Help choosing college/debt

[phillyfan49]

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I am in a dilema and I have about a month to decide where I want to attend college. I have 3 schools that I am deciding between, my #1 choice private college, and two other colleges. The issue here is money. My #1 choice will cost around $43,000 per year. I received an $11,000 scholarship from them which nailed down the tuition to around $32,000 per year. I received my financial aid package back and gained an additional 5,000 in grant money, as well as $2,000 for federal work study, making the total $25,000. My parents have said they will pay $10,000 per year, making MY total $15,000 per year. My plan is to also go on to medical school. Will $60k in college debt be too much before college? I do currently have a summer job where I plan on making $5,000 per summer, which I will put $4,000 directly towards paying for my education. I do not know if I could handle a weekend job on top of work study, but I am willing to do what it takes. I got $7,500 worth of loans, which means I will need to take out a private loan. Would it be realistic to pay this off once out of medical school?

My question is should I go to my number one choice school and incur $60k in debt, or should I go to a state school where I will incur around $25k in debt?

 

[bucks2010]

Take the state option. For a few reasons:

1. Pretty much any accredited state school will have the resources you need to build an excellent medical school application.

2. Undergrad name matters very, very little - less than the $45k diff between schools. What matters is that you do well where you are. Get involved in research, volunteer, start an organization. All these things you can do at a state school.

3. You will be less stressed trying to work so much during the year to minimize your debt.

4. Med school tuition is going up continuously. Minimize your debt so that when you get to med school, you won't have to let your debt load determine your specialty choice.

Full disclosure: I go to a state school and am graduating debt-free this May. Looking back on my undergrad experience, I doubt that the experience I could've had at a private school would've made up for the debt I would've accumulated. The experience you get at a private school will probably not be worth that much to you after you graduate and spend the next decade or two paying it off.

 

[Iapyx]

I agree completely with the above poster. The debt free issue will be a huge bonus.