{"id":33001,"date":"2026-04-01T00:33:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/running-the-campus\/https-president-necc-mass-edu-how-to-make-the-right-choice-on-college-decision-day-2\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T01:01:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:01:26","slug":"https-president-necc-mass-edu-how-to-make-the-right-choice-on-college-decision-day-2","status":"publish","type":"running-the-campus","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/running-the-campus\/https-president-necc-mass-edu-how-to-make-the-right-choice-on-college-decision-day-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make the Right Choice on College Decision Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cYou have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You\u2019re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who\u2019ll decide where to go.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 Dr. Seuss, \u201cOh, The Places You\u2019ll Go\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

National \u201cCollege Decision Day,\u201d the day that most high school seniors who have been accepted into one or more colleges and received financial aid offers are expected to choose the one they plan to attend, is a month away, on Friday, May 1.<\/p>\n

In case you are one of those anxious, aspiring students, or the parent, family member or friend of one of them sharing in the big decision, let me offer this advice:  No one has to go into big debt to get a good education, earn a college degree, and have a rewarding career in Massachusetts.<\/em><\/p>\n

Despite the pressure you may be feeling to \u201cmatch\u201d to the best possible school on your list, and your expectation that if you do, you will be much better off in your life and career, for most people, just going to college matters more than which college you go to.<\/p>\n

And, depending on your circumstances, choosing a selective, high-priced college for its prestige and ivy-covered walls may leave you deep in debt, putting off major life decisions like getting married, starting a family, and buying a home; and struggling with chronic stress while working alongside others in similar jobs who chose different, more affordable paths to their college degrees.<\/p>\n

Here is a common example of what to avoid, followed by some suggestions for what you might do instead:<\/p>\n

Congratulations!  You applied to seven colleges, including a balance of \u201csafety\u201d, \u201ctarget\u201d and \u201cstretch\u201d schools, and were admitted to all of them. That\u2019s huge, and you should feel proud of your accomplishment.<\/p>\n

You decide to shoot for the stars on May 1 and accept your admission to your \u201cstretch\u201d school, a moderately selective private university with an annual cost of $75,000 for tuition, fees, room and board (not at all unusual, in Massachusetts, where nearly 20 colleges now cost over $80,000 a year and two just topped $100,000<\/a>).<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll assume you take at least five classes each semester, study hard, get good grades, don\u2019t change your major, and graduate in four years (even though, according to the National Center for Education Statistics<\/a>, only about 41% of students complete their bachelor\u2019s degrees in that time).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a total of $300,000 (not accounting for annual tuition increases, which will <\/em>happen).<\/p>\n

Your family earns the Massachusetts median annual income<\/a> of $104,000, so you do not qualify for a Pell Grant (only about a third of college students do), which would have shaved up to $7400 a year off that price tag.  <\/p>\n

Thankfully, though, you are one of the 35% of American families sending kids to college who have a 529 savings plan, where you have accumulated the average amount of $30,000<\/a>.  Well done!<\/p>\n

On top of that, the university has offered you a $20,000 merit scholarship that is good for \u201cup to\u201d four years\u2014wow, that\u2019s huge! <\/p>\n

Or is it?<\/p>\n

Please read the fine print.  Watch for requirements (like maintaining a minimum grade point average, taking a certain number of credits each semester, and other academic or conduct requirements) that could cause you to lose that scholarship unexpectedly, and especially find out what \u201cup to\u201d four years means, since many merit scholarships are not automatically renewable, are only available for the first year or two, or fluctuate based on class size.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you get the full monte: $80K!<\/p>\n

Well done: Between your 529 plan savings and your merit scholarship you just whittled down the total amount of your college education to \u201conly\u201d $190,000.<\/p>\n

Of course, you\u2019re energetic and ambitious, so you\u2019re planning to work a part-time job while taking classes.  While the average college student, according to ZipRecruiter<\/a>, earns less than $17 an hour, you\u2019re so good at what you do, you actually rake in $20 an hour and work twenty hours a week (makes the math easier anyway) and bring home $20,000 a year ($80,000 for all four).<\/p>\n

Just to keep things simple, we\u2019ll assume every last cent of that goes to your college expenses (it won\u2019t since you\u2019ll have a modest amount of taxes to pay, will likely want to eat something other than dorm food once in a while, and may want to go bowling or catch a movie on the weekends).<\/p>\n

Way to go!  You have now reduced your total bill down to $110,000, for which you have decided to take out student loans.<\/p>\n

Since the maximum amount of federal student loans you can have is $31,000, you will need to take $79,000 in private loans.  On top of figuring that out, some of your federal loans will be \u201csubsidized\u201d and some will be \u201cunsubsidized\u201d which will affect how much interest you pay and when you pay it, but to keep things simple, let\u2019s just say you\u2019ll pay a flat 7% interest rate (the average across all types of loans right now) on the total amount of your loans over ten years (the standard repayment time).<\/p>\n

Assuming that working that part-time job on top of taking at least five classes a semester (so you graduate on time and maintain your merit scholarship) doesn\u2019t completely exhaust you (about a third of all college students drop out each year), you\u2019ll collect your diploma on commencement day, along with a letter from your student loan servicer (Probably Navient and Sallie Mae if you have a combination of federally subsidized and private loans) telling you it\u2019s time to start paying for that education you just received.<\/p>\n

Your $110,000 loan at 7% interest over ten years will cost you nearly $1,300 a month (and you will end up paying back over $150,000).<\/p>\n

A standard rule of thumb for student loan borrowers is that your repayment should not be more than 10% of your gross salary, to leave room for living expenses and other financial goals.<\/p>\n

So, as long as you are making at least $130K a year, you should be fine.<\/p>\n

Except, even though starting salaries are expected to climb this year, the average college graduate, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)<\/a>, is expected to earn around $65,000 in 2026, with business majors earning slightly more, at $68,873, and even engineers, the highest paying profession right out of school, starting at just $81,198 (I stopped rounding off because at this point, as you can see, every dollar is starting to matter).<\/p>\n

You will be paying nearly 20% of your salary, double the recommended amount, toward your student loans, leaving you strapped for cash and probably wracked with stress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And this has all been the best-case scenario<\/em>: It assumes you have money saved in a 529 plan, a reasonable merit scholarship every year, a part-time job at a good wage, you graduate on time, and live like a monk (no car, no gym membership, no Door Dash, no nothing) and only leave your dorm to go to class.<\/p>\n

There are better ways, including:<\/p>\n