<p>If my parents have to take out 20k in loans every year, it is worth it to go to Stanford?</p>
<p>We’re in the same bind…I don’t know.</p>
<p>same here! I think it’s still worth it unless another of my dream schools accepts me (not expecting this) and offers more money AND I feel more at home there.</p>
<p>Depends on what your other options are.</p>
<p>What else is going to be done with the money? SUV? Bigger HDTV? Food for foster children? Your inheiritance?</p>
<p>“What else is going to be done with the money? SUV? Bigger HDTV? Food for foster children? Your inheiritance?”</p>
<p>^^dude, it’s not like they HAVE the money to spend, it’s not just an issue of prioritizing existing money towards an education over something else like a bigger tv or something. they would actually have to take out loans to pay for stanford b/c they don’t have that money, they’d be in debt.</p>
<p>op: i think you should try to talk to the fin aid ppl at stanford, hopefully they’ll be understanding if they see that you really do need more aid. the whole point of meeting 100% need is so that ppl aren’t forced to choose other schools because of money issues, right?</p>
<p>If the op is not international, the loans should be manageable, unless Stanford financial aid is much worse than I think it is. There is still a question as to whether it is worth it, which depends upon where else the money money go. A loan just means pay later rather than now, especially if it involves deferred payment and subsidized interest.</p>
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Yes, but loans are counted toward meeting the 100% need. The idea of financial aid is that you pay some money, take out some loans, maybe do some work study, and the school gives you some grants. Having to take out 20k loans means that they’re already giving you around 25k in grants (minus EFC) for a total 45k budget. The point of meeting 100% of need is that no one is physically unable to attend a certain school because they don’t have the cash, not that every school costs the same. The irony is that many students from middle-class families end up attending a cheaper public school, say Berkeley, because their families make too much to get lots of aid, yet aren’t rich enough to drop 45k without making hard sacrifices.</p>
<p>They gave me 15k. I can only pay about 10k. That’s why I need to borrow 20k.
The CSS apparently doesn’t consider real estate debt.</p>
<p>Also, the 20k I keep would go to my siblings athletics, music lessons, and other extra-curriculars.</p>