Is paying for tuition worth getting into debt?

**Joan.of.the.Arch** · 09-03-2009, 09:00 PM

I didn't read the rationale behind this calculator, Debt / salary wizard , but it says that you all will need to earn $414K to handle paying back a $240K loan (30K/semester) over ten years time at 6.8% interest.

And for what I think an average speech pathologist makes in your state, $71K annually, it suggested to borrow no more than $41K for a ten year payoff.

**am_vanquish** · 09-04-2009, 03:34 AM

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but it sounds to me like the question is whether or not the increased cost of a PRIVATE school over a public school is worth the loan ... and my answer is NO. I vote that she has to attend a public university ... even if she doesn't get into the program the first time around and has to apply again next semester. Maybe that will motivate her to take her preparation more seriously.

I do not believe that attending a more expensive school will allow her to make more money. There are only a few schools (and even within those schools, only a few majors/fields) in which attending a more prestigious or expensive school will allow you to earn significantly more money. I don't know much about speech pathology, but I'm 99% sure that she definitely won't make enough more money to justify the increased tuition & loans.

**Professorshak** · 09-04-2009, 06:12 AM

WOW!

If it takes so much to pay back the tuition, and I wouldn't imagine they would be able to make that much, why would they even bother with private schools?

**Joan.of.the.Arch** · 09-04-2009, 06:25 AM

It doesn't necessarily take that much income to pay back full tuition loans. I told you I did not read the rationale behind the calculator. But I might have seen that it was assuming one would devote 8% of income to paying off the loan. If one chooses, one can devote 10%, 20%, 30%, 50% (whatever) of income to paying back the loan. But are are talking about student loans in total as big as a mortgage, so of course it is going to take a lot to pay it off. Your wife is an economist. She can run some numbers in a variety of ways to consider this.

Why do private schools exists is a really separate question. But their very existence is not a clue that your wife can afford to go there.

**MonkeyMama** · 09-04-2009, 08:19 AM

Um yes, you are being fair!

Look. IF you are 99.99% sure you will follow through, you will make a LOT of money, and you will need the private degree to get anywhere, than sure, go with private school. If ALL these requirements are met.

I don't get the sense that is the case. Though it really depends on the degree.

I am curious too, is this an undergrad program?? I wasn't sure. But I know SO MANY people who blew all their money (and piled on loans) for private undergrad degrees, and then had no choice financially but public schools, for Grad degrees. IT's just so backwards!

I personally see no reason I would ever pay for a private school. BUT, do some diligent research in her desired field in the region. What schools are most speech pathologists hired from? IS there any increase in pay for private college degrees? Is it enough to cover the cost? (I ask all this because I work in a field and a region where Graduate degrees and private university degrees are not really wanted - so you get paid the same or often LESS). I am 100% serious. Public undergrad schools here just have excellent programs, and that's what employers want. The graduate programs are terrible here though - I wouldn't recommend them. That's why you'd get paid less. Though I have friends/relatives in other states who needed a Masters in the same field. (If I had a Masters, no one would look at my resume!) It just can vary so much. It's also something to consider if you may move, etc.

**ActYourWage** · 09-04-2009, 09:10 AM

There are some big IFs in this situation. If she can get accepted, if she FINISHES school. I would not borrow that much money.

**PetMom** · 09-05-2009, 10:22 AM

The public school option is the best bet.

A private school loan would really be a huge debt to incur that could take decades to pay off.

The flip reasoning that college attendees have that they will pay it off quickly sometimes in actual reality does not end up happening.

Especially if you start a family, both of you need good cars, a home, etc...

I know of some attorneys in their early thirties still struggling with the huge monthly payments. The biggest debts seem to come from the private big name law schools. All they seem to end up with is a more prestigious debt.

College loans are big business now. Carefully consider this. They have a lot of power in collecting these now and interest rates can be dececptive.
There are even websites that tell of horror stories.

With you being honest about your wife not being studious that should be a concern - have you both looked into the classes needed for this degree and how difficult they might be to pass and maintain a good grade average.

Try to find a public school before even considering a private school.

You almost would be better off going to a public school and charging on a credit card the barest minimum tuition/expenses you need to spend while living as 'starving students' in shared housing.

Is the program that hard to get into at a public college?

**Professorshak** · 09-05-2009, 10:30 AM

The program is very competitive, but they all are. My program was supposed to be very selective yet I got in and I wasn't the greatest student, I just wanted it REALLY bad and Im continuing my education not starting over.

**PetMom** · 09-05-2009, 10:57 AM

Another option: since you are not starting over, finish your program completely and then let your wife do her schooling while you are working at your higher paying career.

It would take longer but that would be less of a financial strain.

