How Much Debt Is Too Much?

[Guarino3]

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Hi guys, I am new here. I hope you don't mind a high school student asking a question. Anyway, I am quickly approaching the end of my high school carear and am facing a big decision. Do I want to go to a very good private school and incur close to $100,000 in debt, or do I want to go to a good public school (in my case, UDel honors program), for practically nothing, perhaps around 2 thousand dollars a year. I am really drawn between this decision because not only will I be 100k in debt from Ugrad, but I will be spending another large amount of money on medical school. I was just wondering what some medical students think on this subject. Do you regret going to a top undergrad school, incuring a lot of debt, and wish that you took a free education at a public school, or are you glad that you spent your college years in an intelectually stimulating environment. Also, for those of you who chose to go to a public school for free, do you regret not having taken your spot at a good private school? I am sorry for the long post, but I am really wondering whether I want to be a quarter of a million dollars in debt once I [hopefuly] graduate from medical school. Thanks for your help!
🙂

 

[goofygirl80]

$100,000 is an outrageous amount of debt for undergrad, do people really take out that much in loans for college? Is there any possibility for academic or need based scholarships? I can't imagine taking out that much in loans plus whatever you'll have to take out for med school.

My experience is a lot different because I went to a small, private school which gave a very good education and would have never gone to a public school (didn't even apply to any) because of the whole class size thing. My school would have cost me around $100,000 - $115,000 total except that my family is lower middle class and had multiple kids in college at the time, so a good portion of my education was paid for by financial aid grants and an academic scholarship so I only paid between three and five thousand each year and have a debt of around $20,000 total for the whole four years.

I picked my undergrad because I thought I would be happiest there (also how I picked my med school even though it was the more expensive of the two I was chosing from). I got a lot out of college that way, so I say go where you'll be happiest. If saving $100,000 makes you happier than going to the expensive school then go to your state school otherwise go to the private school. Only you know what is important to you in a school, so only you can really say which is the right choice.

Good Luck with your choice!!

goofygirl

 

[Resident Alien]

Any debt is too much debt.
Go to the public school if it saves you more money. Wait till med school to take out loans. You'll be a lot happier. I went to a public school with practically nothing to pay, has made life lot easier given i now go to an expensive private school.

 

[A&W]

Ultimately the decision is up to you. But let me share with you my experience. When I was in high school, my family was very low on money and like you, I wasn't sure I wanted to incur a lot of education debt.
I got a full scholarship to UC Riverside(supposedly everything) and a half scholarship to Johns Hopkins (I got free tuition but had to pay my own room and board). I chose UC Riverside.
If I could do my life over I would not go to UC Riverside and I would choose JHU or one of the other good private schools I got scholarships at. Yes, I would be a lot more in debt probably at the private schools- but I also feel my educational experience would have been more rich. I am also somewhat bitter because they reduced my scholarships after my first year at UCR, which I didn't find out until I was already there. Even though they told me the award was the same every year, they made claims to me that they were cutting programs etc. It was also probably because I didn't read all the small print or they didn't disclose everything- or some combination of the two. I found in that case that whoever holds the money is the one who is in control.I felt that in some way the scholarships I got were somewhat of a come on just so I could enroll. The whole experience made me realize that even if you have to pay more to go to the school you want, and yes, it can seem like a lot- it will be worth it. If you are really not sure which school you like more- than go to the cheaper school.
Does your undergrad school matter where you end up? Not really. I love my medical school, Medical College of Wisconsin. Was my educational experience at UCR rewarding for me? I learned the things I needed to know, but I also found that classes I wanted to take were often full or limited or very overcrowded.

 

[banannie]

guarino3, have you already applied to schools, or are you planning to apply this fall?

if you've already applied, and you've gotten financial aid packages back, and the choice really is between UDel honors versus $100,000 debt, I'd say definitely go to UDel. Their honors program is nothing to sneeze at (my friend from high school did it, and it definitely wasn't a breeze). I think you'd have a very intellectually rich experience, though you'd probably better go to the school prepared to party. 😉 Plus, coming from UDel, you'd have a really excellent shot at getting into Jefferson Medical College, and that's a super school.

however, if you have yet to apply, please don't hesitate to apply to some highly-ranked private schools. i got amazing financial aid from my school, and came out with less than $5,000.00 in loans. one really good school to look at is Rice University in Texas. as soon as you're done filling out you college apps this fall, start filling out financial aid applications. there is tons of money out there, and for some of the scholarships, all you have to do is ask.

good luck!

 

[Guarino3]

Thanks for all of the advice guys, I will have to think hard about this one. By the way, for the poster who asked, I am currently a HS junior; I will be applying in the fall.

 

[NUcat]

guarino3,
I agree, you should definitely apply and see what the financial aid packages are like. Many top private schools give generous aid and you will likely end up paying much less than you think. When I was still applying for undergrad, I remember that offers from several universities meant that the amount I would pay in total (up front + loans) was only 5 of 6 thousand more (over 4 years)than at my state school which gave essentially 0 aid. It will depend on the school.

 

[paean]

I went to Berkeley on a partial scholarship, graduated with about 25K debt (between what I took out an a few K my parents took out). My other option was going to a school I really liked, but would have at least tripled my debt. I'm really happy with my decision. My debt is entirely from living expenses, which you will probably incur anywhere unless you plan to work a lot (I worked intermittently) or you have families that can help you out. If you go to a public school and do very well, you will do fine in terms of grad/med schools. There are great things to be said about going to top schools, but good public schools or good programs within public schools often work out well.

 

[Sprout]

You should definitely apply to the top-tier schools and don't make any decisions until you get your financial aid packages. Often times the most "pretigious" schools have the most money, which means the most cushy financial aid packages. I graduated from Stanford (which looooves to give generous packages) with less than $20,000 in loans, and I only paid about $3,000 out of pocket every year... It was definitely worth it -- I would never regret my decision. 🙂

 

[washkeep]

I am really wondering what private school this is, is it a secret? Anyway, I was in your situation and I decided on taking on a HUGE debt. My school is so damn competitive it sucks the fun right out of the undergrad experience. It's a research institute, much like hopkins, and there are no fun DI sporting events and there's definately no great social life.

And I always have the worry about the cost hanging over me. 😡 I found out yesterday my brilliant orgo professor started at a junior college! And most of my professors went to state schools.

Just pick a place where you'll be happy.

 

[kreno]

Is it true that the IVY's generally give you less aid? i know at the undergrad level they don't give out academic or athletic scholarships... but does that philosophy also kinda go into med school? Why is this - historically?

 

[DW]

Originally posted by kreno
Is it true that the IVY's generally give you less aid? i know at the undergrad level they don't give out academic or athletic scholarships... but does that philosophy also kinda go into med school? Why is this - historically?

not necessarily. the ivies give out pretty good need based fin aid at the undergrad level. when i was applying to college, columbia and dartmouth offered me a very nice package, but I opted for Emory instead.

on the medical school level, I think (correct me if i'm wrong) UPenn is the only Ivy that gives out any form of merit scholarships. The rationale Cornell gave us is "you all have merit for getting to this point, so our aid is strictly need based". you wont see me complaining 😉