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<p>My parents and I (and the U.S. court system) made a deal where my mom will pay 20% of tuition/room/board, my dad 80%. I am paying the estimated $3k/year for books and personal supplies. I will also be paying back my Stafford loans, and I’m taking as much out as I possibly can. This disrupts little of my life, though. I’ll probably go on the JET program right after graduation, where I’ll get paid about $30k/year in Japan (I’ll stay one or two years). This will allow me to pay back all of my Stafford loans. Then I’ll enter a PhD program, which will be fully funded. Therefore, I should be pretty much debt-free one year after graduation, which isn’t terribly bad at all. It looks like my parents will be able to handle the $10-15k/year that is tuition and room and board. I may also go to Japan my third year and work simultaneously so I can pay my entire tuition for that year. This would give my parents a (perhaps much-needed) temporary break from tuition payments.</p>