<p>I don’t know what I want to study yet but grad school is highly probable. Is Barnard going to be worth the debt/money(a little less than 40k a year)? Thanks!</p>
<p>In my opinion, no. Particularly if you want to go to grad school. My ex went to Michigan State, a third tier state university, but because he did so well, and earned a Churchill Scholarship (the Rhodes for science geeks), he went on to get his PhD with a Nobel Prize winner at MIT. So much of it is what you do with your undergrad time. There are very few colleges that are worth $160K debt versus free, and then only if you want to go to certain careers, such as finance or politics (an Ivy is a big plus here). Not to be harsh, but Barnard is not Harvard either.</p>
<p>In our case, Barnard was totally worth it for our daughter. We are absolutely convinced that she would a) never have even looked at her current choice of career focus (neuroscience) if she had not been exposed to the science courses and support at Barnard; and 2) even if she had somehow decided to major in neuroscience, we do not think she would have done as well in her PhD program applications without the outstanding lab/internship opportunities afforded her there (as well as the reputation Barnard has).</p>
<p>She is now in a fully funded PhD program that was her top choice school. So we figure her Barnard undergrad education also is “paying for” her PhD.</p>
<p>That is just our story, of course. Going in to her undergrad, my daughter would NEVER have dreamed of pursuing anything in science, much less going after a PhD. Her focus going in was English and dance.</p>
<p>How much of the money would be debt – and how much can you & your parents to pay up front? Also, what’s your area of interest, and what do you hope to get from grad school? (will the prestige of the grad school matter to you? for example, if you hope to one day get a M.Ed and teach, that is quite different than if you are aiming for a Ph.D in molecular biology.). Also, keep in mind that in some fields grad student typically get funding while they work on their PhD’s – in other fields, not so much. Churchmusicmom’s d. would probably have a very different experience about the “fully funded” part if she had stuck with English rather than shifting to neuroscience, even though Barnard’s English department is excellent. </p>
<p>Barnard provides a top-notch education and gives you a connection to the full resources of a leading research university. All you have to do is check the course catalog to see how different your experience might be, between Hunter and Barnard. But NO school - not even Harvard – is worth taking on $160K of debt as an undergrad. So the real question is how much of the Barnard cost are your parents willing and able to take on? (Parent’s debt is another matter – it depends on their circumstances – I’ve taken on a big chunk of debt to pay for my d’s education, but I own a house and have a steady line of income. I was very careful to keep an eye on my net worth as part of the equation of figuring how much debt I could manage).</p>
<p>I’m trying to make the same exact decision! It’s really difficult</p>
<p>I’d hardly refer to Macaulay in the same vein as a third-tier state school, nearly 80% of its students continue on towards graduate work and they have consistent numbers of people admitted to (and attending) law schools such as Harvard, Yale, Duke, etc.; and graduate schools including Oxford and Columbia among others. If your goal is to go on to graduate school, they will certainly help you achieve it. Simply visit their webpage for the complete list.</p>