Would GWU be worth the debt?

Colleges and Universities A-Z George Washington University
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<p>My college choices are down to GWU (Honors) and my safety school, the University of Central Florida, also Honors. I would love to go to GWU, especially since I got into the Honors Program. I want to be involved in politics and major in economics, and there is no better place in the world than D.C. There would normally not be any comparison between the two schools, but my worry is the cost.</p>

<p>If I were to go to UCF, I have enough scholarships that I would be paid a significant amount of money each year to go there--as in, a couple thousand dollars each year in free money. The financial aid package GWU gave me was very generous, and I would only have to take out about 7k in loans for my first year. The thing is, my (single) mother will be graduating school in a few weeks and her income for 2010 will be 30k per year as opposed to zero income in 2009. My worry is that my aid could go down significantly (GWU won't give me a straight answer) and that I may have to take out a great deal more in loans than I anticipated.</p>

<p>Considering that I want to go to Law School directly after undergrad and have costs to think about there, would the debt for undergraduate at GWU be worth it to get the opportunities in D.C., especially with the fields I'm interested in? Would it be better to sacrifice those experiences for a free education? Or, considering I want to be competitive for such things that UCF has never had students claim such as the Harry S Truman Scholarship and admissions to Ivy League Law Schools, would being significantly more limited in options be more harmful than the potential debt?</p>

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<p>If you are thinking of going to law school, then try to go to undergrad school with less money. It is going to cost A LOT to go to law school and after grad school, you will have the debt anyways… Sadly, it’s the same for me :wink: I am also thinking of going to law school and deciding to go to undergrad school with least expensive money that is also offering me a scholarship:)</p>

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<p>is gw worth the debt…no but, is any school with the debt?..no GW happened to give me the most money anyway, so it all worked out, however keep in mind that no education is worth 50+ grand a year</p>

<p>however, with that said, gw is still a great school and, though over-priced (along with all private schools) has given me much opportunity thus far</p>

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<p>GW has tons of opportunities, but you are getting paid to go to UCF. Free money vs lost money is a pretty important thing to think about. Especially considering you can probably take the free money and apply it to law school.</p>

<p>Also, more than likely your FA would decrease when your mom’s earnings increase. They aren’t giving you a straight answer, perhaps, but the answer should be obvious. </p>

<p>I think if you do well at UCF you will get into law school and do fine. GW is nice, but a hard worker is a hard worker. We’re in America; we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps!</p>