Compare net price, not sticker price
Published tuition tells you very little. What matters is the net price after grants and scholarships, plus housing, food, travel, books and fees — and how each of those changes across four years. Two schools with a large gap in sticker price often have a much smaller gap in net price, and sometimes it reverses.
- Build a four-year total for each option, not a first-year figure.
- Separate grants and scholarships, which are not repaid, from loans, which are.
- Ask what happens to aid in later years and what conditions keep it in place.
How much borrowing is reasonable
The useful test is the payment, not the balance: what the monthly payment would be against a realistic starting salary in the field you intend to enter. Borrowing that consumes a large share of an entry-level paycheck delays everything else — housing, savings, and the ability to take a better job that pays less at first.
- Check realistic starting salaries for the specific field and region, not averages across all graduates.
- Federal and private loans differ in protections; treat them as different products.
- Every additional year of study adds both cost and a year of lost earnings.
Repayment before you need it
Repayment plans differ in monthly amount, total paid over time and the protections available if income drops. Choosing a plan is easier when you know the trade-off: lower payments usually mean more interest over the life of the loan. Refinancing federal loans privately can lower a rate but gives up federal protections permanently, which is the decision most often regretted.
- Lower monthly payments generally mean more total interest.
- Federal protections — deferment, income-driven options, certain forgiveness programs — disappear on private refinance.
- Keep records and confirm servicer details; administrative mistakes are common and costly.
Money while you study, and the first job
Student income is irregular and expenses are lumpy, so the budgeting approach that works is worst-month planning with a small buffer and sinking funds for known lumpy costs. When the first real paycheck arrives, the sequence that works is: capture any employer match, build a starter reserve, then attack high-rate debt — in that order.
- Use sinking funds for tuition instalments, travel and equipment.
- Do not leave an employer retirement match unclaimed; it is part of your pay.
- Increase living costs slower than income for the first year of work.