Is This College Worth It? Should I Take the Loan?
You compare net price, not sticker. And you cap debt against what the career actually pays. Run these five go/no-go gates before you accept the aid offer.
1Net-price gate
What will you actually pay after grants (the net price), not the headline tuition?
Net price is within reach from savings + federal loan limits + manageable work-study.
Even after aid, the net price forces heavy PLUS/private borrowing with no repayment plan.
2Debt-to-earnings gate
Does total borrowing stay under roughly your expected first-year salary?
Lifetime degree debt ≤ projected first-year post-grad income for that field.
Projected debt far exceeds first-year earnings — the math needs a cheaper school, in-state, or a shorter path.
3Aid-stack gate
Are you taking free money before loans?
You exhausted Pell/state/merit (free) and federal subs/unsub loans before any PLUS/private.
You are reaching for private/PLUS loans while leaving grants or cheaper schools on the table.
4Outcome gate
Does the program have a credible path to the career you want?
Clear graduation-to-employment record in your intended field; outcomes data available.
Vague outcomes, low completion rates, or a degree that doesn't map to a job you want.
5Alternatives gate
Have you priced the cheaper equivalents?
You compared in-state/public/community-college-then-transfer and chose with eyes open.
You skipped the lower-cost path without checking whether it delivers the same credential.
Shortcut
- Pull each school’s net price from its Net Price Calculator — ignore sticker.
- Cap federal loans; treat PLUS/private as a last resort.
- If total debt > expected first-year salary, switch to a cheaper path.
- Open the Financial Aid Roadmap Worksheet and map your aid stack.
Related: EFC/SAI calculator, Net cost calculator, College cost by state, and the open college net-price dataset (JSON).