What to do with a humanities kid?

[Anonymous]

DD got into an HYPS school and ASU Barrett on a full ride. She’ll have to take out $20k in loans to afford the HYPS school.

The thing is, DD wants to pursue a humanities degree. We know that top tier schools probably have better instruction (smaller professor:student ratio which is important in humanities) as well as networking opportunities for humanities kids. But she’ll have to take out extra loans to afford access to these seemingly exclusive career/networking opportunities.

ASU Barrett would leave her with no debt, but presumably a weaker classroom experience as well less career and networking opportunities.

We’re torn. Take out loans for better opportunity or reduce loan debt for weaker opportunity for a humanities kid?

[Anonymous]

20K total in loans for 4 years?

[Anonymous]

If she wants to get a PhD and go into academia, I would choose the HYPS school, I think.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like your daughter has two excellent choices! When I first read the headline, I thought: either go for a very inexpensive school OR go for an Ivy, where there are still lucrative job opportunities afterwards. If your daughter truly can graduate from HYPS with only $20K debt TOTAL, go for it! If you mean $20K for each year, that's a different story!

Does she know what she wants to do afterwards? Law school, becoming a novelist, or working for a non-profit? Or going into consulting for awhile?

She honestly has two great choices!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like your daughter has two excellent choices! When I first read the headline, I thought: either go for a very inexpensive school OR go for an Ivy, where there are still lucrative job opportunities afterwards. If your daughter truly can graduate from HYPS with only $20K debt TOTAL, go for it! If you mean $20K for each year, that's a different story!

Does she know what she wants to do afterwards? Law school, becoming a novelist, or working for a non-profit? Or going into consulting for awhile?

She honestly has two great choices!

It's $20K for all four years ($5K a year). She knows for certain she doesn't want to go to law school (was mock trial captain and hated it) or academia ("too long!"), but other than ruling out those two options, she has no clue what she wants to do after graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like your daughter has two excellent choices! When I first read the headline, I thought: either go for a very inexpensive school OR go for an Ivy, where there are still lucrative job opportunities afterwards. If your daughter truly can graduate from HYPS with only $20K debt TOTAL, go for it! If you mean $20K for each year, that's a different story!

Does she know what she wants to do afterwards? Law school, becoming a novelist, or working for a non-profit? Or going into consulting for awhile?

She honestly has two great choices!

It's $20K for all four years ($5K a year). She knows for certain she doesn't want to go to law school (was mock trial captain and hated it) or academia ("too long!"), but other than ruling out those two options, she has no clue what she wants to do after graduation.

Agree with PP. $20K over the long run is nothing. She's very fortunate to be able to graduate with a degree in humanities from an HYP with so "little" in debt. Have her start working over the coming summers to bank some money to pay it off ASAP. And congratulations!

[Anonymous]

Are you paying full price except for the loans? If you're spending that money other than the loans, I'd ask her if she'd rather have it available for grad school than spend it now. I took out $20K 15 years ago so that doesn't seem like a huge issue to me, but I was also getting a ton of financial aid so the total calculation was different. I wouldn't turn her off a school she likes over that much in loans, though.

[Anonymous]

20k for all for years - then this is a no-brainer. HYPS.

Hard to guess what networking opportunities at HYPS would cost money that necessitated loans - I wonder if that point is incorrect. I have a humanities kid at another (top 30) school and while there is plenty of networking, there isn't a cost associated with that.

[Anonymous]

For 20K total loans I would go with HYPS. Doubt she'd regret that, but she may regret forgoing that opportunity for ASU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like your daughter has two excellent choices! When I first read the headline, I thought: either go for a very inexpensive school OR go for an Ivy, where there are still lucrative job opportunities afterwards. If your daughter truly can graduate from HYPS with only $20K debt TOTAL, go for it! If you mean $20K for each year, that's a different story!

Does she know what she wants to do afterwards? Law school, becoming a novelist, or working for a non-profit? Or going into consulting for awhile?

She honestly has two great choices!

It's $20K for all four years ($5K a year). She knows for certain she doesn't want to go to law school (was mock trial captain and hated it) or academia ("too long!"), but other than ruling out those two options, she has no clue what she wants to do after graduation.

That's a very reasonable amount of student loan debt. I work with low-income college students, and for a focused, hardworking student-even if they come from a family making 25k a year, a cumulative 20k in student debt is fine.

[Anonymous]

$20K is a totally reasonable amount of debt. She should go to which ever school she wants, presumable the private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you paying full price except for the loans? If you're spending that money other than the loans, I'd ask her if she'd rather have it available for grad school than spend it now. I took out $20K 15 years ago so that doesn't seem like a huge issue to me, but I was also getting a ton of financial aid so the total calculation was different. I wouldn't turn her off a school she likes over that much in loans, though.

No, we received about 50% FA from the HYPS school. Even at $35k a year, it's a big stretch for us (I know most of DCUM can't relate). We won't be able to pay for her grad school if she goes to HYPS, but then again DD has absolutely no idea what type of grad school she'd like to go to.

[Anonymous]

+1 With HYPS, her options are wider after graduation.

[Anonymous]

HYPS. There is a much bigger difference in outcome based on undergrad for humanities majors than for STEM, so ignore the success stories from honor colleges graduates if they are pre-med, engineering or CS majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you paying full price except for the loans? If you're spending that money other than the loans, I'd ask her if she'd rather have it available for grad school than spend it now. I took out $20K 15 years ago so that doesn't seem like a huge issue to me, but I was also getting a ton of financial aid so the total calculation was different. I wouldn't turn her off a school she likes over that much in loans, though.

No, we received about 50% FA from the HYPS school. Even at $35k a year, it's a big stretch for us (I know most of DCUM can't relate). We won't be able to pay for her grad school if she goes to HYPS, but then again DD has absolutely no idea what type of grad school she'd like to go to.

Not sure if your DD is fine arts inclined but, if so, go with HYPS.