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By Jackie Officecouch on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
Like everyone else it seems, I had to make the decision between the private college and the flagship state school: I chose the private college because I got more aid from them and their programs fit my interests as a 17-year old (these interests changed and were subsequently accommodated by this same private college). I actually graduated with significantly less debt than when I went to a state school for grad school (I have many feelings about masters degrees), and I got my first job because of my undergrad adviser's connections. I regret nothing about my private school experience, as it was worth it for me. Anecdote aside, choosing schools is often a difficult, personal, and even irrational decision; while cost should play a significant role in this decision-making process, those considerations are often pushed to the back burner in order to make that life gamble to "follow your dreams."
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By thewildair on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
This was sososo close to being me too. I had wanted to go to NYU ever since I was little, and when I got accepted, I was over the moon and immediately accepted. And while I did get a scholarship, it was nowhere near enough, and would have put me in similar amounts of crazy debt post-graduation. This was a huge point of contention between my mom and I, and luckily (although at the time, I was furious), my mom also sent in an acceptance to a state school (UC) which was obscenely cheaper. After an extended battle (I was a stubborn little teen) and hashing it out logically (I responded a lot better to this), I ended up going to the UC and having an amazing time. I mean, I'm still in debt, but I'm cool with it and it's not overwhelming, and I can still live a nice comfortable life while paying it off. I have never appreciated a momtervention more.
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By aetataureate on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
@Jon Yeah . . . So you're actually espousing the most literal possible version of free market, which is supply and demand without regulation. I don't agree that private, nonprofit educational institutions should be allowed to ask whatever price they want for higher ed, which I believe is a service, not a product. This is why we disagree. Apple is a publicly traded, for-profit company. NYU is a private nonprofit. Apples and oranges amirite har har har
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By SterlingCooper05 on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
Kudos to you and your husband for tackling the problem as a team! I think you, like many, were a victim of usury. At what point are we going to STOP lending $100K to people without the means to pay it back? Schools like NYU are only able to charge the high rate because of government subsidized student loans. A lending cap needs to be put in place immediately.
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By The Student Union@twitter on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
Thanks for sharing this...I'm in a similar boat, minus about $40,000. I originally attended a private university to study architecture. I could've gone to the public school 15 minutes away...maybe even lived at home to save money, but me being a stubborn 17-year-old impressed by the "prestigious" name, I chose the private school. Know what's even funnier? I crashed in burned in architecture and switched to journalism my second semester, even though I wanted to do film like Betty. I don't think I have to tell you how useless a journalism degree is when you have $80,000+ in debt. Oh, and the public university offered a broad mass comm major too. To be 17 again!
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By questingbeast on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
@Bettytron Fair enough!
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By aetataureate on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
@Bettytron Yeah, and I don't want you to think I'm saying you did something wrong here. It makes me furious that this artificially enormous sticker price is presented to people as an option that they should consider. The ethics of it are astonishing.
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By aetataureate on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
@CubeRootOfPi This amount of money is beyond what any amount of high regard could account for, though. It's a screwjob for its own sake on NYU's part.
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By Kristin on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
I graduated from an Ivy-league school with about $80,000 in student loans. Just like the author I had planned to consolidate and repay over a longer period, but ended up getting stuck with a 12-year repayment (15 minus the 3 years I spent in grad school) when consolidation went up in smoke. Fortunately the economic collapse also sent my interest rates plummeting, so I'm able to make the full payments, but at the time that I took them out I didn't realize that payment options for private loans were so limited. I make good money (enough for my husband to stay at home with our son) and I think my degree helped with that, so I don't think I'd do things differently, but I will definitely make sure my kids know what they're getting into when they pick schools.
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By @fo on I Chose the Expensive Private University — And Got the Debt to Go With It
"start paying the principle on my private loans" Is it churlishly pedantic to expect the principle of the difference between principle and principal to be respected on a site largely about repaying loan principals? (acknowledge it's pedantic; just want to avoid being churlish about it)