@Goldielocks - I was mistaken - when I went back and looked I had $80k after grad school, but then when the interest on the unsubsidized loans was added in I ended up over $100k - in my mind I kept thinking $80k undergrad and $100k grad school. Although the compounded interest on the maximum that could be taken out probably would’ve put me close to $80k with undergrad alone.
This is such a complicated topic and not all students fall into the general “mold” or statistics. I have my own experience, the experiences of those I know, and the extensive research I have done while in grad school and since then (I studied income inequality, social mobility, and access to higher education). Also - I’m typing this on my iPad so please ignore any typos or formatting issues - it’s hard to preview and edit on here.
In my case I graduated from high school with a 4.0 and the highest ACT score my school had seen in several years. I know that is the case because the guidance counselor called me into his office to go over my scores and told me that was the case. In our school VERY few students went on to college and the teachers were all pushing students to go to a local vocational/tech school or community college. I mentioned to the guidance counselor that I was thinking about doing community college for 2 years then transferring to the state school and he told me that I would be bored out of my mind at the community college and that I was the type of person who needed to be challenged, so he encouraged me to go to the state school right away. That is what I did and for the first semester I lived at home but then my dad took a better job far away and I was on my own to figure out housing and how to live on my own.
At the state school I got the maximum scholarships but the only “free rides” were for athletes. It was a HUGE school where I didn’t get to personally know my professors and the classes were really easy for me. I also worked full time 48 hours a week at a local factory where the overtime was mandatory. At this large state school it usually took students 5-6 years to graduate because it was damn near impossible to get into the classes you needed in the semesters you needed to take them. Due to not getting my classes I needed to be in, I took 2 senior level classes at the beginning of my sophomore year and those classes changed my life. Both professors, separately and unbeknownst to each other, called me into the offices toward the end of the semester and I thought I was in trouble - no other professors had even known I existed before now. In both cases I had written the best term paper of the class so they looked me up, saw that I was an incoming sophomore, and were impressed. They talked to me and found out that I had a 4.0 while working over 40 hours a week and they both gave me the same piece of advice - I needed to get out of that school and go to a more rigorous school where I would be challenged more. One of the professors told me that I was holding myself back by being at that school and that I had to promise him I would investigate other schools.
I wanted to move to Colorado so I investigated schools in Colorado and I decided that I wanted to go to the best program for economics I could get into, and I didn’t care if it was a public or private school, I just wanted to go to the most rigorous, best school I could possibly get into. I ended up at a private school where the tuition was over $50k per year, excluding room and board. They only offered need based scholarships and I received their maximum need-based scholarship, but it was only $35k per year. This school had enrollment levels drastically lower than the state school I had attended, and my ACT score was closer to their average than the state school, where it had been 10-15 points higher. I was challenged. I got 2 Bs and a C my first quarter mostly from switching to the rigors of a quarter system when I was used to semesters. I also got to know my professors in a way that I never had before. Our classes were much smaller and I truly believe I got a fuller, deeper education because of it.
I chose to stay at that school for grad school and I got a TA position which covered 75% of my tuition and provided me with a stipend. It was luxurious. I was constantly challenged and I’ve never worked so hard in my life. I continued to work outside of the TA position, but I flourished under the hard work. I received the award for the top graduate student in the economics department and I was featured in the university’s magazine as their “student spotlight” for my research. At one point I had a minor panic attack about finding a good job and continuing to pay for school and living expenses and the professor I was talking to told me not to worry. He said that I had impressed him beyond any student before and that for the rest of my life I never needed to worry about having a good job. He would pull any strings necessary and call in any favors possible to make sure I was always employed. I still keep in touch with all of my professors from the economics department. If I had stayed at the state school, I definitely don’t think that would be the case.
So yes, I could’ve done all of this a lot cheaper. I could’ve gone to the community college and passed my classes easily, possibly without loans. I could’ve stayed at the state school and hopefully graduated in 4 years with less loans, but I doubt I would’ve had anyone encouraging me to go to grad school and become an economist. I definitely wouldn’t have made the connections that I have, or have the job that I have today.
On another note, there is one thing I regret - while doing my graduate research I learned about “high-achieving low-income students” which is a category I would’ve fit in. I learned that these students get free tuition at nearly every Ivy League school, and if I had applied to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc I would’ve almost certainly got in with a full ride. No one had ever told me that. It was never mentioned to me by my guidance counselor and it’s not something I learned about on my own. My mom didn’t even graduate from high school and I was totally on my own when it came to going to college. I paid for my application fee, I filled out my applications, and I filled out my own FAFSA (after begging my parents for their tax returns every damn year with them arguing about how they didn’t understand why I needed them since I was an adult). Going to college wasn’t even a discussion with them, they never talked to me about any of it, they never asked me questions about it.