<p>I was accepted into Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and I was accepted in Rutgers University Honors Program. At Duke, I have to make a $30,000 yearly contribution while I have a free ride in addition to several thousand in extra scholarships at Rutgers. I am majoring in BME at Pratt, while I am doing general studies at the Honors Program. I am definitely going to graduate school, and my possible career choices are computer software/hardware engineering, engineering, game development, or possibily medicines. I just want to know if the Duke brandname is worth $120,000, especially in regards to the fact that I am pretty undecided about my future, and I will be going to graduate school. I made a private loan of $120,000, so it would be my burden. :-(</p>
<p>I think that this issue would probably be faced by a lot of promising teens on this board.</p>
<p>From the standpoint of the parent of a moderately placed student...to me, $30k per year is never worth it unless prestige is what you're after. An education is what you make of it...and think, without debt in 4+ years, you will be able to take advantage of many more options than you would be if saddled with $120k debt for 10 years. You could pay for grad school, marry and start a family, buy a new car, buy a home, take a vacation. With that kind of debt, you'd be strapped for a very long time. Time for the big think!</p>
<p>Rutgers Honors - Duke is NOT worth six figure debt. Especially since you have aspirations for grad school. Good luck and be proud of your ability to get into a fine honors program...</p>
<p>I'm sorry but I can't help but think that undergrad school really doesn't matter (as in where you go). Go where you have the free ride, do great, and get scholarships for wherever you want to go to grad school.</p>
<p>Duke isn't MIT and Rutgers ain't chopped liver either! $120,000 is a serious amount of money to most people. I recommend you go to Rutgers, graduate with a 3.8+ GPA and use the money you saved for graduate school...or a Mesarati! hehe</p>
<p>I vote for Rutgers. If you move your focus from the schools to yourself, it's a clear choice. The schools are all more alike than they admit. They get a lot of mileage out of emphasizing how they are "different", "unique", and "better". However, it's you that matters- your own development and growth and happiness. And $120K of debt will not help that, or be worth any marginal difference in class size, incoming stats of admitted students, etc.</p>
<p>Rutgers is a decent school and the honors program puts the icing on the cake. Just keep up the good work there, and you'll get into a great grad school.</p>
<p>If you plan on working in NYC or NJ, stay at Rugters. Even though Duke is a great school but it is does not justify paying $120k out of pocket when you have a free ride</p>
<p>oh man thats a horrible situation. Duke has one of the most respected BME programs in the world and has a great range of studies so that you could easily get a different major that would be respected.</p>
<p>but ultimately if you have to pay for it all and your family has no way to help pay with the loan, then i would say Rutgers.</p>
<p>Rutgers, by the time you graduate at Duke you'd have to be making loan payments of more than $600 a month for 30 years just to pay off Duke undergrad. It's not worth it.</p>
<p>Rutgers is not that great a school...Duke is elite...however, 160,000 makes for a nice car, and engineers don't make a ridiculous amount unless they go to the commercial side of things. Many Duke grads go into investment banking/financial fields where they would make a lot and the fact that they went to a top school would help them. However, Since you are planning on grad school anyways, try and get in there for your masters and go Rutgers</p>
<p>Since you know you'll be doing grad school, go to Rutgers for undergrad. Put the time you would have spent working to finance yourself into your schoolwork, do as well as you possibly can, and then go to the most prestigious grad school you can make it into. Maybe even Duke. = )</p>