Considering cost when choosing between colleges.

[RJ Haugen]

Ok so I will go into personal specifics but the general question is how much of a role should money play when looking at college. I’m a senior in high school and have my decision down to two schools. The university of Washington or cal poly SLO. I want to major in civil engineering but am leaning towards a career in construction management (I can apply my degree here and use it in other places if I need to). Basically, I just visited cal poly and really love it there. I prefer their academics and think it would be an awesome place to live. However, because I am out of state, I would probably be taking in ober $100,000 in loans compared to half of that with in state tuition at UW which I know is a great school. So this is where my question comes into play: should I go to the school I think I prefer even though I would take out twice as much in loans? (I hope to earn a decent living once I leave college, if that means much and I know that’s not the most predictable thing). Any insight helps!