<p>OK, because most grad schools waive tuition for science and math grad students, and even pay a decent stipend for being a TA. But it sounds like she isn’t decided enough to play those odds.</p>
<p>I definitely understand how hard it is to not be able to give something this important to your child, at least not without incurring a lot of hardship. But $34,000 over 10 years at 5% is about $360/month. Since you don’t start paying that until she is out of school, and you are paying about that while she is in school (your $4500 EFC), you could look at it as an extended time period where that money remains out of your non-school related budget. Also she could share in the payments once she is out and working. These are just rambling thoughts on how you can rationalize taking on the loans. I don’t know your personal situation of course, and whether that fits in with your thinking at all. But if Tulane is really where her heart is, then maybe that helps with how to make it work. In the end, there is no question that coming out of undergrad debt free is a wonderful thing, but not at the cost of being someplace you really don’t like. Which state school is this that offered her the free ride?</p>