<prompt> Human: Who am I?I am an 18 year old high school senior, and I am attending Vanderbilt in the fall to study some field of engineering, likely biomedical. I applied under the EDII decision plan, so pretty much no matter what I am attending Vanderbilt for at least one year.Whats the situation?I applied for financial aid and I was awarded 3,500yr from the TN Hope Scholarship and 58,869yr in a need-based grant, totaling 62,369 in aid for the 2018-2019 school year. My financial aid letter lists the estimated cost of attendance as 73,501. This figure also includes 1,294 in book costs, and nearly 3,000 in PersonalMisc Allowance, so if Im smart about that I could probably save an additional 1000. This leaves my yearly estimated family contribution to be about 11,132. For four years, assuming no changes in the EFC, that totals 44,528.What are my loan options?Vanderbilt fin aid makes it pretty clear that they dont think taking out loans is a good idea. Nevertheless, they direct students to three different options: Undergraduate Federal Loans: This includes Federal Direct SubsidizedUnsubsidized Loans and Federal Perkins Loans. As I understand it, its highly unlikely that my family would qualify for the Perkins loans. Federal Direct Parent Plus Loans: This is where the parent is the borrower. This is not an option as I will be the one taking on student loans, not my parents. Private Alternative Loans: This is where Vandy really starts throwing up red flags and turn back now signs. They advise students to only use private loans as an absolute last resort, and I have no intention of using these if at all possible.So basically, my only option currently is Federal Direct SubsidizedUnsubsidized Loans If you understand what that means, then skip to the next section since me writing this out is really more for my own benefit and understanding than anyone elses. Subsidized: These loans are where interest on the loan is federally subsidized and covered while Im in college. Unsubsidized: With these, interest accumulates and basically becomes part of the loan when I graduate.These loans have a fixed interest rate of 4.45 and an origination fee of 1.066. The maximum borrowing limits are as follows: 1st Year Student: 5,500 combined3,500 max for subsidized 2nd Year Student: 6,500 combined4,500 max for subsidized 3rd4th Year Student: 7,500 combined5,500 max for subsidizedIf I max out on the loans, that works out to a grand total of 27,000 in student debt, not taking into account interest.So, if I were to take out the maximum loan possible each year, I would be left with these out-of-pocket costs each year: Year 1: 5,632 Year 2: 4,632 Year 3: 3,632 Year 4: 3,632My parents will be helping me with these out of pocket costs, though, again, all student loan debt will be my own. What now? AKA What the hell is this kid talking about?So thats how cards fall. Basically, my question is this: What can I do now and what I can I plan to do in the future in order to make going to college as financially manageable as possible? I know that during the summers I will be working my ass off to make as much money as possible to save and also put towards out-of-pocket costs. I know I likely will not be able to do work-study during college since I will be a BME major and also training to hopefully walk on to the cross country team as a sophomore they are non-scholarship, so no help there. I know that out of college Id really like to do some travelling before really settling down I know this will also entail some work as I travel, whatever form that takes. And I know that as a Vandy engineering grad, I will likely end up with a fairly well-paying job.I have read a lot of the stuff provided by this subs wiki, but most of it applies more to recent grads that actually have student debt already rather than soon-to-be student debtors. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks yall!TL;DR: How can I make paying for college as financially manageable as possible?Assistant: First, you should be very proud of yourself for doing all this research and asking these questions. It shows that you understand that these types of decisions have long reaching ramifications and you want to make sure you do the best thing for your future. Also, congrats on getting into a great school and qualifying for a very good financial aid package.As the other poster said, 30k is not a lot of student loan debt compared to what most people face, especially in a high paying and demanding engineering field. I think youll find yourself in a good position no matter what choice you take within reason of course and should be able to pay it back quickly. Ill also second the notion of working jobs to help cut back on what you need financed and living frugally. Human: Obviously I havent really had to live on my own before but I think Id be good at living frugally so this is encouraging. Thanks  <response>: You did a really good job with this - you are definitely prepared for Vandy. Enjoy college! 