Many people get a career going in their thirties or forties.

She could use her time working and 'pre studying' so that school work is more of a breeze when she does go - I did this and took a heavier course load because I already knew a lot of it.

This also lets her know if the field of study is what she wants to do.

a person can pretty much know what the course work entails

Then you just put the effort into labs, internships, etc...

**Scanner** · 09-06-2009, 10:02 AM

My advice:

1. Consider community college for pre-reqs and then finishing the degree whereever. No one looks at where you started your program; they only look at where you complete it. If she's an economics major, I would think she woudn't have to start over and do all the 3 "B's" of College anyway:

Beer, Botany and Beowulf

2. Many hospitals have a tuition reimbursement program if you have been working there for awhile. Now, granted, I'd imagine most of them are slated towards nursing, since that is where hte need is the highest but I think a lot of them will allocate a dollar amount per semester. They may give something towards speech pathology since it's health and human services. My hosptial gives $3000 per year in tuition assistance (nothing specified on the co. website). . .not great, but not chump change either.

Even if it is as a ward clerk at a hospital, she should work in healthcare for awhile to see if she likes it. I have worked healthcare all my life. . .it's a great path to a middle class existence but it's not all ER shows or Lincoln Tech commercials with hot young toots saying, "I can go out and buy clothes now that I am a medical assistant.". . .there's lotsa paperwork, compliance issues, dealing with indigent, etc. And the money isn't often as great as purported.

3. The days of 100% financing an education are done. Kaput. Zero. Zilch. Nadda. If it hasn't arrived for MD"s and ESQ's, it soon will. Your financial plan should only include loans being at the most 66% of bearing your tuition cost (I am assuming she's going to be a commuter student and housing is somewhere else). That's just a figure off the top of my head but mainly, it's just to steer your wife from thinking it's okay to ride the ride on loans.

Good luck.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 09-08-2009, 05:32 AM

It depends. I wish my DH hadn't gone to a private school for his MBA, but he refused to consider the one private school in the area. Not good enough. Fair enough.

But it's cost us quite a pretty penny around $80k or something like that. I just made our last semesters payment and haven't gotten around to totalling it.

Sometimes in marriage it's not about the money. And we've taken out $25.5k in loans for his MBA.

Now this is risk reward balance, I agreed to it because he put the numbers out that he'll be pulling in a lot more with the MBA.

I don't know how this will end up but hopefully it will end up okay. We're pretty cautious with money, as it's obvious since we're here.

By the way, instead of getting new cars we drive our old beaters because of this private school thing. We also postponed kids a couple of years (3 actually) because of the time commitment to the MBA, not the financial aspects.

And both decisions have been good for us. If we hadn't been doing the MBA we'd have been driving around newer cars.

**zetta** · 09-08-2009, 08:34 PM

In general I would recommend going for public school. I think student loans can be a good tool if used carefully.

One thing to consider is how 4+ years of school (plus time for pre-req's) fits into your other life plans. I recall you and your wife are around 28 or 29 -- are children likely in your future in the next 5 years? Is your wife interested in staying home for a year or two at some point?

If so, it might make sense for your wife to consider pursuing her degree on a part-time basis. If she aimed to finish up about the time the youngest child entered preschool or kindergarten, she'd avoid having breaks in her resume and her credentials would appear more "fresh" at just the time she is launching her new career. Part-time would also spread out the cost, making it easier to cover with your higher earnings once your MA is complete.

**wincrasher** · 09-09-2009, 01:26 PM

I've found that people in the NE are more hung up on the private school thing - I've also found that younger folks are much more concerned than older folks about school reputation.

Out here in the real world, all that matters is the degree plus your life/work experience. Employers will always choose experience over a pretigious degree. Now if you want to work at some big NYC firm and fight over the upper rungs of a corporate structure, maybe it could make a difference.

Too often I see these young kids with $80k to $100k in college debt in jobs paying $30 to $40k, if that much. It's tragic and really unnecessary. I'm sure the Ivy League experience was wonderful, but then pursue a low wage career? I just don't get it.

If the wife want's to be a speech therapist, make her come up with a plan - where is she wanting to work? Would you relocate for the job? What would that do to your career path? What is the minimum it will take to get that job? What kind of money can she expect to earn? Only then can you calculate what you'd be willing to spend.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 09-09-2009, 04:21 PM

Absolutely it's an area thing. One reason I don't like the northeast. I think a lot of snobbery about where you go and having to go private. ugh.

But it can and does make a difference in some degrees. Although you should go to the best MBA program for the connections the only way is full time. So loans end up being necessary. But you aren't paying for the education. You are paying for the connections.

Is paying for tuition worth getting into debt?