I think it’s good you went to UCLA. $60,000 may seem like a lot now, but after 5 years working, you’ll see it as chump change and money well spent. Trust me on this! I got my MBA at Berkeley and the returns have been $50,000+/yr for the past 5 years I believe. It’s a no brainer!

I wasn’t aware that the phase out limits were so low. I guess one way of getting around it putting $50k into a 529 plan and using the deduction this year. I can also roll over my 401ks into Roth IRA’s and use this 50k deduction to offset the taxes against it.

Hmmm…I guess its time to talk to the CPA.

And you probably already realize this, but the ability to write off school loan interest phases out at a pretty low level if you’re single (~$50-$65,000ish last I recall). If you’re married the limit is higher, but still not that high if you are a two income household. Here’s a somewhat dated article that discusses it:

http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/ask/archive/2004/q0227.htm

Best of luck with your decision, and if you’d like someone to bounce questions or ideas off of please feel free to contact me. I’m always willing to discuss my grad school experiences. Just shoot me an email (available at my blog).