, I'll have somewhere between 40,000 and 68,000 total debt. The second number for each school could actually be higher if my parents can't make the state school price, but I really have no idea what might be a minimum for them. Luckily almost all of my aid is merit (Benjamin Rush Scholar at D, Dean's scholarship from UR), so it won't change year to year. </p>

<p>I've appealed the aid at Rochester, although I'll probably just end up going to Dickinson because of the money. I can't visit either school and I'm not particularly enthusiastic about either (UR seems too big and science-oriented with bad weather, whereas Dickinson seems like high school all over again socially for some reason--maybe because six kids from my class are also going). I like Rochester's cluster system and that Eastman is next door (musical atmosphere), and I like Dickinson's smaller size and the fact that it seems slightly similar to Vassar in certain ways (according to my dad at least)...but neither one feels like a perfect fit. Financially or otherwise, any thoughts on my choice between the two? </p>

<p>I also have to ask--if you were in my shoes and Vassar came knocking with little to no aid, what would you do? Would the academic (and social?) environment at Vassar be worth the extra debt? I pretty much know the answer but I think I need someone else to tell me. I know that I'll eventually end up 'ok' at either of the schools I'm choosing between, but it's hard when neither school feels just right and there's still a thread of hope at the school that did, even though it isn't really an option. </p>

<p>Sorry for such a monster of a post...I'm just really worried about college and money in general, and I feel like a) I'm picking my college out of a hat (I used to love these schools but now I'm just not sure) and b) I feel like no matter what I do, I'll end up in a lot of debt. Plus there's c), my parents are being very unclear about money and it's making me extra-nervous. What am I getting myself into?</p>

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<p>I'm curious why say 50-75k is a horrible amount of debt.</p>

<p>I would think that many college students have at least 50k in debt. If you consider the fact that a lot of students go to out of state universities or private universities that cost them 25k+ just in tuition (more close to 40k with everything else), then they would owe 120-160k with no scholarships.</p>

<p>So, I would think say 70k debt isn't even that horrendous. It's obviously not good, but if you can stand living with your parents (if they allow it) for 2-3 years after school and have a job that pays 30-50k (possible), you'd be able to pay it off. However, I guess if you lived on your own it'd be far harder. If you then went to grad school it'd be worse.</p>

<p>I ask because of the horrible position I am in. </p>

<p>As of now I'm at Hofstra which, without any scholarships, would be 130k or so after 4 years. I have like half my tuition paid for, and I'll owe at least 60k. Now, I don't feel the education and experience here is worth that, especially when I KNOW I could be learning more at a better school. I have a 3.89 GPA and although I've enjoyed my classes and learned, I'm hardly pushed how hard I want to be pushed and the other students around me aren't serious about their education.</p>

<p>So, I'm trying to transfer, yet the schools I'm interested are out of state or private, because the SUNY schools all kind of suck. The best SUNY (Binghamton) I've heard nothing, but horrible things about from friends I know that went there and from these boards too. The next best universities I don't think I'll enjoy either and don't even have the strengths I want. It sucks that New York has such pathetic state universities compared to california, michigan, virginia and others. </p>

<p>What am I to do? I could settle with a SUNY and very little (hopefully they'd give me some money too), but not have a great education or time. Or I could go to a better school and owe up around 100-120k, if I get no scholarships. The best thing would be is get great scholarships from other schools, but who knows if that'll happen for me.</p>

<p>I need help, desperately.</p>