<p>The thing is, mreese1600, the amount of loans is a meaningful piece of data to help people advise you, if what you want is advice. If you are “fine with” $25,000 worth of debt and your parents are “fine with” paying the rest of the difference in cost between Cal and CU Boulder, that’s one thing. </p>
<p>If you are “fine with” a much larger amount of loans, you may wish to reevaluate that. For instance, $80K in loans, depending on what happens with interest rates, will run you anywhere from a bit under $800 per month in repayments to a bit over $920 per month. I wouldn’t be fine with that, myself, and I have been working full-time for more than 25 years and have a good income. That would be burdensome for most people and certainly for a young person starting out. </p>
<p>It sounds to me that you have an actual reason, independent of finances, to prefer Boulder, because of your interest in cross country. This stands in contrast to the predictable and unoriginal arguments in favor of Cal that may or may not translate into real advantages for you.</p>
<p>The “better academics/prestige” you cite? We all know about that. This needn’t and, frankly, rarely does matter for individuals who are motivated to get a good education. </p>
<p>“More opportunities/networking”? Do you know that Boulder has a problem in this arena or are you assuming it pales in comparison to Cal (because you see people make this argument over and over again whenever someone poses a choice between “This Prestigious School” and “That Solid but Less Wow School”)?</p>