Average College at a great location or Great College at a not so great location?

College Search & Selection
1

(Disclaimer: I’ll ultimately be making my own decision when the time comes, I just thought it would be interesting to ask others for their thoughts!)

Hi! I’m a junior in highschool looking for colleges and I figured I could use some help. I’m fairly certain I want to go into Archaeology/Anthropology, and I’m not super rich so as far as colleges go, lower tuition is preferred. Right now my ideal school is the University of Nevada-Reno. I’d get in-state tuition (approx. $6,000) and I’d get to live just minutes away from some of the oldest, best preserved archaeological artifacts in the country.
I looooove those Nevadan petroglyphs.
Recently, however, Washington University in St. Louis has shown interest in me, which I find awesome because it is so prestigious. It offers high quality classes, but in a location I find to be… Less than ideal. Its tuition is also MUCH higher than that of UNR, and I won’t get the in-state benefit.
Of course, there’s no guarantee I’d get accepted into either, so the question is a bit hypothetical.
Nonetheless, I’d like to get some outside opinion. There is much more outside opportunity at UNR, but Wash U has better classes overall…
Where would you rather go for an undergraduate degree?

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A couple things:

  1. St. Louis is real close to Cahokia, an interesting archaelogical site (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia), so you would be able to get a decent amount of exposure to archaeology there.

  2. I don’t know exactly what WUStL’s financial aid is like, but since its one of the better universities in the country, there’s a good chance they’d give out a bit of financial aid, so the end cost might be comparable to that of your in-state universities. You could try comparing the two schools’ price calculators, or using that financial aid comparison website if both universities are participating.

  3. Think about what you like about the location at UNR. There may be a couple ways you could get what you want from the environment at UNR at WUStL; this topic may be more worth looking into. I’m into nature, and going to Northwestern a couple years ago, and turning down beautiful campuses/surroundings at UW - Seattle and CU - Boulder, I expected the North Shore and Chicago to be concrete wasteland. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of accessible greenery there.

Overall, I’d say to keep thinking about both universities if you can afford the application fees to both and to keep an open mind. This decision is yours, but if I were you I’d postpone it for as long as you can. In your place I’d apply to and visit both schools, and if you get accepted to both, take all factors (social, location, academic, career prospects, etc) into account and go to accepted student days before making a decision.

And of course, consider and apply to other schools as well.

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Can you provide more details?

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Run the financial aid calculator on Wash U’s website with your parents. See what they think your family can pay. If that seems like a realistic amount, give it a try. Wash U has a low admissions rate and is increasingly becoming a reach for almost anybody. They do have a very few full ride scholarships but they are also extremely competitive.

UN-Reno is also a fine school and it sounds like an affordable option for your family.

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My guess is that Wash U sent you marketing materials. That isn’t really showing interest in you… likely the same stuff was sent to thousands of students.

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Yes, marketing. Right now your ACT and GPA are below WUStL’s 25%ile. Apply to both and see if you get in before deciding where to attend.

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I would also like to caution you about Washington University’s marketing material. The school is one of the worst offenders at misleading high school students with their mailings and likely emails. If WUSTL interests you, after you thoroughly research the school, apply but don’t expect an acceptance.

If you know you can get into UNR, great! You have one safety. Now look for one more safety or very low match school. From there, build your list of schools. Throw in two or three match schools and a couple of reaches (WUSTL can be one). Run the Net Price Calculator with your parents for each and every school you want to consider. Don’t assume you can or cannot afford a place based on its stated tuition. You may qualify for financial need-based aid or if your grades and test scores are high enough, merit aid.

8

Be sure to check out the schools with your potential major available via the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program. WUE allows student to attend selected schools in neighboring states at in-state, plus 50% tuition, which can be a tremendous savings. http://wue.wiche.edu/search1.jsp

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Thanks guys!
The letter I got from Wash U wasn’t the normal advertising stuff you get from most colleges; I have friends who also got material from them that wasn’t nearly as personal. I tend to get spam from colleges on the daily, but this seemed different. More personalized, more interested, etc.
Of course, marketing is marketing- but it’s a school I have been considering and researching and think could be worth a shot, and the fact that they sent the letter due to high test scores makes me wonder if that much can carry me with a 3.5 GPA. (Of course, I plan on working beyond that- my GPA is currently on the rise, but I like to consider things a bit early to make sure I’m on track.)

