@ucbalumnus, Cincy is also public.
In any case, given the details, I would choose the “no debt” option. Don’t see any reason to feel bad or second-guess.
Actually, it is probably Cincinnati versus Dayton (in the previous post, mistook Akron and Toledo for private schools).
JMO, it’s worth it for a STEM degree if the private college really has a much better program with a great track record of job/grad school placement. But it’s important for your child to see the numbers laid out. How much will the loan payments actually be once the job starts? How much can they realistically expect to pay for rent, car, insurance, etc.? We went through all of this with our S before he took out loans and before we took out a PLUS loan. It’s still a little scary, but he is a senior now and has a decent prospect for a job (in music no less!) that will enable him to afford the loan payment.
We just went through this with our daughter who will be an art major. She decided on her own that taking on any debt at all for an art degree is dumb, so she will go to the state school even though she was accepted at a couple of very prestigious art schools. (Like your D, she also did not want to go to the huge flagship state U., but the local state school has an excellent art program and she loves the school.) That might have been a different decision if she had been looking at the same schools for business or engineering.
I would not let my son attend a school where someone would have had 80K in debt to pay back. Period. Even though it was number 1 in the major he wanted in the world. (JHU for biomedical engineering, if people are wondering). I did agree to sort of split the difference, and he is at a different private school, where he will have at most 15K in loans (different major). He got a decent scholarship, and we are paying more than we planned, without impacting our retirement. However, I will tell you that his great HS study habits and grades did not stay the same throughout college, and now I’m frustrated that I am paying a lot of money for less than stellar performance.
What is the recommended limit for student loans? If it’s a BS-CS degree does it matter what school? I hear from 50% of sites I go to that name matters if it has a good program but also if top companies in your kids intended field attends the schools career fairs. How do I find the info I need to put together a good pros and cons list for choosing between schools? We are new at this and have no one to turn to for guidance and we are overwhelmed any help or advice will be appreciated! Also is it normal that we haven’t received any FA award packages yet? We applied to FAFSA early & we have received scholarships from a few schools but not the full FA packages yet.
@IsItOverYetMom check portals for financial aid awards at accepted schools. D had a few emails hit her spam folder. If awards aren’t posted yet check FA checklist to make sure they have everything. FA awards have come about two weeks after acceptances for the schools we have already heard from. Sorry…I am New too so cannot answer the other questions.
Re: #24
The common viewpoint is that no more than federal direct loans would be advisable. Remember that even students going into majors which have better job prospects may change to different majors, or an economic or industry downturn may occur just as the student is graduating.
@IsItOverYetMom, for CS, what school you go to could matter for recruiting opportunities and friends you form.
You could just lay out options and costs once you have them and ask for opinions.
Thank You for replying so soon my nerves can’t take anymore waiting lol! Shouldn’t Pell Grants and other loan options available to us be posted in the schools FA award posts? A few schools posted but they only show the COA and they subtracted what the scholarship amount from the school was but there is nothing else posted. I know we qualify for a Pell Grant and at least one of the loans should be offered to us according to our FAFSA estimates. It’s been awhile since we were accepted into some of our schools and S checks email and portal everyday. A few did ask for tax transcripts because we couldn’t use the DRT but some just said unless they request more info don’t worry about it. I just assumed most schools started posting award info on portals in march and april after looking at some of the posts I’m getting worried that others have their FA awards in. Is it because they were EA or ED applicants? All S schools are reg decision schools a few were rolling admissions. Also about finding info to put together pros and cons list. How do I find which school has a better program than another is there an official list I can check to compare schools? Visiting the schools website will only give me positive info. Thanks again.
How much debt a college is worth is so dependent on you and your child. If you are in your 40’s with 20+ working years, you may be more willing to take on debt that would make a 55+ parent uncomfortable. Or if the issue is more or less cash flow, then debt might make sense.
For me, $16,000 loan freshman year with loans anticipated every year is too much. That means the student and parents will have $80,000+(?) in loans at graduation. D has a teacher who talked about student loans to the kids. He told them bluntly avoid debt; his life would be so different if he didn’t have the debt. I don’t know his particulars but he is definitely feeling the strain and burden of school debt.
We are aiming for no debt but if needed, I think I would put the limit at the cost of a new car, say Honda Civic (I haven’t a clue what one costs but that burden seems reasonable to a young adult).
FWIW, we got our financial aid packages via US mail but D applied EA to all but one school (no FA package from them yet)
@IsItOverYetMom - Try this calculator once you have all the aid packages: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
As to finding out which is “better”, that takes time at each institution’s website reading through the specific graduation requirements for the major(s) of interest, and chatting with the career center at each campus. Yes the career centers are likely to give only the most positive take on job placement, and the departments are likely to give only the most positive take on grad school admissions, but this information will give you an overall notion of the state of affairs.
Both of our sons attended instate public universities. S1 got a full scholarship to big state u. S2 was full pay but his directional state u. was within our college budget. Both loved their schools and in hindsight would make the same choices.
It’s been a few years now since they’ve graduated. They were SO happy to be debt free upon graduation. They have so many more options in life without having debt…S1 bought a house at the beach, a truck and travels pretty much anywhere he wants to go. In a few weeks, S2 is moving from his suburban rental into his dream location downtown in a big city. His rent will more than double but he’s able to have that experience because he has no debt.
If your D is happy to go to the state school, by all means encourage her and congratulate her on making a wise decision for her future. My DH got his engineering degree at state u. He’s had a very successful 33 year career in the nuclear power generation industry.
OP said her D is leaning toward one of the affordable options. That’s not bad. This is different when the kid wants more than the parents can easily pay for.
I’m confused whether the 16k annual load is Parent Plus loans, sparing the D any student loans, or whether it includes student debt. If the student does max out her loans (28k,) the monthly payment, after graduation, is closer to $325. Otoh, if it’s 64k in PP, each year’s loan starts requiring payment the following spring. By the spring of graduation, the parents are paying for four loans, maybe $750/month.
If OP and DH are “intimately familiar” with engineering and satisfied D could get a solid education at the affordable public- and if D is happy with it- I’m not sure she should second guess
Well, I’m one that feels private school can be worth it. How much “worth it” depends on the particular family. My D will graduate with 12K in subsidized student loans upon graduation from her private school. Totally worth it in our book. She wanted a small LAC with direct access to professors and lots of opportunities right off the bat. There were “no loan” options but they were huge state schools that where we knew she’d be unhappy. No, we have no regrets but then, we also have no “parent loan” which was the condition of it all (we have more than one kid to put through college.) We have a certain amount to contribute and any loans were the students responsibility.
Obviously, 16K and year for 64 K total is quite a different number that would not been in line with our plans. I guess it’s up to you whether that amount is still worth it.
I think if the loan amounts were within what she could sign for herself, I would have no problem at all. But it’s well over that. I have two other children heading towards college in the next 5 years. I have to keep that in mind too,
@turtletime, whether loans are worth it also depends on which private school. And what the alternatives are. And what the loan amount is.
@PurpleTitan HAha, was this for my benefit? Like I said, it’s up to the family and whatever factors are involved in the debt they are looking at when determining the “worth” of the debt. For us, the debt was worth it. In the OP’s situation, it would NOT be worth it. The OP will know that line for herself.