Carnegie Mellon worth the cost?

fineartsmajormom
Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:08:01 +0000

we are doing the same calculation (but with no financial aid) but you are not doing the math correctly…you should take into account your parents’ contribution (their 10,000 is not like aid money…you can take that money and go elsewhere or do other things with it).

CMU 120,000 for degree (80k or 2/3 debt)
UNC 60,000 for degree (20k or 1/3 debt)

Will there be a substantial difference in your expected income if you go to one or the other? to make up for the difference over, let’s say, 5 years you would want to have an expected income from CMU at least 15k–obviously if CMU gives you a much better start out of school the impact will last for many years after this, but it is helpful to keep with in the relative short term. Will your post graduation income be so high that you can pay the debt in 5 years or less? Why do I ask? Look at the 5 year window as a time where you will likely be single/no kids/no house and you can afford to pay a big chunk of your income to pay down debt. After 5 years you may want to be free to go to grad school, change careers, start a family…the five year rule is a good way to see which is doable. If you pay 4k per year you will be debt free at UNC but you will have to pay either 16 K per year if you graduate from CMU (not counting interest–put in a compounding formula). So…what to do…? I don’t know…please tell us…55k per year versus 10K per year for an art degree with zero to negative expected income at graduation…now there is a stark reality…