Financial Aid - TERRIBLE idea?

sblake7
Fri, 01 May 2009 02:56:00 +0000

"Is the economy so bad that someone shouldn’t take out that much in financial aid ?? "

I guess that depends on what the debt is for, and what the likely earning ability of the debtor is going forward.

Take out 30K debt to buy a sports car, when you’re working at a fast food joint? Bad idea. 30K in credit card debt (for anything)? Bad idea.

30K do get a Bachelor’s degree that will likely help you land a job in the health care field in 2 1/2 years? Yeah, that sounds like an OK investment (a better investment if you can pare that 30K down to 20K by working part time along the way, maybe working in the health care field part time to get some experience). Better yet if FAFSA gives you an EFC that will result in some need-based grants, so you can borrow less.