Question:

It's going to cost me $83,000 to go to college?
That's a lot. I am/might be attending Drexel University, but they didn't offer me very god financial aid. It looks like I will be paying $83,000 when i graduate. I either go to Drexel for five years, or my only other choice is a community college. I wish to major in finance and economics. I know how debt works. How long do you think it would take for me to pay off this debt?

Answers:

A-Best: in my opinion, there is NO reason to put yourself in debt for a school that isn't in the top 20. you aren't getting anything out of it except for a fairly average degree and no name recognition. go to a community college for 2 years and then transfer. if you really want to go to drexel, transfer to drexel and then you will only be in half as much debt.  

A: All FEDERAL student loans are put on a 10 year payment plan upon your graduation or of you dropping out or dropping below half time enrollment status. Since private student loans have a much higher interest rate than federal (twice as much or more) they are usually put on a 25 year payment plan, although since private loans are totally unregulated, you really would need to read your loan papers to know for sure. 25 years of living in the parents basement would stink... Your payments on the dozen or so loans you'd accumulate over 5 years would be about 1,000 a month or more. Yikes!!!