Consider finances first when looking for a college

Creekland
Wed, 06 Apr 2022 19:22:03 +0000

There are so many of these stories that periodically come out. It’s enough that I think it’s important for students and parents to stop and really think about finances at the beginning of a search. If you can’t easily afford 250K +/- without raiding retirement or mortgaging your house, consider your options.

Some colleges are good with merit aid - others don’t give it at all.

Some colleges are good with need based aid - others aren’t.

What parents/kids feel they should get for merit/need based aid isn’t necessarily what the college thinks they should get.

Read threads, ask questions, run NPC’s at colleges and know what your EFC is along with knowing a college doesn’t have to get their cost down to your EFC.

A good college for a student doesn’t have to be the most expensive one.

High debt is rarely a good investment.

In the following, had the student made different choices (that could have still included college), their financial life would likely be totally different today.

As my dad said, “Learn from other people’s mistakes. Life is too short to make them all yourself.”

MarketWatch

‘Going to college ruined my life.’ I have $85K in student loan debt for my...

Have a question about getting out of student loan or other debt? Email chill@marketwatch.com.

I am 32 and got my associates degree in occupational therapy. I owe $25,000 in federal student loans, and $60,000 in private loans with high interest — despite having my mom as a co-signer. I went to a great college: It was private and costly, but I have learning challenges they were able to accommodate. But I will never forget back in the beginning of 2018, my professors told me that by the time my classmates and I graduated, we would likely struggle to get jobs because of changes in the profession. Well, they were right. And of course after I took out these huge loans, it was too late to fix it.

…

I feel like I will never be able to afford my payments, even if I find higher-paying work. I feel like I have a useless degree at this point. I would give anything to go back and not go to college at all. It wasn’t worth it.