Which college would you choose?

[asta]

Did your kid apply to more than 2 schools?

 

Being accepted to #9 and #79 seems like an awfully large... delta? To not have anything in the middle.

 

 

a

Edited April 27, 2011 by asta

[Teachin'Mine]

I voted for #1 before I even read that that's where your son wants to go. For me, that would make it a closed deal. He's okay with 20K in debt, so that's not a problem. That's pretty low for four years of college.

 

I'm also aware of very mediocre schools which offer top students phenomenal scholarships and grants, but do little to prepare the students for their field or graduate studies. We know that the word "honors" isn't always what we think.

[ChristineW]

I'm really surprised by how lopsided the vote is. The price difference between the two schools is about the sticker price on a new car.

 

DH and I both have professional degrees. Even five years out, the name of our schools still makes a difference. I would not have been considered for the DOJ honors program if I had gone to a lower ranked university. Being in DOJ honors opened many doors and will help if I ever need to return to the job market. Dh's firm posts where everyone graduated from on their website (both undergrad and JD). They wouldn't have interviewed him as a lateral if he didn't go to a top 25 school and he wouldn't be on partner track. Ten years from now, clients will still care where he went to school. Maybe its not fair, but its true. The name of his school won't help him keep the job (we know more than a few Harvard trained lawyers who were laid off), but its foolish to imagine that it didn't make a difference in getting the job and the chance to prove himself.

 

If you had posted that the choice was between a tech ivy and a good state school, I might counsel the other way. If school #2 is the best school in its region and he wants to stay in that region then I'd also reconsider. Additionally, I'd think hard if the tuition difference were 20k a year or more.

 

Choosing Purdue or Cornell (or whatever the school #1 is) will open doors. Once accepted into the program, he will have better opportunities for summer jobs and internships even before he graduates. The better named school will offer him a little wiggle room to mess up. At school #1 he won't have to be the top of his class to get the same job offers as the very best graduate at school #2. Many companies wouldn't even look at resumes from school number #2; grad schools and the feds are getting pickier too.

 

Unless, your son changes his mind about his field, its pointless to wait until grad school to take out the loans. From what I understand, most STEM grad students work for the schools they attend and get a small stipend. Debt doesn't come from tuition or textbooks but occurs where the COL is higher than the stipend.

 

The debt is only a car payment. Dh and I have considerably more debt from law school (in the six figures) and we don't regret it (we do counsel others to either go to a top school or get a full ride).

 

Christine

[asta]

But her kid hasn't been accepted into his major program at school #1, he has only been accepted into the university. What happens if he takes out a loan to go off to school #1 and is then not accepted into his major program?

 

Like I said, where are the other schools? (besides #79)

 

 

a

[Starr]

Won't a 50% scholarship still end up at $20,000? It's around $10,000 for room and board a year.

[Haiku]

It depends entirely on his field of study. In some fields, where you got your degree matters. In others (the vast majority), it doesn't matter at all.

 

Tara

[QueenCat]

I would say you don't have a zero sum game here. They are not only 2 options. Why can't he go to school #2 for his general education courses at the lesser amount of money, then apply to transfer into school #1 in two years?

 

Then, he'll know if he gets into his desired major and the debt load will be only $10,000.00 (and if he saves during his first two years, perhaps, nothing).

 

And, who knows, he may adore school #1 and decide to stay and change his mind about his major, anyway.

 

Not necessarily.... many schools do not give as much scholarship money to transfer students. When applying to transfer, the package may be significantly less.