Why let your kids take out loans when you could full pay at another school?
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Anonymous
Most students go to college at age 18. If they want to take out loans it's their business they are an adult. Next, you will hear from the moronic parents that say Johnny or Sussie are not adults I support them. Well, guess what they can get loans they can move out they are adults. I digress, you asked why well different families feel different about paying for college. Some scream my kid can only go instate, some mortgage their life savings to send their kid to what they perceive is elite, LOL> All personal choice. There is no rule that says parents should pay for college. Many feel it's an obligation. Or it's keeping up with the Jones. Personally, we started explaining finances about college to our kids in middle school. We have beyond more money to pay any college expenses at any college. Grad school. Law school, Med school. We wanted our children to understand colleges are businesses now and going is not only about experiences there but what are the financial ramifications. We paid for undergrad only. Anyone not wanting to go to our state universities took out loans to make up for the differences in cost. Ours choose to either stay instate or pick a school that was not as expensive. Why did we make our kids take out loans for the higher education? Becasue this way they owned it. Worked jobs during that time to keep those loans down. Appreciation of doing it themselves, gold. That said mine all chose paths that paying the loans back was pretty easy. Some people make students pay for any C's they get. Some parents make kids take out loans and they pay them back. Every family is different. Financially of course staying instate or for that matter community college is the way to go, but most parents are too much into bragging about Susie or John they forget the ultimate goals. |
Anonymous
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My DD wants (needs?) a school that makes it easier to connect with students and professors. At a lot of state schools (and even some Ivies) no one notices or cares if you stop showing up for classes. She fears feeling lost in a huge crowd.
Our problem is that we can’t afford the “good” SLACs that don’t give merit aid so I feel like she’ll have to drop down a few tiers in prestige to avoid going to a huge “good” school we afford. |
Anonymous
| The cheapest way to go is community college but it isn't the best way. Maybe it works for driven, capable students who aren't influenced by others around them but that doesn't describe everyone. So what is the best financial choice is not necessarily the best choice in terms of outcomes. |
Anonymous
| Networking. It can pay dividends down the line, and the perception among some upper/UMC families is that the kinds of people you will meet and be surrounded with at an elite private school is markedly different than at a public. |
Anonymous
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My dad refused to help pay for my undergrad if I went to the SLAC I wanted to go to (Knox), even if I made up the difference through loans. He just didn’t see the point in spending so much money in a private no-name college. He had a good mid six-figure income, but he wasn’t rich. I’m so glad he did that. He paid for all my tuition and expenses at a cheap school and my life turned out just how I wanted it to.
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Anonymous
Oh I meant to say at the beginning: OP I don’t get it either, unless it is a brand-name school. Not sure all those loans are worth it even for an Ivy but at least it makes some sense for potentially superior networking and job placement prospects. |
Anonymous
Np. Tell me why you need to know people's choices? Like why do you care about strangers and what is the purpose? Is it to make you feel better? Hloat and tell people how stupid they are? Why not ask why people buy expensive cars when a basic toyota would do the job? Or have an expensive wedding for one day party? |
Anonymous
- Doesn't know how college loans work - Can't spell "Susie" - Calls others "moronic". Yep, it all lines up! D-K all the way. |
Anonymous
| What’s the difference between a Hermès scarf and one you can get off the discount rack at Macy’s? |
Anonymous
Wow, I went to Knox and it's very rare I encounter anyone who has heard of it! In my case, I got enough in grants (not scholarships, just free money they gave me) that it brought the cost down to the same as I would've paid for state school in my state. I would have had to take out the same amount of loans in either case, but for me the small environment was a much better fit and I don't regret choosing Knox, though in retrospect I would've broadened my search to other SLACs. |
Anonymous
| Some of us think with our heads and hearts instead of our wallets. My oldest was a solid student with no confidence in her own abilities. Our huge in state school where she would remain a faceless number was going to do nothing for her. She went to a small regional college, crushed it graduating at the top of her class. She had strong relationships with professors and their recommendations helped score her a job at one of the top firms in that region despite coming from a “no name“ school. Second child is an equally capable student but a total social butterfly networker. He’s heading up a ton of groups and activities on campus, has half the administration in his pocket, and loves his community. In a party school he’d lose his way but the more regimented private school keeps the whole environment more subdued. I can see that giving him these critical maturing years in a better environment is working. He’ll stay on for their 5th year masters and his current internship site (arranged through the school) has already said they’ll hire him. They don’t have a tremendous amount of loans but they will be repaid quickly and should build them some decent personal credit in the process. Totally better than a lackluster state school we could have paid but whose name carries no weight. |
Anonymous
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Ours is going to HYP.
UMD gave her 2K per year scholarship because their merit program is more restrictive this year. With room and board, it's about 25k per year with books. We can pull that off without loans. She also got into a HYPSM University. It is 45K per year after financial aid. We chose HYPSM. Honestly, in our case, I think it's such a no-brainer that most people would make the same choice. |
Anonymous
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Also, you don't know, OP, what people are paying. My DS goes to a very expensive private school, he got a ton of merit aid and it's very reasonable.
His state flagship offered no merit aid so it would actually be more expensive. I don't go around telling people how much we actually pay at the private. You don't know people's finances, you don't know why they chose a college, etc. But I agree with your general proposition that it's not great to take out loans if you can afford something else unless there is a good reason and understanding. |
Anonymous
OP here. I agree with you. Congratulations to your very talented kid!! |
Anonymous
I’m trying to understand why people make that decision. You are putting words in my mouth. I did not say it was stupid to go to an expensive school. I just wonder why people who take 100’s of thousands in loans do so. |