Texas Forum

[ironbmike]

Got an offer to go to Texas for a three year total of $124K, including COL and obviously not including debt interest. I'm out of state but received in-state tuition and scholly. Is that too much for Texas?

[Presidentjlh]

What other schools have you gotten into?

[ironbmike]

So far (total cost):

GWU ($163K)
William & Mary ($87K)
Richmond ($68K)
UNC ($148K)
Notre Dame ($132K)

I left out the others I'm waiting to hear from (Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown) and the others that I'm waiting on for scholarship offers.

From Virginia and have some working connections in the DC area.

[rad lulz]

Do us a favor and calculate total estimated CoA with interest

[Dr. Dre]

Do us a favor and calculate total estimated CoA with interest

[ironbmike]

So far (total cost):

GWU ($163K)
William & Mary ($87K)
Richmond ($68K)
UNC ($148K)
Notre Dame ($132K)

I left out the others I'm waiting to hear from (Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown) and the others that I'm waiting on for scholarship offers.

From Virginia and have some working connections in the DC area.

With 8% fixed interest private loan, total:
Texas $213K
GWU $280K
W&M $150K
Richmond $117K
UNC $255K
Notre Dame $227K

[FlowBro]

So far (total cost):

GWU ($163K)
William & Mary ($87K)
Richmond ($68K)
UNC ($148K)
Notre Dame ($132K)

I left out the others I'm waiting to hear from (Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown) and the others that I'm waiting on for scholarship offers.

From Virginia and have some working connections in the DC area.

With 8% fixed interest private loan, total:
Texas $213K
GWU $280K
W&M $150K
Richmond $117K
UNC $255K
Notre Dame $227K

Those numbers make me feel woozy...that is a shit ton of debt

[ironbmike]

So far (total cost):

GWU ($163K)
William & Mary ($87K)
Richmond ($68K)
UNC ($148K)
Notre Dame ($132K)

I left out the others I'm waiting to hear from (Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown) and the others that I'm waiting on for scholarship offers.

From Virginia and have some working connections in the DC area.

With 8% fixed interest private loan, total:
Texas $213K
GWU $280K
W&M $150K
Richmond $117K
UNC $255K
Notre Dame $227K

Those numbers make me feel woozy...that is a shit ton of debt

Indeed indeed.

[rad lulz]

So far (total cost):

GWU ($163K)
William & Mary ($87K)
Richmond ($68K)
UNC ($148K)
Notre Dame ($132K)

I left out the others I'm waiting to hear from (Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown) and the others that I'm waiting on for scholarship offers.

From Virginia and have some working connections in the DC area.

With 8% fixed interest private loan, total:
Texas $213K
GWU $280K
W&M $150K
Richmond $117K
UNC $255K
Notre Dame $227K

I hate to say it bro, but at those prices, none of them are worth it. Your best choices (Richmond and W&M) are too expensive for the job prospects they provide. See lawschooltransparency.com

[ironbmike]

So far (total cost):

GWU ($163K)
William & Mary ($87K)
Richmond ($68K)
UNC ($148K)
Notre Dame ($132K)

I left out the others I'm waiting to hear from (Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown) and the others that I'm waiting on for scholarship offers.

From Virginia and have some working connections in the DC area.

With 8% fixed interest private loan, total:
Texas $213K
GWU $280K
W&M $150K
Richmond $117K
UNC $255K
Notre Dame $227K

I hate to say it bro, but at those prices, none of them are worth it. Your best choices (Richmond and W&M) are too expensive for the job prospects they provide. See lawschooltransparency.com

I know LST and the numbers. W&M is my top choice at the moment. I feel confident about finding a job in the DC area. At the moment it's down to UT and W&M. More expensive, better school vs cheaper school with worse employment prospects but in an area with connections.

[rad lulz]

Just go to W&M then I guess but it's probably a bad decision

[005618502]

What was the size of the scholly from Texas? I mean at 213k...that means you got a very small scholarship... You are from Virginia? Habe your heard back from UVA, probably your best bet as an in-stater

Texas is only 33k a year for in-state. Probably less than 50 when you factor in COL (I lived in Austin for over 5 years downtown, you can definitely keep your costs below 17k for food, living, entertainment, etc.

[ironbmike]

What was the size of the scholly from Texas? I mean at 213k...that means you got a very small scholarship... You are from Virginia? Habe your heard back from UVA, probably your best bet as an in-stater

Texas is only 33k a year for in-state. Probably less than 50 when you factor in COL (I lived in Austin for over 5 years downtown, you can definitely keep your costs below 17k for food, living, entertainment, etc.

Yeah, from VA. Waitlisted at UVA. Got 12K year from Texas (plus in-state tuition). I calculated those numbers at 53K/year at Texas minus the scholarship, plus loan interest on a 15 year loan.

Still waiting on scholarship info from George Mason but they are usually stingy.

[untar614]

What was the size of the scholly from Texas? I mean at 213k...that means you got a very small scholarship... You are from Virginia? Habe your heard back from UVA, probably your best bet as an in-stater

Texas is only 33k a year for in-state. Probably less than 50 when you factor in COL (I lived in Austin for over 5 years downtown, you can definitely keep your costs below 17k for food, living, entertainment, etc.

Yeah, from VA. Waitlisted at UVA. Got 12K year from Texas (plus in-state tuition). I calculated those numbers at 53K/year at Texas minus the scholarship, plus loan interest on a 15 year loan.

Still waiting on scholarship info from George Mason but they are usually stingy.

Wait, I'm not following your numbers. Texas at IS tuition is 33k/yr. If you got 12k/yr on top of that, thats 21k/yr. You should be able to live decently, albeit frugally in Austin for 15k/yr. So thats 36k/yr, which would be 108k total CoA. Interest shouldn't bring that up to anywhere near 213 unless you just never pay it off.

