<p>to put things in perspective:</p>
<p>well-known school’s (NYU for example, terrible finaid) package = have you pay 80%
ok/backup school’s package = 80% tuition paid</p>
<p>would you go into debt for a great school?
in my opinion i say no, save it for grad school, but what are your opinions?</p>
<p>NYU is not worth killing yourself for, but maybe a higher level school would be worth it.</p>
<p>If grad school is going to be one that is generally covered with research grants, lab jobs, etc, then some additional debt may be worth it. If it is law school, med school, etc. then go to the ok program and save your money. If money is an issue, apply to lots of schools and compare the aid packages. If you can get into NYU, you may be able to get into a school with a similar reputation that provides better aid. In addition, the costs of living in New York will make school even tougher if you are on a tight budget.</p>
<p>NO undergrad school is worth a lot of debt. It ruins your life.</p>
<p>What is the other school?</p>
<p>Well, given that it isn’t April yet, I’m assuming this is just hypothetical, and NYU is just an example (because of their terrible aid).</p>
<p>If the safety was good (tier 1), I’d go there. If not, I would either go the community college route (not that I actually can, but hypothetically) or try to find a tier 1 financial safety.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>THIS is EXACTLY what I believe in, although many posters on this site believe otherwise, and that’s ok.</p>
<p>i didn’t apply/not applying to NYU (i’m beginning my transfer process for FALL '11) and i was just using it as an example; NYU was voted #1 on Gawkers [The</a> Top Ten Universities for Student Debt](<a href=“http://gawker.com/5615933/the-top-ten-universities-for-student-debt]The”>http://gawker.com/5615933/the-top-ten-universities-for-student-debt)</p>
<p>Anyways, yeah, I don’t think a great school with a minimal finaid package is worth it in my opinion. Yes there are other “opportunities” but if you don’t have the capability to find these opportunities on you’re own, then obviously that’s going to be a challenge for you. You just can’t have things handed to you.</p>
<p>Depends on your major. If it’s NYU Stern, it’s worth it only if you want to go into finance and the other school get no front office recruitment at all. You can do well at Stern and be making 100000k right after college.</p>
<p>*If it’s NYU Stern, it’s worth it only if you want to go into finance and the other school get no front office recruitment at all. You can do well at Stern and be making 100000k right after college. *</p>
<p>Even if you’re making $100k right out of college (if lucky), it’s still not easy to pay off big debt. When living in a city like NYC (where such a big starting salary might occur), the living expenses are so high, that’s it’s hard to dedicate a big chunk towards debt each month.</p>
<p>For instance…if you were to borrow $100k total for college at 6.8% (may be higher for private loans)…</p>
<p>Loan Calculator</p>
<pre><code>Loan Balance: $100,000.00
Adjusted Loan Balance: $100,000.00
Loan Interest Rate: 6.80%
Loan Term: 10 years
Minimum Payment: $0.00
</code></pre>
<p>**
Monthly Loan Payment: $1,150.80**
Number of Payments: 120</p>
<pre><code>Cumulative Payments: $138,096.57
Total Interest Paid: $38,096.57
</code></pre>
<p>Note: The monthly loan payment was calculated at 119 payments of $1,150.80 plus a final payment of $1,151.37.</p>
<p>It is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $138,096.00 to be able to afford to repay this loan.</p>
<p>The rule of thumb is no more than 10% of your annual earnings should go to student loan debt. </p>
<p>And…what if you don’t get a job making 100k per year?</p>
<p>^^ It’s amazing what some people believe about starting salaries. According to NYU “NYU Stern’s Undergraduate College placement rate is 98% with an average starting salary of $60000. NYU Stern’s graduate placement rate is 78% with an average starting salary of $100837.”</p>
<p>I don’t believe in a lot of debt but the ‘save it for grad school’ argument isn’t right either. They may be a reasonable argument for med school, but decent PhD programs don’t cost the student anything and law and business schools worth attending will yield salaries where you would be comfortable borrowing to attend. I would not attend a lesser undergrad school to save for these grad schools.</p>
<p>It’s a lot like saying save the ivy for grad school, as though most have any hope of getting into one then.</p>
<p>Stern is worth a loan. Other colleges in NYU isn’t.</p>