<p>With the budget cuts and increase in tuition, UCLA will cost over $52,000 next year for an out of state student. I was accepted for fall of 2010, however I am weighing the costs/benefits of attending UCLA over a smaller, lesser known school in Maryland that will only cost $35,000 per year. Although my family is considered to be lower-middle class, we only received $4,000 in financial aid from UCLA. Is it worth it to graduate with immense loans from a prestigious school such as UCLA or go to the smaller, lesser known university?</p>
<p>Don’t you have an in-between option? (Like Penn State U???)</p>
<p>If not, then you’d have to juggle between the two. Probably going to the obscure state school won’t matter if its well-recognized at home. You live in Maryland? Right?</p>
<p>my personal opinion is that for $52K you can attend a school with smaller classes, more personal attention, etc. Graduating with $200K in loans is a poor decision, IMHO. You will be paying them back until you are your parents age, they will close many career options to you because you have to make the repayments (even if the option, such as a prestigious internship after college, would have set you up for a fantastic career), etc.</p>
<p>The issue is that his other choice is $35k a year. His savings aren’t going to be “phenomenal”.</p>
<p>I’m actually an OOS student at UCLA right now. I took out $40K in loans just this year. And let me tell you this- it’s definitely not worth it. I’m actually transferring out of UCLA due to the high cost. Taking out loans might not seem like a big deal now (and I didn’t think it was a big deal when I decided to go here). It never hit me until I turned in my first loan check for $13,000 for fall quarter fees, realizing that not only would I be doing that 3 times a year for 4 years, but that I would have to pay all that back. </p>
<p>You may hate turning down a school as good as UCLA now, but you will be thankful in the future. Its better to either spend the $52K at a private university, or to go for the local state school and save money. I’ve learned that it really does not matter that much where you go to college as long as you make good grades and are involved with activities and all that.</p>
<p>35 vs. 52 might not seem like a lot right now, but after interest (for subsidized you don’t have to pay that until after graduation, but unsubsidized loans and regular student loans start accruing immediately) that borrowing any amount like that will turn out to be huge.</p>
<p>This reminds me of my current situation. This is my first year at UCLA, as an out-of-state student, and I am practically paying for school through all loans. Now, yes, you’ll be repaying these loans for a good portion of your life and, yes, it is a lot of money but if you truly want to go to this school then go. There will be a hefty sum of money to pay back once you graduate but it’s not impossible to do; just follow your payment plan and all is well. Plus, now that the government is cutting out the middle man and handling all student loans directly, the interest rate is bound to be lower. Besides, there are always scholarship opportunities out there as well. Here’s the bottom line: If you really want to go to this school, don’t let loans stop you. For some people, UCLA isn’t worth the debt; for some people, it is. It really all depends on you. Now I have had far from the perfect Freshman year but I don’t regret my choice. In the end, it boils down to how much you value this school.</p>