<p>I'm a freshman Political Science major. By the time I graduate I predict to be $75,000 in debt. I expect to receive no financial help from my parents. Is 75K too much for a PoliSci undergrad?</p>
<p>I can pay it back in three years, if I get a $40K/year job, and move back to my parent's house where I don't have to pay bills. But is that still too much?</p>
<p>IMO, too much. What happens if you don’t find a $40,000 a year job, or ANY job? What happens if you don’t want to move back to your parents’ house, or if for some reason it’s not an option? What if you want to get married, do a career enhancing internship or take a public service job? Don’t count on paying it back in 3 years - that’ll be tough even living at home and sponging off your parents.</p>
<p>This is too much. In fact it is about three times as much as you should be contemplating. Run the calculators at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) to get a better picture of what repaying these loans would be like.</p>
<p>The only loans you can be certain of qualifying for are the federal loans (Stafford, Perkins, etc.) and there are maximum amounts that you can borrow each year and a total maximum for your undergraduate degree. If you don’t have a well-qualified co-signer, you aren’t going to be able to get more than that.</p>
<p>If you get a $40K/year job (and there are plenty of people who barely are making minimum wage with a four year degree in PoliSci out there), you will pay at least $10K/year in taxes (more depending on the state/city where you live). Even if your parents feed and house you, in order to pay off $75k plus accumulated interest in only three years, during those three years you would barely be able to buy so much as a stick of gum for yourself, let alone pay for a working wardrobe and transportation to and from work.</p>
<p>And one has to ask, if your parents won’t help pay for college, why do you think they will let you move home and eat on their dime while you are paying off your loans?</p>
<p>You need to find a less expensive way to get your education.</p>
<p>Normally I would say that is too much debt but if you actually have a plan in place to pay it back then you might be able to convince me. You have to stick with your plan. You can’t get married, you need to live at home and devote as much of your paycheck to your students loans as you can.</p>
<p>I would hardly call this sponging off of your parents since it sounds like they aren’t helping you with your education. They can do this instead. (I assume you have cleared this arrangement with them.)</p>
<p>*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>I’m a freshman Political Science major. By the time I graduate I predict to be $75,000 in debt. I expect to receive no financial help from my parents. Is 75K too much for a PoliSci undergrad? *</p>
<p>That is TWICE as much as you should borrow.</p>
<p>* I can pay it back in three years, if I get a $40K/year job, and move back to my parent’s house where I don’t have to pay bills. But is that still too much? *</p>
<p>Yes…that is still too much. I doubt you’d be able to pay that back in 3 years even if you do live at home. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that you will not receive $40k per year in PAY… As a single person, you will be paying a chunk out in fed, state, local, and FICA taxes. Also healthcare, car payment, car insurance etc.</p>
<p>Also**…WHAT if you don’t find a job near your parents’ home? **What if you can only find a job that is too far away! </p>
<p>What if you can’t find a job? What if you can’t find a job that pays that much? What kind of job do you think is going to start you at $40k?</p>
<p>And…What if you’re in a relationship at that time and don’t want to be living at your parents’ home. It is VERY hard to live at home after you’ve had the freedom of living away at school. </p>
<p>Where are you going to school?</p>
<p>Can you commute to a local public?</p>
<p>How are you getting those big loans? Are your parents co-signing? What if they don’t qualify in a later year?</p>
<p>I go to state school, where I pay about $10K/year.</p>
<p>The $75,000 debt is a hypothetical. It’s how much I estimate I will be in debt, if I transfer out my junior year, which I really want to do.</p>
<p>If I graduate from my state school, I’ll be about $35K in debt. Which is a lot less than $75K. However, I don’t want to graduate from here. I’m not happy here.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t think I’ll have too much of a hard time finding a $40k/year job. I live a couple miles away from the corporate capital of the world, New York City. If I can’t find a job there, I can’t find a job anywhere.</p>
<p>The schools I’ll looking to transfer to are:
U of Miami
Syracuse
Boston U</p>
<p>The tuition of these schools all range from $35K-$40K. So I’ll need an estimate of $50K to attend. Now, the average need-based scholarship or grant award for these schools is about $25K.</p>
<p>$50K - $25K = $25K. That’s how much I’ll have to borrow for each of my Junior year and Senior year. Add that to the $25K I’ll spend after two years at my current school, and I will owe $75K.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>my thoughts:
<p>I agree. too much debt.
