Vanderbilt undergrad, graduating with 40k debt : worth it?

MYOS1634
Fri, 10 Apr 2015 19:46:04 +0000

@psata82: although what you say makes sense, research showed that reality doesn’t bear this out. The freshmen who take the least time to graduate are those who aren’t sure of their major before starting college - either they have a field or two in mind but are open, or are totally undeclared. Therefore, they give themselves time to explore and figure out what they’re good at. Students who arrive with a fixed major in mind are highly likely to be changing it, and the more they think they have to stick to this major regardless of interest or results (“because that’s what they decided and they’re not quitters”) the longer it takes to graduate.
Considering that 3/4th freshmen who come in with a major in mind end up changing, those who admit to being undeclared and willing to explore may just be more self aware

46 students from Kansas are freshmen at Vanderbilt: certainly, there could be some shared driving with shared expenses for OP and a couple others at vacation time?

Even if the extra $1,500 had to be taken in PLUS loans, it’s hardly a huge amount. It’s vastly different from the usual situation, when parents are talking 10 or 20k in Parent PLUS loans.
Hopefully, OP would work during the summer after freshman year, earning more than in Kansas, so that this amount might even be reduced or nullified.

Missing out on Vanderbilt because of about $1,500 really wouldn’t make sense.