You get what you pay for

MSN's article, Baccalaureate bargains, claims to name the top 100 college bargains.

Wellesley is not on that list. 1) It's not a public institution. 2) It's expensive as hell. I knew that when I chose it at 18. I chose it anyway. And I chose it knowing full well that I would have to find a way to pay for all of it. My parents couldn't pay for it. I didn't have any savings. I was smart, so I had a few scholarships and Wellesley gave me a substantial grant (thank god). The rest I made up in loans. I will admit that I didn't really know at 18 the consequences of taking out all those loans -- 10 years of debt -- but I knew that I had to go to Wellesley. And I have never regretted my decision.

But I have to remind myself of these things every time I make my loan payments, every time I think about living alone or buying a house, and every time I even think about my debt-to-income ratio. Last night, I had to remind myself of this a lot.

Sallie Mae (everyone's favorite loan shark) sent me a lovely letter yesterday. It turns out that Sallie Mae made a mistake and has been undercharging my loan payments for months. They found their error and will be charging me more every month for the remainder of my loans so I can still pay them off in the standard 10-year period. They were very sorry for the error.

Repeat after me: I am not sorry I went to Wellesley, I am not sorry I went to Wellesley...