Focus your energy on getting the absolute most out of the college you are currently attending. Try to get internships/research/other opportunities.
That will help you get that first job more than a degree from Miami (nothing wrong w/ Miami–I’m just saying none of the schools are worth 75k in debt).</p>
<p>And who will be loaning you that kind of money? Will your parents cosign? Do they qualify for that size of loans?</p>
<p>I wish you the best–don’t overload w/ debt, you will regret it.</p>
<p>Finish at the state school and minimize your debt.</p>
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</p>
<p>That doesn’t mean you’ll receive $25K, that is just the average from the spectrum of all students receiving financial aid. If it is need-based assistance then your award will be determined by the financial situation of your parents.</p>
<p>@NJCollegeBoy - what is your math for being able to pay of $75k of debt in 3 years?</p>
<p>I got an idea! Listen to this!</p>
<p>The summer before I head to Miami (assuming I get accepted), I will go to the middle of Times Square, next to the Naked Cowboy, and hold a HUGE sign that will read “COLLEGE STUDENT FROM LOWER-CLASS. NEED SUMMER JOB TO PAY FOR $35,000+ TUITION”. I Will do this everyday, wearing in a shirt and tie. Eventually the local news outlets will catch wind of it, and publish my story, which some sympathetic CEO will read, and offer me a job were I’ll be able to make twice of what I initially needed for Miami. Problem solved!</p>
<p>My son makes about that much a year working in Midtown Manhattan and is living at home. Even with no debts, he’s finding it hard to make ends meet and save some money. Not saying it isn’t possible, but you do have to buy clothes for work, there is transportation, searching for work expenses. It also took him several years to find a job at this level. He was working in retail making far less for several years before this truly living hand to mouth.</p>
<p>*If I graduate from my state school, I’ll be about $35K in debt. Which is a lot less than $75K. However, I don’t want to graduate from here. I’m not happy here.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>NEWS FLASH!!!</p>
<p>You may not be happy at this school for the next 2 years, but I can promise you that you’ll be MISERABLE for several (or many) years AFTER you graduate.</p>
<p>*Now, the average need-based scholarship or grant award for these schools is about $25K.
*</p>
<p>WHERE are you getting that info? That is probably for INCOMING freshmen…not transfer students. Transfer students often get very little aid because they have no incentive to have you come to their school. And “average” does NOT mean that YOU would be given that amount.</p>
<p>What is your EFC? (not that it would matter much.) </p>
<p>What makes you think that you’ll be happier going to school elsewhere? AND WHO would co-sign those huge loans (and qualify to sign them BOTH years)?</p>
<p>stay at your local school. When you graduate, put the money that you think you would have been using to pay off the debt into a savings account for your kid’s college education.</p>
<p>My EFC was $0 last year. Now it’s $19. It’ll most likely be $0 again next year, since my dad got laid off.</p>
<p>Btw, I’m not graduating from my current school. When I said “I’m not happy”, I didn’t mean I’m not happy because I have no friends or anything like that. I have plenty of friends in my school. The reason I’m not happy is going the school is an academic joke. It’s sucks. It’s a glorified high school. A diploma from there is worthless. The only reason I choose to attend was to save money so I can transfer out after two years.</p>
<p>First couple of years are often uninspiring at state schools, but when you get into the advanced courses, there won’t be as many large classes, and things tend to get better. Financially, you are much better off that way. Getting a job is no cinch even in NYC and getting enough to pay off the loans quickly is even tougher. As difficult as my son feels he has it, at least the only monthly payment he had was his car payment and he now has a paid car. With loans he wouldn’t have been able to save a cent, get a car, do much of anything.</p>
<p>If you really hate your school that much, then look into transferring to another NJ state school–there are some well-regarded ones and it’ll be cheaper than Miami or any of your OOS /private ideas.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>NJ, jobs for liberal arts grads are tough all over. I dont know what school you are attending, but why dont you look at transferring to Rutgers?</p>
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</p>
<p>Rutgers is my safety. My worst case scenario. I strongly prefer Miami though.</p>
<p>Even with an EFC of 0, you’re not going to get a lot of aid from schools that do not give great aid to transfer students. These schools may ONLY give you a Pell Grant and a student loan. They have no incentive to give you their limited grant money because they’ll use that to attract the best incoming frosh class…because that improves their rankings. </p>
<p>you need to find another NJ public to transfer to…how about TCNJ or Ramapo? You’ll get Pell, NJ state aid, etc.</p>