Financial Aid...How much debt is worth it?

[brekketechie]

Right so I have already posted a bit about my delima Here.

Comments

[tisiphone]

What kind of return are you expecting on your investment? And is that a fellowship, or is that your Stafford loans? If that's Stafford loans and you're still $25K down? I'd say punt it, unless you can expect to make $80K a year or more coming out. It might be a bit more doable if that's free money and you can still rely on Stafford etc, but it's still not great. Emory is a good school, it's not Ivy League but you won't walk out owing your soul either.

[brekketechie]

That $14K is fin aid money Yale is giving me - not gov't loans. So, it is a grant of sorts. I don't ahve to pay it back, if that matters! :)
So yeah, the $25K I could take out in gov't loans (for the most part).
I really like Emory - but i'm still hung up on the fact that Yale's comparative religion progam is just...better. Gah, why so difficult?

[tisiphone]

Is it enough better that it's worth $75K as compared to free? Emory's pretty damn good.

[brekketechie]

*sigh*
Nope. It really isn't, I mean almost nothing is worth that (maybe Cambridge in England, maybe) because I'll spend the next 50 years paying it back.
I mean, Emory will still be between $8K and $10K a year for living expenses, but that's nothing for grad school.
So...yeah, I think Emory is going to be my best bet, eh? :)

[pixiemab]

If I got into any sort of program offered by Yale, and was offered any amount of money, I'd figure out a way to make it happen. Holy name recognition.

Just my 2 cents. Congrats and I'm sure you'll make the decision that is right for you!

[brekketechie]

Part of me feels this way...but part of me is like "heck no" - I got a full-tuition scholarship to Emory, so I'm really balking at taking $75K of loans to attend Yale. You know?

[pixiemab]

Wow, I didn't realize Emory had offered you so much funding. I would definitely use that as leverage when/if you ask Yale for more money.

[shil]

Is that $14K on top of a tuition waiver? My understanding is that when schools give you free money, it pretty much always includes a tuition waiver as well as a stipend (or just the tuition waiver, but never just the stipend)...

[brekketechie]

It doesn't say anything about a tuition waver.
It just says I've been awarded $14K as a 'Yale Divinity School Scholarship.'
Then it goes on to tell me what tuition and fees for '09-'10 are going to be, and how much I'm eligible to borrow from the gov't.
So, no tuition waver. :(

[shil]

Hmm, I'd double check with them on that... you could very well be right and there's no tuition waiver, but it's worth checking on at least, especially since it would make your decision waaaaay easier, and the worst that'll happen is that they'll say no.

[bubbblybubbbles]

If it were me, I'd go where the money is. Since Emory is ranked 2nd in the nation, it's not like you're picking a crappy school over a fantastic one. I had a similar situation in undergrad (which granted, is different from choosing a grad school), but I went where the full scholarship was (even though the school wasn't as good), and now I'm watching all my friends scrambling to get enough money just to buy food, while I'm sitting on a surplus, investing in my retirement account, and pretty much taking it easy. And even though I didn't go to the best school, I still managed to get a great job. Your education is what YOU make of it

[brekketechie]

Well, I odn't plan to make diddley squat - profs and preachers are not the highest paid folks around. And I want to pursue a Ph.D. So, all things considered, I'll probably end up at Emory - which is great. But, Yale still is...Yale. You know?
I don't need a car - I have a pretty good one. And I highly doubt I'll be buying a home in the next 7 to 10 years. Settling down is not really in my 10 year plan. :)

But, unless I can get more money (equivalent to full tuition), I've already mentally decided against Yale. I guess now I just need to decide if I want to hold out, or if I want to move forward with getting all my Emory stuff worked out (like applying for jobs/find apartments and roomates/etc). You know?

[bubbblybubbbles]

Have you told Yale that you've got an offer for a full ride on the table? Since you've pretty much decided on going to Emory if Yale won't give more money, it can't hurt you to let the people at Yale know the situation. They'll be glad that you can see that Yale's program is better, and if they want you at Yale then they'll figure out a way to make it work. If there aren't any more scholarship/financial aid possibilities coming up in the near future, though, I'd snatch up that Emory offer ASAP.

[seonmi_1412]

I agree with this advice. Say explicitly that you would definitely go to Yale if receiving sufficient funding. That you would decline the full funding offer from Emory.

[cafe_dulce]

I'm going to keep it short and sweet.
Emory.
:)
Good luck.