<p>Hey all,
I’m one day from having to choose between two schools, Lewis and Clark College in Portland, and American University in Washington DC. One factor of many for me that factors into this decision is that of financial aid, L&C gave me about $15,000 more than AU did.</p>
<p>Im still trying to decide between the schools based on size, location and opportunities but should I take L&C’s offer because of the money I will be saving? I mean in the long run is the extra money worth it for AU? </p>
<p>Since that question is really specific, I should rephrase, how much does undergraduate education matter in the long run (assuming I’m going after a masters degree) and how much debt is it worth encoring for a private undergraduate education.</p>
<p>Also the thing about AU is that it is in Washington DC and so can offer internships with tons of global organizations that would seem to be amazing cards to hold in later life, (masters, jobs etc.)</p>
<p>A good guideline for manageable undergrad debt is the amount a student is permitted to borrow under the federal Stafford loans, which is $27K total for the 4 years. IMO that’s the maximum debt you should consider. If you go to graduate school, you’ll probably need to borrow even more for that, so you really should try to borrow as little as possible for undergrad.</p>
<p>Would you be incurring the extra debt or do you have sufficient family resources to cover it? The problem for kids whose parents are unable/unwilling to cover the gap is that they’re scrambling to get loans to cover it! Do you know if/how you would be able to borrow that $15K+ per year? Remember, freshmen often get the best FA packages and costs do go up every year.</p>
<p>If global internships are high on your list of priorities, check out what’s available at L&C and what you can find through the internet…there are sites for student internships that aren’t school specific. Often professors also have summer fieldwork opportunities abroad in all sorts of disciplines.</p>