This is a somewhat odd request, but Spam, I need your help getting perspective.
I'm 17. I have no real concept of large sums of money, and my parents are terrible examples of good financial policy. I can learn through the experiences of others, though. 
As I mentioned a while back, I got into Imperial College London. It's one of the best unis in the world, and I'm super fucking chuffed. I'd go there without question, but for one issue: holy shit, moneyz. I'd be leaving with something like 50000 GBP worth of debt (around $83000), minimum. 
Or I could go to St. Andrews (3rd oldest uni in the world, where Prince William and Kate went, etc. etc.) or Edinburgh (top-20 in the world uni), and leave with virtually no debt by comparison.
Now, Imperial outclasses those institutions, by a wide margin, and there's virtually no better place for me to kickstart my career in academia. But I need to get some more perspective on how much money that is, more than just "a lot", so I can see if it's worth it. If you guys can offer any advice or any way for me to get a grip on this, as a bunch of adulty people, I'd appreciate it. If not, well, derail the thread as you guys always do!