<p>SUPPOSE I don’t get any more money from CMU, is it better to go to CMU with 120k debt or BC with 60k debt?</p>
<p>Depends on major and whether you will do work study or other jobs, intern positions, research jobs, or take advantage of the 5 year masters.</p>
<p>If I major in any pure science, look for internships (given the opportunities at CMU or BC), and try to take advantage of whatever I have, where am I better off?</p>
<p>Well you can get around 6k+living/food each summer just off the numerous research opps that CMU offers. </p>
<p>Math/Physics majors around here go off to consulting/business/law/medicine/etc and have 55-57k avg starting salaries WITHOUT bonuses.</p>
<p>Do ABOVE average and you can probably look at 60+k in avg starting salary and have maybe 6-8k each summer so around 42-56k over the 4 years. The avg Boston College salary is in the 40ks and you will probably not get the research opps as you would here.</p>
<p>HOWEVER if you want to go to med school and you are 100% sure of this without wanting to work afterwards then I would go to BC but it is still debatable since if you did 6-8k of research a summer it comes to around 45k of money and CMU does have good placement + help with MCATs/med applications.</p>
<p>So coming out of these colleges, I would be looking at paying these debts at around the same time I guess, but having a better education and being successful in the end by going to CMU?</p>
<p>120k vs 60k = 60k difference. Research opps alone for 4 years = 45k. 60k salary then vs 40sk salary = 1-2 years will make up the difference.</p>
<p>So bottom line, go to CMU?</p>
<p>Yes. Oh and by Research opps I’m assuming you are doing work study also. 24k+20k (5k a year during school) = around 45k.</p>
<p>I would even take advantage of a 5 year masters or perhaps a double major? You can also check out Comp Finance which has 70+k avg starting salaries without bonuses. </p>
<p>My parents bought a 1.2 million dollar house in Fairfax quite a while ago. A graduating 60k or so of debt is nothing when you are making 60k a year (I’m assuming you are doing something profitable over the summers). Even if you did nothing a 120k debt on a 60k salary is not as bad as it seems.</p>
<p>And its fairly easy finding something to do right?</p>
<p>Yes, I have gotten a lot of emails about interns (some with 3.0+ above gpa requirements) and others with no GPA requirements. Keep up your GPA and you can score some nice interns and research opps. I’m probably just stating the obvious here since whether you go to CMU, BC, or a community college your GPA should always be kept up.</p>
<p>Make sure you keep in mind that you have to be proactive in looking for job opps. People won’t just come and throw money at you. It’s all well and good to think “well, if I make $x from internships and graduate $y in debt, then I can pay off my debt in t years”, but then don’t forget/neglect/be too lazy to actually make those $x you’re counting on.</p>