Is going 30k+ debt worth it for an out of state college?

Applying to College
1

Some background info:
I’m currently enrolled in community college and majoring in anthropology. By the time I graduate I will have held an officer position in my schools Anthropology/Equality club for several semesters, an honors student with a 3.8(estimated) gpa, and a good deal of volunteer hours. I’ll also be 10k in debt.

My main interests are archaeology and egyptology. I plan on going to the university of Memphis for my master’s in Egyptian Art and Archaeology. Memphis is the only college within my region that offers the major (you can count on two hands home many colleges in the US offer a major in the same vein) and I’m confident with my decision.

I’ve been conflicted about where to attend for bachelors. I’ve been deciding between Anthropology at the University of Florida, and Classical Archaeology at Florida State University. Classics is a field I have great fondness for, but the major requires several years in Latin and/or Greek. This worries me because as an egyptologist I’ll be required to learn various stages of Egyptian language, hieroglyphics, possibly Coptic or Assyrian (depending on doctoral degree), reading knowledge of french, recommended reading knowledge of german, and speaking knowledge of arabic. I’ll have plenty of languages to learn as it is, and I don’t want to complicate things further.

This fall, the University of Memphis began offering Egyptian Art and Archaeology as an undergraduate major. It would allow me to begin learning elementary arabic and hieroglyphics, in addition to the history, art, and culture of ancient Egypt. It’s a great foundation for my graduate work. It’s a very uncommon program (you can count the schools that offer it on one hand).

Tuition alone is going to end up costing around 22k a year. My EFC is 0, so I’ll get full pell grants, but even after that the cost is a lot. Not including room/board/transportation/books.

Is the cost worth it in the end?

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No, it’s not. and how would you borrow enough anyway? As a junior, you can only borrow 7500.

What is your home state?

You already have $10k of debt.

Tuition plus other costs will be about $35k per year for Jr and Sr years.

You would have a lot more debt than just $30k. (don’t know how you figured that amount.)

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My own humble opinion is that UG LAS majors should be more broad, than specific. Grad school is the time to narrow things down… In short, a BA in Anthropology with some Arabic courses, and maybe some Ancient Studies courses or a minor, would get you down the same path toward a Master’s at U of Memphis. Some Art History courses, as well.

Arabic is offered at many public universities, and likely offered at one in-state for you.

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Home state is Florida. The 22k is a typo, it should be 25k, based off of their tuition calculator.
The 30k is 15k per year tuition after pell grant, personal payment, and scholarships.
Job to cover the other expenses.

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There is nothing wrong with contacting the people in Egyptian Art at U of Memphis, and asking which public U in Florida they recommend you complete your undergrad degree at, and in which major.

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No not worth it.

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Thanks for all the input guys.

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