<prompt> Human: This might seem like a silly question but I am in my sophomore year of college and Im about to transfer to another school. The school I will be transferring to is a private research university. Because of that, the tuition will be way higher. Im a social work major so I know I will not be making much money but I DO plan to go to graduate school and possibly even get my phd or dsw so I can teach. My question is that if its worth it to go to a private school in order to get better internships, small classrooms, more research opportunities, or is it just okay to go to a state school. Like I said, I want to teach in the college so I need as much research and publications. I have already started a grant funded research at my current school.And I know Im not going to be rich teaching but I would like some tips if I do end up in a larger debt pool like 55k after I get my PhD. I only have 8500 right now. I am 17 years old so I have no other debt. Edit: thank you everyone for the replies. I was talking to one of my biggest mentors and I found out what I want to do. A lot of you said dont go into debt for something that youre just passionate about. Someone also told me to have fun in under grad, just study whatever. Well, I know for sure I will get a masters in social work so I can get licensed but I think I will go into education for under grad. This isnt my final decision though. I have to make my final choice by February 1st. Thank you everyone.Assistant: My general advice is to go to state school, and save your money for graduate school. Your grad school degree matters more. But, thats for your normal JD MBA MD PhD. In your situation, you want to do social work. Social workers get paid very little period. And as far as I know, the school they go to has almost no impact on pay or job opportunities. Now, the exception. If youre trying to get a tenure track professor position in your field. I dont know about social work. But, for most fields, about 10 schools will turn out 50 or more of the academics landing tenure track professor positions. The other 95 of schools will be lucky if any of their graduating PhDs land a professorship. So, be very, very careful. And, keep in mind. If you go into social work. Your 100 dedicating your life to helping people. There is almost 0 financial reward. You might as well be a nun and take a vow of poverty. If you want to help people, and still have some money, consider becoming a nurse, a doctor, a dentist, a vet, an OT, a PT, a speech pathologist, even teachers make more money. Your doing this for love. And dedicating yourself for love. Make sure youre ready. Human: Thank you for your comment it made me laugh. I grew up dirt poor and I still am in a way so I dont get scared about that. My goal as a social worker is to advocate and fight for social justice in order to empower, educate, and enlighten people in the world so that we can live a kinder and more compassionate life. I want to do that on a large scale. I know I am corny but thats because I am driven to inspire peoples lives and Im so so sooo happy I have been given the opportunity to do so already. I want to use my education as a stepping stone to increase my competency towards many things. What Im tryin to say is that I dont want to drown in debt but if I have to, what are like my self-revival financial tools or tips.  <response>: The problem is, if you go to a really expensive school and accumulate debt with no realistic plan to pay it off, no amount of tips will help. The biggest problem kids have IMO is they choose a degree path without investigating the career reward. One of my best friends is still drowning in student debt at 50 because he chose an artistic field that has a very high barrier to entry. He loved going to school but now hes miserable because hes living paycheck to paycheck barely scraping by. 