I was accepted to Villanova University, Boston College, and SUNY Binghamton this year. I would prefer to attend the schools in this particular order, but the first two will be hard to afford. My parents said they can cover the SUNY school price and I would need to cover the rest, which I believe is extremely fair. I need some advice deciding what I should do. Here is the breakdown.
Villanova
-would cost $52k to attend after grants
-minus the $23k from my parents leaves me with $29k per year I would need to pay
-after four years that is $116k I would be paying
Boston College
-would cost $55k to attend after grants
-minus the $23k from my parents leaves me with $32k per year I would need to pay
-after four years that is $128 I would be paying
Binghamton
-would cost $23k to attend with in-state pricing
-parents would be covering all of it, so I would graduate debt free
To me, it seems like a no brainer to attend Binghamton University, as it is both avery good school and much cheaper than the others. I just want to make sure that either of the other schools doesn’t justify over $100k in debt when I graduate.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
As a dependent student, you could borrow up to $5500 (Direct Loans) from Federal.
“The general rule of thumb for student loan borrowing is that the total amount of student debt should not exceed the borrower’s anticipated annual salary for the first year out of school;” so, will you get a job that pay $116K to $128K?
Do not get yourself in debt!!! You are getting a bachelor’s degree, there may be graduate school in your future, please do not set yourself up for the stress this will cause you when you graduate.
Without your parents cosigning you won’t be permitted to borrow the amounts that you state for Boston College or Villanova, which should take them out of consideration. I think you’re right that it’s a no-brainer decision – $116,000 to $128,000 in debt is ruinous – that’s the kind of debt that gets your photo inset in a scornful New York Times article.
Asked and answered.
And just out of curiosity, where were you planning to get the $100k+ to attend either of the other schools?
lol…NO WAY are those schools (or any school) worth that kind of debt. (were your parents going to cosign that crazy debt??? )
You won’t get a better paying job from those schools.
Fast forward 4-14 years from now…you’ve graduated with a whole bunch of debt. Your monthly payments are huge. Your colleagues who graduated from cheaper schools with little or no debt are BEING PAID THE SAME…and therefore they have extra money to buy a home, a nice car, travel, and maybe start a family.
YOU cannot do those things because too much of your TAKE HOME pay will be going towards loan payments.
You will become sooooooooooo annoyed watching your peers move along with their lives, while you’re stuck with senseless debt.
Hmmmm…now tell me why you’d even consider borrowing that much???
Well you took your shot but your didn’t get any need aid or scholarships. Since your parents don’t want to pay for those, there isn’t any choice.