<p>Post this question in the financial aid or parent forum and you will get an almost unanimous chorus of “don’t do it”. And I would be one of the chorus. You should not take on a large amount of debt for undergrad school. No “dream school” is worth the nightmare of paying a huge debt every month for the 10 years after you finish school. Run the numbers through a loan calculator like this one</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Loan Calculator](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Loan Payment Calculator - Finaid)</p>
<p>which will show you the loan payment you will have every month until you are well into your 30s. Make sure you add any interest that has been deferred while you are in college to the total loan number you enter. And remember that payment will be on top of whatever car payments, mortgage etc that you have and will impact your decisions about everything you do for many years.</p>
<p>You have the right idea when you are thinking you don’t want to be burdened with a huge debt. In 4 years time you will be so happy that you made that choice.</p>