[ironbmike]

What was the size of the scholly from Texas? I mean at 213k...that means you got a very small scholarship... You are from Virginia? Habe your heard back from UVA, probably your best bet as an in-stater

Texas is only 33k a year for in-state. Probably less than 50 when you factor in COL (I lived in Austin for over 5 years downtown, you can definitely keep your costs below 17k for food, living, entertainment, etc.

Yeah, from VA. Waitlisted at UVA. Got 12K year from Texas (plus in-state tuition). I calculated those numbers at 53K/year at Texas minus the scholarship, plus loan interest on a 15 year loan.

Still waiting on scholarship info from George Mason but they are usually stingy.

Wait, I'm not following your numbers. Texas at IS tuition is 33k/yr. If you got 12k/yr on top of that, thats 21k/yr. You should be able to live decently, albeit frugally in Austin for 15k/yr. So thats 36k/yr, which would be 108k total CoA. Interest shouldn't bring that up to anywhere near 213 unless you just never pay it off.

The difference is just COL. I'm just going with 20K as is on the school's tuition page. If I live for 15K COL instead of 20K, then it brings the 3 year total to $108K. That's where the difference is.

[untar614]

What was the size of the scholly from Texas? I mean at 213k...that means you got a very small scholarship... You are from Virginia? Habe your heard back from UVA, probably your best bet as an in-stater

Texas is only 33k a year for in-state. Probably less than 50 when you factor in COL (I lived in Austin for over 5 years downtown, you can definitely keep your costs below 17k for food, living, entertainment, etc.

Yeah, from VA. Waitlisted at UVA. Got 12K year from Texas (plus in-state tuition). I calculated those numbers at 53K/year at Texas minus the scholarship, plus loan interest on a 15 year loan.

Still waiting on scholarship info from George Mason but they are usually stingy.

Wait, I'm not following your numbers. Texas at IS tuition is 33k/yr. If you got 12k/yr on top of that, thats 21k/yr. You should be able to live decently, albeit frugally in Austin for 15k/yr. So thats 36k/yr, which would be 108k total CoA. Interest shouldn't bring that up to anywhere near 213 unless you just never pay it off.

The difference is just COL. I'm just going with 20K as is on the school's tuition page. If I live for 15K COL instead of 20K, then it brings the 3 year total to $108K. That's where the difference is.

Oh, ok. But still, how did you get up to 213k? To get that high you would have to not pay them off at all for an extended period of time. I'm guessingyou did the same math with all of those calculations, so comparatively they should be the same, but that still seems high. What is the actual calculation you are doing?

[ironbmike]

Oh, ok. But still, how did you get up to 213k? To get that high you would have to not pay them off at all for an extended period of time. I'm guessingyou did the same math with all of those calculations, so comparatively they should be the same, but that still seems high. What is the actual calculation you are doing?

I just plugged in the base amount, 8% interest over a 15 year payoff period into a loan calculator. Nothing fancy and not specifically tailored to the realistic loans I'd be getting (a mix of rates). So it's just a generalization.

Edit: Since it's all comparative, the final number doesn't matter so much as the value compared to the other schools listed.

[rickgrimes69]

Generally people want to know total COA at graduation, not including interest past the three years you are in school.

However, in this case it doesn't matter. All of your options are too expensive compared to your potential outcomes.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

UT at 21k/yr (not including CoL) is not a bad option at all. If you are DC or bust, it's probably a bad idea (but then so are all the other schools on your list). But if you are more flexible geographically (e.g., NYC and TX), then it's not as bad.

ETA: Aren't stafford loans still a better deal than private loans?

[philosoraptor]

If you want D.C., Texas at anywhere north of $100K is not a good investment.

[005618502]

Oh, ok. But still, how did you get up to 213k? To get that high you would have to not pay them off at all for an extended period of time. I'm guessingyou did the same math with all of those calculations, so comparatively they should be the same, but that still seems high. What is the actual calculation you are doing?

Looks like OP means that it will be 213 total by the time the loans are paid off (after 15 years). This is a weird way to look at things OP!

you will be about 108 in debt at graduation (maybe a little more) that is not bad. If you can get biglaw in Texas you could pay that off in 2 years (COL is cheap and market is still 160k and no state tax) gotta love Texas lol... with that said, dont go to UT unless you are fine staying in Texas...

[ironbmike]

Oh, ok. But still, how did you get up to 213k? To get that high you would have to not pay them off at all for an extended period of time. I'm guessingyou did the same math with all of those calculations, so comparatively they should be the same, but that still seems high. What is the actual calculation you are doing?

Looks like OP means that it will be 213 total by the time the loans are paid off (after 15 years). This is a weird way to look at things OP!

you will be about 108 in debt at graduation (maybe a little more) that is not bad. If you can get biglaw in Texas you could pay that off in 2 years (COL is cheap and market is still 160k and no state tax) gotta love Texas lol... with that said, dont go to UT unless you are fine staying in Texas...

That is fine, I am flexible with where I work. I have no particular desire to stay in the DC area besides my work connections. And even so, with the connections, I'm sure I could come back from UT and find a job if I was so inclined.

But yeah, 108K debt @ UT vs 87K debt @ W&M makes me lean heavily towards Texas.

[byronmullens]

Why not use Texas offer to negotiate bigger scholly at W&M?

[PRgradBYU]

UT will give you better job prospects, but that amount of debt doesn't quite justify attending. Tricky situation.

[AreJay711]

Those total costs are a bit high. Either you can afford to pay it off early or you can't afford to pay it off and go IBR.