Reply to $80k In Debt Worth It for Ivy Undergrad?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My personal advice would be to tell your parents you will only go back if they pay half of that $80k. So you will take a max of $40k in loans.

Another idea is to try to do a year abroad or even be a visiting student at one of the colleges you like. Check with your advisor at Columbia (there are rules about how many credits you need to earn at the graduating school and how many of those credits must be consecutive before graduation) and some of the colleges. Here's Smith's program:

https://www.smith.edu/admission-aid/how-apply/visiting-year

Another related idea is to get permission to do a summer at another college) and maybe see if Columbia will give you internship credit and try to whittle down your time there to 2-3 semesters instead of 3-4.

Harvard's summer program has lots of 4 credit classes and Cambridge is very pleasant in the summer.

https://summer.harvard.edu/

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[b]These are great ideas. Also look into whether you could do summer school in California for cheap and transfer the credits back to Columbia. You might be able to get out in fewer semesters than you think.[/b][/quote]

OP here. I asked my academic advisor about this, but she said that it wasn't a possibility. Columbia, like most of the Ivies, only accepts credits from classes taken at Columbia or from an approved study abroad program. Taking classes at community college or at a state school won't make my path to graduation faster or cheaper, unfortunately.                                              [/quote]

I’m the original poster. Do a study abroad! Look at the approved programs. They’re not going to approve a community college but there’s a very good chance they’ll approve a summer at another Ivy that offers summer classes or a semester or two as a visiting student at a peer school, like the ones you like. Find a program you like there, a professor you want to study with, contact the professor and go back to your Columbia advisor with the pitch and how this experience will complement your Columbia experience.

Also, have you checked with the colleges you like to make sure they won’t require parents’ info once you turn 24? I know Fafsa considers you an independent at 24yo but my kid was 24yo her senior year at a top nescac school and parents’ info was required for the CSS. The other issue is you might lose a lot of credits transferring. I really would look into the study away options to minimize your time on the Columbia campus - and tell your parents you will only return if they split the $80k with you. [/quote]

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