LordBoreal51

I've heard a lot from both sides about this, but I'm curious what y'all think about it. Is it really worth being heavily indebted to go a "prestigious" undergraduate school? Or would it make more fiscal sense to attend a cheaper state school, and then be able to spend more on graduate school?

kwu

The "prestigious" undergraduate schools are generous to students from low-income families.

For these students and their families, it is oftentimes more financially viable to attend one of these schools over their state flagships.

LordBoreal51

In my situation, my family seems a lot wealthier on paper than we are in reality. Through inheritances and other situations, we have a bit of assets, but not so much in a liquid form. Plus, my father owns his own business and has a lot of cashflow in and out, with the take home not being very high.

I'm trying to gauge the level of debt I should be comfortable assuming personally to attend one of these higher ranked schools. I intend to go to law school, and am somewhat considered about my ability to pay for that if I'm burdened by too much debt early on.

vossron

Heavily indebted? Most will probably say no. $20,000 over four years? This is a fairly common amount of debt required of even the most needy by many schools (in order to stretch limited financial aid budgets). But even for this amount it's nearly impossible for anyone to say; it depends on so many factors. You question suggests that you have some money available, but your funds are not unlimited. It can depend if your goals are very specific and only a few schools offer what you want. Does someone know: are law school loans easy for students to get? Maybe choose undergrad by law school acceptance history.

Christian2

In my opinion, if your goal is a professional or graduate degree after undergraduate, it does not matter how prestigious your undergraduate is. At the end, it is who you are that counts. The majority of colleges in this country offer very good education to those who are willing to apply themself to learning.