<prompt> Human: Ok, heres the problem. Im 18 and about to start college. I have been accepted into two schools School A and School B; at this point theres still time for me to choose one or the other, but that time is obviously rapidly disappearing. Both schools are fairly prestigious, but only School A offers a program in architecture, a subject that Ive always been passionate about. There are many complex factors at work here, but essentially, if money were not the issue, I would choose School A and begin the architecture program. School B, on the other hand, is a great school but does not have an architecture program. Heres the dilemma: School B will only run me about 30k in student debt, while I would have about 65-70k in loans at School A.Theres more, unfortunately. A big priority for me is moving out after college. I have no interest in staying at home to pay off student loans. The cost of apartments in my area that I would be interested in is roughly 1500-1750mo, not including miscellaneous costs of living, which, as Im sure Certified Adults can confirm, add up very quickly. I keep crunching the numbers and am just not satisfied that 40kyear average entry level architecture job is enough to sustain this lifestyle, in addition to saving as I dont want to live paycheck to paycheck. Graduating with a degree in businesseconomics from School B with a salary much closer to 60-70k school B has a very good track record with their business students, and only 30k in debt, seems like the better option financially. Before you all begin to imagine tiny cubicles and depression, please keep in mind that I do have an interest in businesseconomics. Additionally, even if I dont find business to my liking, there is a wide range of possible degrees at School B should I choose to switch during my time there. Many of those degrees would command a better income than architecture, but it wouldnt matter as much regardless, since the student debt of School B would be half of School As.I know many of you in the reddit community would encourage me to follow my passion, and I love that. However, I just dont have the life experience to be able to determine whether that path is the smartest one. 70k in loans is a very frightening number to me, and I dont want to be carrying that around for decades, struggling to pay the bills with an inadequate salary. Again, living at home is not an option. I would love to hear from anyone who paid off huge school debts on smaller incomes. Really, any thoughtsmusingsadulting tips would be appreciated. Thanks.  <response>: Just a quick aside -- comments saying go to community college fail to factor in the inertia you could lose compared to hitting the ground running at a prestigious school. I went to a large state school, and ended up with a student org position responsible for an entire quasi-study abroad office in my first four months. This ended up snowballing into an international internship, a paid internship in a field where paid internships are unheard of practically poli Sci, another paid internship, and eventually my current job offers with big-four tech companies. NONE of this could have happened if I started at a community college, or even a less prestigious institution. A better school can be worth it, but you need to get connected and involved as soon as is humanly possible to the fullest extent your time and sanity allow. This isnt even an uncommon occurrence -- others who were in similar positions are currently at Bain, Exxon, etc -- but what they all have in common is that they didnt waste a single semester, summer, year, etc. It is purely about how hungry you are. A better school can be worth it. 