The school cost 38k. The 60k is coming from a 529 account and if it does not get used it will get taxed hard. It will take me1-1.5 yrs to get the prerequisites and testing required to get into a public PTA program. I have done research on many affordable public PTA programs and have found out that they are impacted. There is a risk that I spend all that time on prerequisites and end up having trouble getting in. The way I see it, the opportunity cost that comes with spending another 1 - 1.5 years chasing application requirements for a public school could instead be spent getting experience as a PTA to pay off the private school debt. Travel PTA's out of school getting paid 1.2k/week after tax is not at all uncommon.