<p>I’m all set to go to the University of San Diego. But i’m having second thoughts because of the loans and the cost of living. I don’t want to put my parents in deepwater. The loans were offered by the school and i don’t have to pay them until after i graduate.</p>
<p>If they are federal loans they are probably ok. If they are private loans, I would stay away from them.</p>
<p>12k x 4 years = 48k</p>
<p>Yes, this is too much. Do you have a less expensive option at least for the first two years?</p>
<p>In my opinion, $12K/year is too much. But find some tools to run a loan amortization schedule and go over the results for yourself. Try to visualize what the impact of the payments would be on you or your parents. Remember that those payments will be competing with car loans, rent, etc., and that as you move ahead in life, other needs will arise.</p>
<p>If you have no good alternatives (other than delaying college to work for a year or more) then you may have to swallow the loan until you can make other arrangements (such as transferring to a private school with more generous financial aid than UCSD.)</p>
<p>I would argue that it’s your parent’s financial decision whether $48k would be too much or not. They know their own priorities, constraints and future goals best, so trust them. It is however good to let the know that you are concerned about this, and about their well-being. If they have already said that any debt you acquire is yours to pay off, then that’s a different story and you will have decide for yourself if you are willing to make the sacrifices required to pay off this loan.</p>
<p>I think that borrowing 20K to slightly more is all right, but once you hit 25K, you are getting in too deep.</p>
<p>If you’re the one who’s going to be paying back the loans, that is definitely way too much. You should absolutely not borrow more than the maximum offered as Stafford loans (about $25,000 total). I believe as a freshman you can borrow about $5000. You will cripple your future terribly if you borrow more than that.</p>
<p>[College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>and </p>
<p>[FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org)</p>
<p>both have decent loan repayment calculators.</p>
<p>What do you expect your salary to be when you graduate? Will you also be going to grad school? If you are going to be a teacher, social worker, etc., then that amount is too much. If you are going to have $200,000 in loans for med school, then $48000 may be too much. If you will be in a high paying field and have no alternative for a cheaper college, then try it with the intent of reducing that amount through work, outside scholarships and other opportunities such as working as an RA.</p>
<p>I’m unclear as to who will be paying back the loans, you or your parents.</p>
<p>You may want to post this on the Financial Aid forum. As a heads up though, know that they will terrify you with their sentiments about how taking out 48k in loans may ruin your life forever. But you may be able to get some wise words there to help you in your decision.</p>
<p>The rule of thumb my older relatives gave me is that you should aim not to go in debt any more than your expected starting salary, which would usually be between 40 and 60k, depending on your field. Back in the 70s, that’s how much (starting salary) my uncle borrowed for school, and he ended up more than alright.</p>
<p>I was very vague when i meant i was loaning $12,000. The school offered a parents loan for about $6,000 and a student’s loan for another $6,000. And I plan to take up nursing.</p>
<p>That sounds okay then.</p>
<p>For you? 24k is not unreasonable, I think, as long as the loans are federal loans.</p>
<p>For your parents? That’s hard to say without knowing a lot more about their financial situation–probably more than it would be prudent to tell a bunch of strangers on an internet forum, so talk to them.</p>
<p>Agree with haavain. You should generally be ok with 6k/year (using 10% of income, that only requires earning about 35k/year out of college… or 41k if you take 5 years to graduate), and the only other thing you have to do is sit down and talk to your parents about it.</p>
<p>Just as a heads up: the starting salary of nurses is about 41k, but could be more or less, depending on location.</p>
<p>[Nurse</a> Salaries - Nursing Salary Surveys](<a href=“Allied-physicians.com”>Allied-physicians.com)</p>