[USER]

Student loans/financial aid question.
Our kid was accepted into a private college for her undergrad to pursue business analytics.

Total yearly cost is $67,000.00
Total bachelors degree is $268,000.00
She received $120,000 scholarship for tuition/room and board and $4300/yr grant.

Unfortunately we’re on the hook for the other $130,800.
Yearly loan amounts are as follows

$3500/ yr subsidized loan or $14,000 at 6.53 or $159.18/mo (straight-line estimate)

$2000/ yr unsubsidized loan or $8,000 at 6.53 or 90.96/mo (straight-line estimate)

Parent plus loan $27,180/yr or $108,720 or $1381.93/mo at 9.08% (straight-line estimate) due 60 days after
disbursement each year.

With an upfront fee of 4% of the loan amount or $4348.90 total.

Total payable over 4 years is $130,800.00 at $1632.07/mo for 10 years using the straight line estimate (not accounting for interest accruals).

She has about 18 transferable credit hours from advanced placement classes. She is still applying for additional scholarships but feel they will be short the 27k that is owed.

Being 34 and 35 years old this is a burden that we cannot take on especially when we’re still paying on our student loans ($923/mo) and looking to purchase a home this year.

What other funding options or suggestions should we look for?

[Heather]

Please don’t do this to yourselves or your child. No undergrad degree is worth that.

[Denise]

It sounds like a great opportunity for your daughter, however, I’d suggest 2 years at community college and then 2 years at University.

It’s a much more affordable option given your stated finances and goals to purchase a home.

We did this with our son and saved almost $60,000 in tuition. He graduates in June with no student loan debt.

[Cristina]

Here to offer some encouragement. I was your kid. My parents were themselves poor and had climbed into “near” middle class.

I got into school, an Ivy League, and they had no money to offer me.

I graduated with over $100k in student loans, the only one in my class with that amount, and I paid it off within 10 years of graduating.

The student loans motivated me to move fast, stay hungry and grind.

The private school and connections I made allowed me to gain very good employment and move to higher paying jobs quickly.

If your kid wants to do more school beyond bachelor then maybe not the best move but otherwise I would keep a positive mindset and celebrate her getting in.

[Robert]

This might hurt to hear, but $130,000 (on the low end because prices tend to rise 5% per year) is not worth it, especially for a generic business degree.

The average value of a bachelors degree today is $40-80k, (and that value depends on gender and degree).

Once you pass $80k, you really run the risk of being a statistic of the student loan crisis.

I’d strongly suggest finding alternatives that you can afford and can deliver a positive economic outcome for your family.

[Gina]

I would not let my kids take out student loans. Why would you want them to start their adult life in debt?

We had 6 kids. No loans!

4 have college degrees.

[Lindsay]

My niece is currently in a private college for her undergrad and it’s been a nightmare. She wishes she would’ve gone state.

It’s fairly easy to get accepted. Unless this program has an amazing reputation I’d recommend going to a state school.

[Ardelia]

My goodness. What’s the major.? Sounds so wasteful. A community College and in state public university would save maybe 75% of that and not saddle the kid with debt

[Nicole]

And undergrad degree from Harvard and an undergrad degree from UC IRVINE are the exact same.

No job cares

[Lacey]

$130k for an undergrad degree?! No F@$&ING WAY. Really bad ROI.
The perceived “need” to go to a prestigious school is all marketing hype and propaganda.

99% of employers don’t give a shit what school a bachelors degree came from.

So why pay through the nose when you don’t need to.

[Jacob]

There’s lots of good advice here regarding in-state opportunities, but as a business analytics professional (and not trying to be snarky) I would have her treat this as a case study in business analytics to determine the best decision for an organization to make given the variables involved.

[Lauren]

My suggestion is go with a cheaper school. Plenty of cheaper places to get a bachelor’s in business analytics.

There’s so much hype over the best schools etc but it rarely matters in the end.

That’s more than I spent on undergrad and vet school combined

[Tony]

This is the price you’ll pay when you let a 17 year old who has no life experience or sense of ROI pick her dream school without financial consequences.

In my state CC is free and the final two years at a state school are 30k/yr without FA, but average cost after aid is closer to 18k (36k for 2 years).

Your state is likely similar. Be the parent and set up parameters and financial guardrails.

As someone who works in higher Ed, I assure you that you can make a much better ROI-based decision than this.

Would you let your daughter buy a 100k Land Rover if it was her dream car, knowing that a 25k Corolla will also get her where she needs to go? Probably not.

[Nancy]

What other schools has she applied to? You can join paying for college 101 and research other schools. There’s no magic in finding more money.

You may need to find a “meets need” school.

Yet we get it. Time is tight as it’s already almost April. But better to realize now than in august when school starts

There’s a lot of other choices than just “community college”. Although that’s a valid start. What other schools are nearby? Does she play a sport?

(My nephew is in a school with a lot of sports and the overall tuition is less than what you’re still paying here).

Time for everyone to dig in and find the perfect fit school.
Good luck

[Twyla]

My heart aches for you. We went through this last year. Same situation but my daughter wanted to be a doctor.

We had to unfortunately stand firm that this is financially disastrous even with additional scholarships.

It was painful but we got her to go to a state school that she loves. Her degree is not worth that money.

This is my field and I know people that do not have a bachelor’s that held this type of role. A community college plus state would be perfect for this degree.

Hugs to you but I would stand firm.

She has to find a cheaper option especially for the type of degree she is getting.

[Audrey]

Go to a cheaper school. Business analytics is fast becoming a crowded market and 300k for a bachelor’s isn’t going to give much ROI.

[Nicholas]

Business analytics? Go to a local state school for 1/5 the cost. You don’t even have a house yet and you’re looking to take out 100k+ in student loans??

[Erica]

This proved to be a great opportunity for our kids. There’s what I want in life and then what’s attainable.

Maybe a state school for undergrad and look at private later, once they’ve saved up for it/qualify for larger loans.

[Lisa]

Is she looking at instate colleges? My parents wouldn’t pay a dime, so I did Associates in accounting, 2 classes at a time, paid thru my employer loan (payroll withhold), working full time taking night classes.

Then I attended a private instate college to get my bachelors, 2 classes at a time, paid as I went.

I hated it, was so hard, I missed out on a real college experience. But in the end, I’m glad I took it nice and slow so I retained, had no debt at the end and was able to experience working in the field, building my resume with real world experience.

It’s not what we are doing with our kids, but it worked for me.

Gained experience working in accounting while getting my degree.

My degree has done me well.

[Trevor]

I highly recommend doing community college for the first 2 years. Some states even offer it for free or very reduced.

Try to help her get through it all with little to no student loans.

Perhaps transfer to a state school after the first 2 years unless the cost of the private college is similar for those years after scholarships and before student loans.

[David]

People who go to those schools have no better outcome than people who go to community college.

It’s all dependent upon what kind of person your child is and the skills that they learn outside of college rather than in college.

Go to community college and then spend about 10 grand learning how to network with executives and business owners in your local community.

Success comes from the skills you learn, the people you know, and your own character and integrity.

[Author]

Posts