<p>@thumper1 each school i am considering has a remaining cost of ~20K + Stafford loans. My parents kept claiming they could pay some of it but they never mentioned until a few days ago it woul dbe paid for with loans. </p>
<p>So now i am looking at graduating with roughly 100-120k in debt (worst case) no matter where i go. The only other option is macaulay, which i still have to take out loans for room/board which would add up to 50k when i graduate. Either way a bad situation…but with my parents support I think it may be doable to pay off this debt and be out of my parents out within 5 years. </p>
<p>with no expenses other than travel to work…would contributing 50+% of my salary be a realistic option? In my opinion, i believe that since I will be in debt no matter where I go it would be better to sacrifice the first few years of independence completely pay off debts and live the rest of my life free of this burden … any thoughts? </p>
<p>Depends what your salary IS, assuming you are able to land a job upon college graduation as to what % you could devote to repaying college loans (most of which start charging interest from the date you receive them, an d tuition tends to rise every year). </p>
<p>Keep in mind, you will have to pay state, federal, social security and Medicare taxes, insurance (health, auto) and transportation expenses from your wages. You may also have to buy some professional clothing and may have to contribute to business meals and entertainment. These will all take a hefty chunk out of any income you make. </p>
<p>Really, students are advised to only take out the Stafford loans of under $30K for a MAX loan for their 4 years of college. $100-120-150k is really crushing debt for an undergrad degree. </p>
<p>@HImom I understand the loan is large…but regardless of what school i pick it will be 50k+ and if i don’t take these loans, with my parents current financial situation (long story and complicated but slowly getting better) they cannot contribute anything and the only option will be a CC (which i will not be doing). They will help me pay as much as they can as their situation slowly improves. but as of now this is the only option I have </p>
<p>As a student you will NOT be allowed to get these loans you are describing and will need a cosigner. You really need to rethink all of this so you don’t get crushing debt and then no way to even get the loans to finish any degree. I have known kids, including my D, who went to CC and then transferred and got their degree. It works if the student wants it and IMHO is MUCH better than graduating with tons of debt, IF you can get a cosigner who has good credit. </p>
<p>The problem is that PLUS loans are on your PARENTS not you, and are immediately repayable. If your parents are in a difficult financial sitaution, they may not get approved for PLUS loans… Furthermore they need to be approved every year.
In short, if your parents don’t contribute, you’re stuck.
Macaulay sounds like the only solution you have (Macaulay sometimes pays for room&board, check)</p>
<p>well my parents will definitely get approved, it’s not in a situation of bankruptcy or collections. They are planning on deferring the payments until graduation while paying interest. I will be helping them pay the loan is all I meant.
I am willing to do what I have to and make the sacrifices to get out of debt as quickly as possible. I am just asking if it is feasible to go through with this plan assuming the worst case scenario of around 100-110 k with a possibility of it being much lower if they start doing better/I get an RA position </p>
<p>Parent PLUS loans aren’t “refused” only in a situation of bankruptcy or collection - but if you have many credit cards, a bill that hasn’t been paid in 3 months, etc. As far as I know, for PLUS, you can’t defer payment until graduation.
The recommended limit is 27K for all 4 years. More than that is unlikely to be doable and 100k means you won’t be able to buy a car or move out of your parents’ house until you’re 40 or so.</p>
<p>Depending on what kind of work you get after you graduate, if it is tech (Amazon, Google and some start up companies in NYC) or finance, you could reasonably get paid 60-80K if not higher. If you are not able to get such a high paying job, then most likely you will have more time on your hand to get a second job on weekends. </p>
<p>Monthly payment for 100K at 6% over 5 years would be 2K. If you were to make 60K then your take home would be around 3K, which would leave you with very little spending money. Now, in reality, you probably can make some decent money over the summer by tutoring, waitressing or doing some real internship which pays real money. It is easier to get high paying internships in NYC than other parts of the count and it’ll a lot cheaper for you than for other students who do not live around the tri-state area. If you are a smart, hard worker, then it is very likely you will get raises and promotions, so you will not be making 60K for next 5 years.</p>
<p>Do I think 100K debt is doable if you plan on to major in something which would be marketable? Yes, but it would mean you’ll have a lot less options than other people when it comes to graduate schools, jobs, marriage, where you want to live. Something to think about.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 We were told by a University representative that PLUS payments could be deferred to graduation</p>
<p>@oldfort My take home would be 3k after…? and in the situation, would i really need more than 1k spending a month? i don’t think so, with no need for a car there is no need for insurance and there is no rent…most of my money can go twoards the debt. </p>
<p>My plan is obviously to first pay off my student loan debt quickly before helping my parents with the Plus payments </p>
<p>I think that you can go up to 35k in debt but I can’t imagine more than that. Optimally, only 1/3 income should go toward debt.
Are you assuming you’ll be living with your parents till age 30 or 35and will have a job in the city where they live (“no rent, no need for a car”)?</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 PLUS loans clearly say that the parent can take out up ot the cost of attendance so how is is only 35k?</p>
<p>I’m not assuming, my plan is to live with them for only 3-4 years max before moving out and make the largest dent possible in the debt </p>
<p>Again, the 100k is a worst case scenario, their financial situation is improving and every year they should be able to pay a little more, meaning less loans, on top of which I will be working summers and pushing for an RA position(this is know is not guaranteed) as well as any scholarships i can receive (I am planning on staying in close contact with FA office and my advisor whereever I end up) so there is also the possibility it could be a lot less than the ~100k </p>
<p>I guess I am just really worried because I understand the weight that such a debt could put on my life, but I feel like with a plan of attack it is possible…i’m just not sure how to approach the situation. I can’t help but feel like I am settling for less if I turn this down when my peers who I have done marginally better than for most of high school will end up going to better schools</p>
<p>No, I don’t mean legally but reasonably - 27K total over 4 years is what’s considered doable, paying off the loan over 10 years; if you have a higher than average salary, 35k total for 4 years sounds doable, but more than this, I’m really not sure.
Even if parents can take on the full cost each year, they can be turned down after a year or two since payment is cumulative - and each year this happens, with the kid left hanging and unable to return to college.
I may be too cautious since I don’t know what job you intend to have, what the professional opportunities would be for you living from your parents’ home, and I don’t think it’s possible to reimburse enough of a debt larger than 35k in 3-4-5years… (remember that typically 27k will take 10 years to pay back with a “normal” salary) yet I understand how Goizueta would seem to make sense, for instance, if you could afford it. Macaulay would be the cheaper option.
What choices are you looking into?</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 Emory, Villanova, Northeastern, Boston U, Fordham, Macaulay are my options. The privates all have given roughly the same package give or take a thousand and I am submitting appeals to all. Macaulay is free tuition but room/board is 12k per so i will go in debt 50k regardless…which is why i feel pushing for jobs over the summer and possibly an RA position to bring down debt level and graduate from a better school makes more debt. </p>
<p>While I understand you’re concern of me being able to pay, I am looking to go into finance (while IB would be great obviously it is not a guarantee from any of these schools), and if i can achieve a salary around the average of these schools (~54k) i feel that i can contribute much more than just 600 per month (35k/5 years) living with my parents. If anythign I can probably pay double that, possibly close to 1.5k per and We only live 20 minutes out of the city so any job I get is only a train ride away on the LIRR</p>