Originally posted by: joshsquall
Why do people worry about taking out loans? They have a fvcking 25 year repayment plan now. I have $16k in loans and my 10 year repayment plan is like $140 a month. That's nothing. Even if you take out $100k that's about $550 a month for 25 years. Sucks? Yes. Life killer? No.
For people who have no choice, that's fine. But I would question the wisdom of taking on debt which could be lessened or avoided altogether by going to a different school of equal quality. That $550 a month will require about $8500 a year of income (allowing for taxes) for 25 years. I would be very, very sure I was going to land a job so high-paying that I wouldn't really miss that $8500 a year.
Schools are smart, though. They know students don't really comparison shop. They are high school students for the most part, and don't have the real-world experience to do so intelligently. Students get it in their head where they want to go, and borrow whatever they have to in order to go there. The schools push the marketing and keep raising tuition far above the inflation rate, because they've learned the vast majority of potential students don't care. They just pay.
My co-worker just took his son on a week-long trip to visit different campuses on the East Coast. At one school, the son decided to scratch it off his list without even getting out of the car. Didn't like the way it looked, didn't like the neighborhood around the campus. Told dad to just drive on to the next school. My co-worker just shrugged and told me it's the boy's choice ultimately. Not a lot of thought going into that decision. Costs? Not even a factor. He'll pick a school, see what aid package is offered, and figure out how to pay the rest.
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