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I think it's a fairly straightforward question. I'm looking for personal opinions.
I've been fortunate enough to qualify for a certain scholarship program for which many colleges offer full rides/tuition/etc. for those who name them as their first choice. Right now, I have my first choice listed for a public university that will offer me tuition (leaving me to pay ~10K per year living expenses). It has a great program for my field, but really, that's all that it has going for it as far as I'm concerned. It's large and impersonal, and -trying not to sound douchey or spoiled- I hated the "vibe", so to speak, on campus.
On the other hand, there is another university I'm considering that offers a full-ride+ if I change my first choice to them. It's a nice enough university that I think I would enjoy attending, but it seems to have a mediocre reputation for academics in general.
My real first choices are universities that don't participate in the program. One is an expensive private (~45K, but good aid programs), and the other is a well-known public (~20K).
Sorry if this seems a little convoluted. I'm trying to avoid naming specifics, but if I get enough complaints, I'll give names. When asking this to people in real life, I've gotten every response from "Go where you want no matter what it costs" to "Follow the money." So what do y'all think?
A full ride, plus? There's your answer. Save your money for graduate school if you choose. A freebie is hard to get, and what's more, it may lend credibility once you graduate too, especially if you top it off with a great GPA. It'll show that you are an achiever, and have been an achiever for a long time.
Also, having some disposable income in college is nice. Or even just not having to take a loan is good. A lot of people are getting raped for education that guarantees them nothing. If you can get it free, do it.
Absolutely. Do not go into debt more than 100% of your projected first year salary (or in the case of a science degree at all).
If the smaller school's reputation is so poor that OP can't get a job in their field, and therefore their first-year salary is $0, then even a full ride scholarship will mean debt for them. And in my opinion, a life based solely on the financial return-on-investment is not a very well-lived life. Happiness simply cannot be measured in such terms.
OP have you considered Door #3? That is, perhaps neither of these schools is a good option. Maybe another school could offer you an appealing financial aid package, have a personality that suits you, and still have a decent reputation.
A full ride, plus? There's your answer. Save your money for graduate school if you choose. A freebie is hard to get, and what's more, it may lend credibility once you graduate too, especially if you top it off with a great GPA. It'll show that you are an achiever, and have been an achiever for a long time.
Also, having some disposable income in college is nice. Or even just not having to take a loan is good. A lot of people are getting raped for education that guarantees them nothing. If you can get it free, do it.
I second this- if you are at the top of your class at a mediocre undergrad, do research (which you'll have time to do since you won't have to work), and rock the GREs, you'll be able to go to an excellent grad program and you won't have any pesky undergrad debt.
It also depends on what your major will be and possible future careers. Do you have an idea right now?
I'm going into engineering (likely civil), so according to the general rule of not letting loans exceed your first year's pay, I might figure around $50,000?
It's not like the full-ride university has a bad reputation necessarily, but compared to the other schools I'm considering, it's less than stellar. It's a state school known for its partiers in a state full of party schools. Plus, it's in my hometown which, though I like it well enough, I'm ready to get the heck out.
I haven't given too much though to graduate school, but it would be incredibly convenient to have money saved up from undergrad if I decided to return to school. I'd probably do an MBA or master in an engineering.
The private school, though expensive, has a very good financial aid program that can bring it within range for middle class families. If my family demonstrates need (it seems like it would), my loans would not exceed $10,000 for the entire four years. I'm not sure how state budget cuts will affect this, though.
I'm going into engineering (likely civil), so according to the general rule of not letting loans exceed your first year's pay, I might figure around $50,000?
It's not like the full-ride university has a bad reputation necessarily, but compared to the other schools I'm considering, it's less than stellar. It's a state school known for its partiers in a state full of party schools. Plus, it's in my hometown which, though I like it well enough, I'm ready to get the heck out.
I haven't given too much though to graduate school, but it would be incredibly convenient to have money saved up from undergrad if I decided to return to school. I'd probably do an MBA or master in an engineering.
The private school, though expensive, has a very good financial aid program that can bring it within range for middle class families. If my family demonstrates need (it seems like it would), my loans would not exceed $10,000 for the entire four years. I'm not sure how state budget cuts will affect this, though.
So many things to consider. Le sigh...
You're in TX, too, right? I would not count on $1 of state funded financial aid for next year AND I would count on the cost of public school rising dramatically in the next 4 years. California's in-state tuition has risen by 30-something % in the past few years and TX is marching down that same path.
It's hard to give really good advice without knowing the schools specifically. I'll sum it up like this:
If you dream of moving out of TX someday, you need to go to a name-brand TX school (UT, A&M, Rice...possibly SMU & TCU).
If you want to stay in TX, you could go to ANY of these schools, make great grades, score an internship or co-op, and be pretty well set:
UT
UTD
A&M
Tech
Rice
SMU
TCU
Baylor
Southwestern (Georgetown)
Trinity (San Antonio)
If all of the schools you've been admitted to are on that list, you're set. If only 1 is, I would think long and hard about attending school there vs SFA/ Sam Houston/ U Houston/ SWTSU/ etc- those are Texas' "second rate" schools.
If money is a concern, I would pick the least expensive option. Also be sure to weigh the cost of living in each town/city- an apartment in College Station is going to cost less than Austin or Dallas. At Rice and I think Trinity, you must live on campus all 4 years which leaves you little ways to cut costs if need be. Beer is more expensive in Dallas than Lubbock, but Lubbock may be a plan ride home whereas Waco is in driving distance....add everything up.
Ideally, you go to the very best ranked school you get into. But you also want to manage the debt load, too. Is it worth the loans to go to a Top 10ish engineering program at UT vs an unranked one elsewhere? If you think you can do the UT coursework and graduate with over a 3.0.....it probably is worth it. If it will leave you $80k in debt, that's a reason to think twice and perhaps go to the 2nd best school.
Seems like the first two are your real options. 40k of debt vs 0 is a bit difference. If your public is UT the difference in reputation could be pretty big compared to your free school. Maybe you could cut your living expenses somehow to 6/7k a year and go there?
My son will likely be facing the same problem and we've been talking about his options. Of course, you won't really know the true picture until after the full fin-aid packages come out. You are filling out the FAFSA aren't you? Don't neglect to do that, even if you think you don't qualify for financial aid, many colleges will take a few thousand off and call it merit aid.
My son's likely school is Drexel University which offers three co-op's and a five year program. One of the things we've been talking about is whether he can use the co-ops to pay for the 5th year of the program. The co-ops in his field pay an average of $17,000 so that would work.
The big question is whether the higher price tag will really make a difference in the quality of the education and the chance of future employment. Who knows? What my son is planning to do is attend the accepted students days at his top choice colleges and think about it a little more. I suggest you do the same. You've got until May 1st to figure it out.
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