<prompt> Human: He has the option to leave the state and go to a smaller college and pay almost nothing but has his heart set on going to a more expensive school because he likes it more and theres more to do. Keep in mind this 17k is after a partial scholarship, financial aid, and other state financial aid FASA... I promised him i would support him in his decision but to the core of me i feel like hes making the wrong decision. Im trying hard to break down the financials and the ungodly amount of student debt he will be in upon graduating but I feel his ego is getting in the way. Can anyone help me break it down on why he shouldnt take on this debt? Or are there any success stories out there? His major: Criminal JusticeEdit: Its 17k times 5 years. Yes that means 85,000 in debt after 5 years. He is receiving a partial athletic scholarship and will end up red shirting one of those years, hence 5 years. Edit 2: Thank you to everyone with all the great advice. He was choosing between three schools and we were really expecting him to choose another school and then at the last minute he sprung this on us. He has till the end of the day today 411 to accept the out of state offer, which is what we thought he was going to accept originally. He has school today and when he gets home he will need to make the decision. I just dont want him to resent me later on down the road with the you made me go somewhere i didnt want to go  <response>: Im going to college next fall senior now and going to a college that would cause that much debt is giving me a headache thinking about it. You need to talk to him because that isnt a remotely sensible plan and having more to do does not validate taking on 85k in debt let alone 5-10k. His current plan is going to drown him in loans for atleast the next decade if not longer. Your intuition is correct and you need to sit him down and basically explain its not affordable in fact its plain stupid. 