<p>It is clear that Penn is your first choice. There is a difference of opinion as to whether this level of debt is wise. For further reading on the topic, see [Project</a> on Student Debt: Home](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org%5DProject”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org) Click on the tab labeled “Voices” and inform yourself and your parents about the potential consequence of borrowing this much money.</p>
<p>As you have been told up-thread, you cannot borrow this much money on your own. Someone else will have to borrow it as Parents’ PLUS loans, or will have to co-sign those loans with you. Before you commit to Penn, meet with the banks/credit unions that will be providing those loans. Find out whether or not your parents/co-signers will qualify for that level of loan each year for the next four years. Yes, it is possible that they would qualify for one or two years but not for subsequent years. Get all of the loan terms in writing so that you and your parents/co-signers can read through everything and be certain that you do understand the terms. If possible, get a firm commitment from the bank/credit union now to loan the total amount that you will need, so that it is available when you do need it. </p>
<p>Talk with your family’s life insurance agent about coverage for you. At the present time, federal loans (including PLUS loans) are forgiven if the student dies before the loans are paid off. Private loans aren’t. There are several threads on that topic in the Parents Forum here where you can find links to articles in the press about parents and grandparents who are paying down loans for deceased children and grandchildren. Right now you don’t expect to be run over by a bus on your way to class or work, but things like that do happen. If you find that you must borrow this kind of money to get the education that is best for you, please have the good sense to take out a life insurance policy on yourself that will cover your debt and the interest on it as it accrues. Do not leave your grieving family on the hook for an education that you were not able to profit from.</p>
<p>Why not. Whose life is it. Who is anybody to tell him he can’t do what he wants. I’m not going to tell him either way. </p>
<p>Adults have to discern risks and make judgements with the best information that they are able to obtain. Sometimes older people make better judgements. Sometimes smarter people make better judgements. But as I’m sure you know sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they crash the entire world economy. Everyone makes mistakes. Everybody on occasion makes big mistakes. </p>
<p>Everyone who is in the top 1% and didn’t start out that way is a statistical anomaly. On average, everybody is average.</p>
<p>I would also like to add that it’s not 82K all at once, there are several exit points if it’s not going well. Each new loan must be evaluated on whether it makes sense.</p>
<p>90k is probably not worth it. Penn is a great school, but 90k is probably the total you’ll want for debt after completion of both undergrad and a graduate degree. You should keep your debt under 50k for undergrad if you can.</p>
<p>*Quote:
But it’s really not reasonable to expect an 18 year old to really discern the risks.</p>
<p>CRD responds:
Why not. Whose life is it. Who is anybody to tell him he can’t do what he wants. I’m not going to tell him either way. *</p>
<p>Uh…the banks who will refuse to lend him the money without qualified co-signers who will be legally obligated to pay back the loans if the student is unable/unwilling to pay. </p>
<p>Hey, if banks thought 18 year olds with no credit and no income had the where-with-all to make such decisions, why would they bother demanding cosigners? Even banks know this is too risky. (BTW…the same banks will lend to med students who don’t have the income because banks are pretty assured that someone who gets into med school will finish and will be making a good income eventually…but those banks don’t have the same attitude with 18 year olds choosing pricey undergrads.)</p>
<p>Nobody is telling him not to pursue his true career interests. People are just advising against very risky debt based on his original choice of major and now his quick-change major (based solely on possibly earning more money). </p>
<p>As a parent, if you’re not able to see thru this, then you’d be likely one to cosign while merrily buying into the fantasy.</p>
<p>No one here is telling him he can’t do what he wants. We’re telling him that it’s a bad idea to do what he wants. Who are we to tell him that it’s a bad idea? Adults who’ve seen young people and their dreams crushed under unsustainable debt. He can take the advice or not.</p>
<p>Why not ask this question on the Penn forum. I would be surprised if many recommended taking on such a debt. Personally, I do not think a debt over $40,000 is easily justified. $90,000 is just way too much. I am sure you will get excellent options at a far more reasonable cost. Then the question becomes, is Penn with $90k debt a better option than XYZ university with no debt? Well, is it?</p>
<p>I’m an anomaly myself. I don’t need to co-sign loans I just write big checks. No need to borrow. I have taken my own calculated risks in my life by leaving my job to join startups. </p>
<p>I see the OP as someone who is already a high achiever. There is a reason he was accepted to Penn. None of us know what he’s made of and what kind of pressure he can handle. Some very successful people handle a lot of pressure just fine. He’s already crossed a threshold toward being an anomaly just by getting in. </p>
<p>What I’m saying is that I’m not as confident as you that this is a bad investment for him. It could be a very good investment. It could be a terrible investment and leave him broken and hungry. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t walk away from the opportunity willy nilly. I’d think it through until the very last minute and make the very best decision I could.</p>
<p>However, the OP is an intended English and international relations major in Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences, not a Penn Wharton student aiming at a job at an elite investment banking or consulting company.</p>
<p>One could argue that a calculated risk on a larger-than-normally-prudent debt may be worth it for someone with a good realistic chance at a really high paying post-graduation job. But that does not seem to describe the OP through his choice of majors.</p>
<p>Note that he would not be an anomaly among Penn students just by getting into Penn. Penn College of Arts and Sciences graduates average about $52,000 per year in post-graduation jobs, according to Penn’s career survey.</p>
<p>Indeed, it would mean doing what’s necessary to get a really high paying post-graduation job. That’s certainly part of the calculation. </p>
<p>The average Penn student is not necessarily focused on getting a high paying post-graduation job. Many don’t have to have that focus. The OP would have to have the focus. </p>
<p>The opportunity is there right now to decide to get that focus or decide that it’s too constraining, too much pressure, too unlikely to bear fruit, or any of the other dozens of terrific reasons not to do it. </p>
<p>If Goldman or McKinsey aren’t hiring English and international relations majors in four years, maybe the OP needs to study something else or somewhere else.</p>
<p>Goldman and McKinsey do hire Penn undergrads who major in English, Creative Writing, International Relations, and the like though. Unlike at Wharton, most of your classmates in these majors at Penn won’t be gunning for these companies so a high-achieving student in one of these areas of study may stand out.</p>
<p>
No, but I was admitted to several of its peer schools. At any rate, I have a high amount of respect for the institution, enough that none of his cheaper options will be able to carry the sort of cachet and access to opportunities/alumni that a Penn diploma has.</p>