College Loan Question

[MotF Bane]

I'm looking at going in as a freshman next year, probably graduating with a bachelor's in computer engineering, and (depending on the school) 100k in debt. Does this seem insane? Can it be paid off within this lifetime, or will it take a couple of lifetimes?

 

[mageslayer]

40k in debt sounds much more reasonable, find an instate university or cheap, but good school for undergrad

Where you go to grad is what really matters

 

[DaWhim]

you will be fine. people can pay off mortgage that is many times of what you owe. they do have an option for you to repay in 30 years, no?

 

[theeedude]

Originally posted by: MotF Bane
I'm looking at going in as a freshman next year, probably graduating with a bachelor's in computer engineering, and (depending on the school) 100k in debt. Does this seem insane? Can it be paid off within this lifetime, or will it take a couple of lifetimes?

As long as you finish what you start and get a degree, you should be able to pay it off faster than you think. It's not like you are majoring in English or Psychology

 

[Q]

You can do it assuming you will in fact graduate with a bachelor's degree in CE. But 100k is a lot of money.

 

[BigJ]

If I was 18, I'd say sure, go ahead and do it. Now that I'm a little bit older and not nearly as stubborn or stupid, it's a terrible choice in many, but not all, situations.

I almost did by going to University of Maryland, but was smart enough to realize that it really wasn't worth being $120,000 in debt to attend there for undergrad.

My best advice is to go to a local community college, kick ass in school, get involved with clubs, and then transfer for your final two years at the university of your choice. The Diploma will still say "University of XXXX" but you will have saved a significant amount of money.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Ouch

I'd kill myself (well, maybe not) if I had that much debt after being in school. Of course I'm also not the norm and hate debt for anything, I hate the fact that I have a car loan now

 

[ChaoZ]

I'm about to graduate with no debt and a few grand in savings and I already feel like I'm at a disadvantage. $100k debt would stress the crap out of me. I'd rather use that money towards a house.

 

[Wreckem]

$100k in debt is an incredible waste of money unless its a top 10 school. Even then some fields it would still be a waste.

Id say save your money. Go to a state school and then go to grad school.

$100k debt is approx $1000 a month over the standard payment plan(10 years).

 

[Eeezee]

100k??? That's a TON of money. You could pay it off in a lifetime pretty easily (if you get even a mediocre job) but you'll be in debt for a long time.

Find a cheaper school or go in-state. I recommend University of Arizona - they're highly ranked for almost everything (many engineering disciplines, not sure about computer but I'm pretty sure they're top 30-40 there) and will accept almost anyone. The best part is that they're DIRT CHEAP, even for out of state tuition. I went there for in-state and it only cost about $5k per year and I believe out of state was only a few thousand more. You could probably get away with 40k, including rent (Tucson cost of living is dirt cheap, it is 100% a college town).

Combine hot girls with warm weather and you've got a winning combination. It's also cheap and a good school. The only problem is that while they will accept almost anyone, every major has a few weed-out classes and the freshmen retention rate is really low due to the difficulty. It's not a hard school by your standards or mine, but it is a hard school to those kids who just barely were able to get in, and in the end those kids either drop out or go to an easy major. It's also hard on the sheltered kids who can't deal with partying and academics at the same time. I'm in grad school now and near the top of my class (first year Physics PhD program).

Like mageslayer said, your undergrad doesn't really matter if you want to go to grad school. If you want to start working with your Bachelor's, any top 50 school will do if you work hard and do research (as in working for a professor). Again, I recommend you look into U of A

There's also the community college option. Live at home for 2 years and get your core courses out of the way for cheap. You'll save a lot of money on tuition and not having to pay rent. You should only need 2-3 years of university education after that, so you'll be saving a lot of money.

 

[Mo0o]

Depends on the school. My education (Undergrad + grad) will probably land me around 150k in debt by the time I'm done. But hopefully it will give me the tools to get a job that lets me pay it back. Just think of it as an investment in the future.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

too much

 

[dfdave12]

Don't put yourself under that financial burden. You'll be living with it for the rest of your life. Just think about it- 100 THOUSAND dollars.

I'll be a college freshman next year as well so I understand where you're coming from, but surely there are better alternatives.

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
100k??? That's a TON of money. You could pay it off in a lifetime pretty easily (if you get even a mediocre job) but you'll be in debt for a long time.

Find a cheaper school or go in-state. I recommend University of Arizona - they're highly ranked for almost everything (many engineering disciplines, not sure about computer but I'm pretty sure they're top 30-40 there) and will accept almost anyone. The best part is that they're DIRT CHEAP, even for out of state tuition. I went there for in-state and it only cost about $5k per year and I believe out of state was only a few thousand more. You could probably get away with 40k, including rent (Tucson cost of living is dirt cheap, it is 100% a college town).

Combine hot girls with warm weather and you've got a winning combination. It's also cheap and a good school. The only problem is that while they will accept almost anyone, every major has a few weed-out classes and the freshmen retention rate is really low due to the difficulty. It's not a hard school by your standards or mine, but it is a hard school to those kids who just barely were able to get in, and in the end those kids either drop out or go to an easy major. It's also hard on the sheltered kids who can't deal with partying and academics at the same time. I'm in grad school now and near the top of my class (first year Physics PhD program).

Like mageslayer said, your undergrad doesn't really matter if you want to go to grad school. If you want to start working with your Bachelor's, any top 50 school will do if you work hard and do research (as in working for a professor). Again, I recommend you look into U of A

There's also the community college option. Live at home for 2 years and get your core courses out of the way for cheap. You'll save a lot of money on tuition and not having to pay rent. You should only need 2-3 years of university education after that, so you'll be saving a lot of money.

