The Financial Aid Handbook, Revised Edition

11An Intentional Alternative Plan

IF YOU CRUNCHED the numbers in Chapter 10 and discovered that you’ll have to take on an excess of $8,000 per year in student loans in order to go to college, it’s time to think again. If you can’t meet our $8K Debt Challenge, you likely cannot afford to go to college this fall. Sure, the loans are there; there are eager lenders on every single college website, popping up through insidious little boxes like the “SimpleTuition” ads on the Princeton Review, showing up in your inbox, and yes, still through the mail. But unless you’re planning on majoring in math or one of the hard sciences (and there’s absolutely no way you’ll change your mind or major), you’re at a statistical disadvantage—your risk will likely ...