Austin vs. Vancouver? (Canadian: loans, how much, college)

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by onthefly

I'm afraid practicality will most likely win out this time. UT is closer to my home in houston, and they are offering about 10 grand per year of financial aid while UBC hasn't offered anything, making UT ~ 15k cheaper per year. Then when you factor in cost of living, plane tickets etc., I just can't justify making my parents pay that much more just so I can have a fun new experience.... Sigh

With this info I'd advise going to UT and doing a study abroad program for at least a semester and preferably a year. You obviously have a desire to get to know places beyond Texas; I would suggest combining your Geo-sciences degree with a useful language (Mandarin would probably be best for future business, but it's very difficult to learn; Spanish never hurts in Texas) and some real worldly experience.

[wedmiston]

Vancouver....done

[G Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by lucknow

Well, I think you are making a mistake.

Its not up to any of us to say the OP is right or wrong in his decisions. It is perfectly valid to save $60,000 of his parents' money by going to UT. That could buy lots of study abroad, or maybe a good part of his graduate degree. If he feels good about the decision, then so be it. There could still be lots of opportunities to explore the world in other ways.

[intmd8r]

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

Its not up to any of us to say the OP is right or wrong in his decisions. It is perfectly valid to save $60,000 of his parents' money by going to UT. That could buy lots of study abroad, or maybe a good part of his graduate degree. If he feels good about the decision, then so be it. There could still be lots of opportunities to explore the world in other ways.

+1

Well said!

[theSUBlime]

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

Its not up to any of us to say the OP is right or wrong in his decisions. It is perfectly valid to save $60,000 of his parents' money by going to UT. That could buy lots of study abroad, or maybe a good part of his graduate degree. If he feels good about the decision, then so be it. There could still be lots of opportunities to explore the world in other ways.

This is true, but given the chance to live in (or visit one) or the other, I personally believe that there is more to experience in Vancouver. And, well, your attitudes in life change, you'll never get to be the same age in one if you're in the other. I would pick this (based mostly on location and experience):



Grass is always greener though...it's your choice.

[atxcio]

Plus, it's not like we are talking about some isolated unknown college here. Austin may not be the world-class city that Vancouver is, but the student experience at UT is definitely no slouch. I'd say as far as college environments go, it's probably in the top 5 or 10 in the country. Public ivy, big student community with tremendous resources, sports, academics, and great central location in a youthful town that's growing.

So while I would opt for Vancouver if I were young and already had lived in Texas, it's not like you are going to have a bad time at UT. You'll have a blast. Just make some good grades so you can get into graduate school in Vancouver, and your parent's won't have to pay! Or do the study abroad thing.

[onthefly]

God I wanna go to UBC but is the vancouver experience worth 60 thousand more?!

[G Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by onthefly

God I wanna go to UBC but is the vancouver experience worth 60 thousand more?!

We can't answer that for you. Everybody has different resources and different values. What do your parents think about that amount of money? It isn't just the tuition. Its also the airfare. If your parents want to be there for the start of each year (or the first few), parents' weekend, moving you at the end of each year, graduation, etc, it is a lot of expense. But perhaps they can swing it. We had a similar, though different experience. Our son had a favorite school that offered him only $4,000 per year of scholarship. The far away school, and his second choice, offered him $15,000 per year. He decided to go for the one that was his first choice, even though the grant was much less. But that school was also closer (one state away), and that made things much easier. We recouped a lot of the lost money in reduced transportation costs. In your case, you have both the money and the distance against UBC. Your choice could still go in that direction, but there have to be a lot of positives to balance that equation (unless money is no object to your family.) Again, no one can tell you what is best for you. The other thing to keep in mind is that most decisions aren't set in stone for the long term. If you start in one place, and find it isn't right, you might be able to transfer for Sophomore year. There are always alternatives. I suggest sitting down with your parents and making a "pros" and "cons" list of your choices. That might help you to choose.

[JERiv]

The one thing I can say here...

The daughter of a colleague from work got accepted to two colleges. One was more prestegious, in a nicer area, but offered no financial assistance. The other was a good state college, offered her a full scholarship, but was not as prestigious.

Her heart was set on the prestigious, small, beautiful college, and her dad couldn't bear to say no to his little girl. So off she went to the $40K a year college.

6 months later, he was let go in a round of layoffs at work.

Hopefully this won't happen to many more people, but just keep in mind that someone's going to have to pay for all of that money. Either you or your parents. And it's not chump change.

Unless your parents are paying, and they're loaded or have excellent jobs, you really do need to take the $$$ into consideration.

Also, think about the fact that if you're paying for it, you'll be paying that sucker off for the next 10-20 years (or more). My wife went to an ivy league, I went to a public school. Guess whose loan we've been paying for the past 10 years, at $1,600/month a pop...

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by onthefly

God I wanna go to UBC but is the vancouver experience worth 60 thousand more?!

IMO, no. I've lived in Austin and close to Vancouver. Vancouver is super cool, especially if you can deal with rain and enjoy outdoor recreation. Austin is just a super fun place, with much better weather and a very good mix of people, especially at UT. Both places are great, so a $60K difference would be a huge deciding factor for me.

If you see learning a foreign language as an obstacle for a year abroad you can also look into a program called "NSE" (National Student Exchange), which allows you to pay your home institution's tuition rate while attending a university in another state for one year. Western Washington University, in Bellingham, WA is 45 minutes south of Vancouver and 60 or so north of Seattle. Very nice area and a good school for natural sciences.