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Got to the Common Data Set for WUST (and any other school you are considering), scroll down to section C and compare your stats to those of admitted students. That’s the best way to chance yourself. It doesn’t matter what they send you in the mail - and WUST is famous for their ‘displays of interest’ that are just aimed at coaxing applications from people who aren’t actually viable candidates in order to improv their USNWR rankings through the appearance of greater selectivity.

As for location vs. caliber of school, assuming all things are equal and they never are, I’d go with the caliber of the school every time. Many students change their majors and career goals but the overall caliber of the faculty, the classes, and the student body will be high no matter what you study if the school is top notch - and people most spend most of their time on campus anyway. (The exception is urban schools where there is no real campus, of course.) You can always do archeological digs as part of your field work or study abroad. Of course, if you are looking at significant debt to attend ‘higher caliber school,’ and especially if you have a good in-state option, I’d counsel against it - it’s generally not worth it.

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What are your test scores, exactly? It’s my understanding that Wash U/STL is NOT generous with merit scholarships or need-based aid.

It is true that it is close to Cahokia Mounds and other neat sites.

So is Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. And with a 3.0, you can pay in-state tuition. They’re also fairly generous with merit aid to high-stats students. Even if you paid full OOS price, it’s way cheaper than WashU/STL (although not as highly ranked…) SIU-C has a strong Anthropology department, and offers a field program in Archaeology every summer. Undergrads are encouraged to do research and the school is mostly undergrads.

SIU-Carbondale is just one example of a cheaper school. There are many others. Some state schools in Missouri and Kansas also give in-state rates to students with a 3.0 or 3.5… look into some of them, and how much it will cost you and whether they have Anthropology/Archaeology.

Another one is University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. You can major in Archaeology with an Anthro minor. OOS tuition is less than 20k a year and they also give merit scholarships.

Another option might be University of New Mexico. They also give good merit scholarships to OOS students,

Look into small private “liberal arts colleges” too. Don’t go by the sticker price listed. Almost al of these small LACs give merit scholarships; the higher your stats, the higher the merit aid will be. Many of the apps to these LACs are free, so it doesn’t hurt to apply, then see what kind of merit scholarship you’ll get.

I personally would not spend full price, or take out any loans, at a school as expensive as Wash U/STL for an Anthropology or Archaeology major.

Btw, my D is also interested in Anthropology, so we looked into career prospects, etc.

You will get a job but you will likely not be getting paid enough to pay off substantial debt while still being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle.

eta: Just saw you have a 3.5. You can get some very nice scholarships at OOS state schools. Also look at Alabama state schools, U of Kansas, U of Missouri-Columbia, U of Montana, U of New Mexico. You could get half to full tuition paid at many state schools.

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From the OP’s other thread:

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@BeeDAre has given you some great leads.

WUStL saves the serious money for the really high stats students- notably higher GPA and ACT/SAT than you have- which is part of its aggressive ratings climb. It is a good college- but it is not particularly better than other colleges that it out-ranks on USNWR. It’s currently one of the ‘popular’ colleges, so think of it as the newest air jordan shoe- lots of people are excited about it, but in real life it’s still just a shoe. Try not to get sucked into the hype and overspend on a fashion item :slight_smile:

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UNR is one of the lowest-ranked public universities in the country - poorly funded and with all kinds of problems.
Check out ASU Barrett, for instance. ASU has a top-notch program in anthropological archeology and Barrett is among the top honors colleges in the nation (complete with its own little luxury campus on a portion of the main campus, so you can benefit from it but not suffer from the constant loud parties.)
“instate” only matters for public universities. For private universities, applying from 400+miles is actually a bonus.
Run the NPC on WashU: they meet need, although they’re also need aware (ie., it’s easier to get in if you can pay in full, but if they want you they’ll give you sufficiently for you to attend.) There are only about 80 colleges in the country that meet full need for all students or nearly all students.
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/schools-that-meet-100-of-financial-need-2/
Then, there are public universities that offer major scholarships for top scorers. The most famous one is University of Alabama, where a strong GPA and high test scores bring a guaranteed full tuition scholarship. There’s also Temple, Miami University-Ohio, and many others, which you can find on a pinned thread at the top of the “financial aid” forum.