Maybe not for Computer Science (stressing the maybe here), but if you're interested in going to law/business/med school, your UG institution does matter. And as far as working w/ a bachelor's , if you work in finance/banking, your UG institution and GPA is basically all they have to go on so that matters A LOT, especially at the top echelon firms

 

[BarneyFife]

Yeah, you are looking at $300-$400 month just in interest.

 

[tidehigh]

yea ull end up paying 200k over the course of the loan

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: Eeezee
100k??? That's a TON of money. You could pay it off in a lifetime pretty easily (if you get even a mediocre job) but you'll be in debt for a long time.

Find a cheaper school or go in-state. I recommend University of Arizona - they're highly ranked for almost everything (many engineering disciplines, not sure about computer but I'm pretty sure they're top 30-40 there) and will accept almost anyone. The best part is that they're DIRT CHEAP, even for out of state tuition. I went there for in-state and it only cost about $5k per year and I believe out of state was only a few thousand more. You could probably get away with 40k, including rent (Tucson cost of living is dirt cheap, it is 100% a college town).

Combine hot girls with warm weather and you've got a winning combination. It's also cheap and a good school. The only problem is that while they will accept almost anyone, every major has a few weed-out classes and the freshmen retention rate is really low due to the difficulty. It's not a hard school by your standards or mine, but it is a hard school to those kids who just barely were able to get in, and in the end those kids either drop out or go to an easy major. It's also hard on the sheltered kids who can't deal with partying and academics at the same time. I'm in grad school now and near the top of my class (first year Physics PhD program).

Like mageslayer said, your undergrad doesn't really matter if you want to go to grad school. If you want to start working with your Bachelor's, any top 50 school will do if you work hard and do research (as in working for a professor). Again, I recommend you look into U of A

There's also the community college option. Live at home for 2 years and get your core courses out of the way for cheap. You'll save a lot of money on tuition and not having to pay rent. You should only need 2-3 years of university education after that, so you'll be saving a lot of money.

Maybe not for Computer Science (stressing the maybe here), but if you're interested in going to law/business/med school, your UG institution does matter. And as far as working w/ a bachelor's , if you work in finance/banking, your UG institution and GPA is basically all they have to go on so that matters A LOT, especially at the top echelon firms

Your undergraduate institution has no effect on law school acceptances.

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: Eeezee
100k??? That's a TON of money. You could pay it off in a lifetime pretty easily (if you get even a mediocre job) but you'll be in debt for a long time.

Find a cheaper school or go in-state. I recommend University of Arizona - they're highly ranked for almost everything (many engineering disciplines, not sure about computer but I'm pretty sure they're top 30-40 there) and will accept almost anyone. The best part is that they're DIRT CHEAP, even for out of state tuition. I went there for in-state and it only cost about $5k per year and I believe out of state was only a few thousand more. You could probably get away with 40k, including rent (Tucson cost of living is dirt cheap, it is 100% a college town).

Combine hot girls with warm weather and you've got a winning combination. It's also cheap and a good school. The only problem is that while they will accept almost anyone, every major has a few weed-out classes and the freshmen retention rate is really low due to the difficulty. It's not a hard school by your standards or mine, but it is a hard school to those kids who just barely were able to get in, and in the end those kids either drop out or go to an easy major. It's also hard on the sheltered kids who can't deal with partying and academics at the same time. I'm in grad school now and near the top of my class (first year Physics PhD program).

Like mageslayer said, your undergrad doesn't really matter if you want to go to grad school. If you want to start working with your Bachelor's, any top 50 school will do if you work hard and do research (as in working for a professor). Again, I recommend you look into U of A

There's also the community college option. Live at home for 2 years and get your core courses out of the way for cheap. You'll save a lot of money on tuition and not having to pay rent. You should only need 2-3 years of university education after that, so you'll be saving a lot of money.

Maybe not for Computer Science (stressing the maybe here), but if you're interested in going to law/business/med school, your UG institution does matter. And as far as working w/ a bachelor's , if you work in finance/banking, your UG institution and GPA is basically all they have to go on so that matters A LOT, especially at the top echelon firms

Your undergraduate institution has no effect on law school acceptances.

fair enough, i stand correct for that.

 

[EGGO]

After reading all the replies here...this doesn't bode well for my future post-college.

 

[ponyo]

100K in student loan? Only if you want to kill yourself.

 

[vi edit]

If you are making 100k a year after you get out it's not so big of a deal.
If you are making $40k a year then it's pretty excessive.

My wife had $90k in loans after 7 years of schooling and opted for the 30 year plan. She locked in at 2.5% or so and it's around $340 a month.

With the income she's at it's not so big of a deal.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Originally posted by: vi edit
If you are making 100k a year after you get out it's not so big of a deal.
If you are making $40k a year then it's pretty excessive.

My wife had $90k in loans after 7 years of schooling and opted for the 30 year plan. She locked in at 2.5% or so and it's around $340 a month.

With the income she's at it's not so big of a deal.

Your wife sounds more fiscally responsible than 90% of people already. Kudos to her. :thumbsup:

 

[legoman666]

get an engineering degree at some place that has co-oping as a requirement. (IE, University of Cincinnati). I made enough money in my 1st quarter of co-oping to pay my insurance ($800), paid my parents the $3000 I owed them, my tuition, spent $1500 on my computer and moved out of the house into an apartment @$425/mo. It's marvelous. The tuition is about ~3300/qtr.

 

[Deeko]

I graduated with 70k in debt in CS and I'm doing just fine with the standard repayment. You can also consolodate and extend. I'd avoid it if you can (go to a cheaper school unles you really like that one), but it isn't as crippling as people say.

 

[MotF Bane]

That's something I forgot to mention. There is a co-op at the school I was considering (Northeastern in Boston). Legoman, may I ask where were you working that paid that much?