<p>Alright, so I got multiple acceptances and eliminated some colleges I won't be attending (Wellesley (can't pay) and a few other colleges I didn't like).</p>
<p>Here are the ones left over:</p>
<p>Barnard (@ 40k/year)
Babson (@ 30k/year because of merit aid)
Binghamton (@20k/year)</p>
<p>Now, I strongly prefer and adore Barnard but it would put me in rather serious debt (Between 50-100k depending on financial situation of all years and part-time jobs). It allows me to work year-round because of the NYC location.. but, it's a difficult road. I am majoring in Economics so there's a definite location advantage here.</p>
<p>Babson and Bing are cheaper but w/o the easy internship access. I rather like Babson, but there's no question that it's not of Barnard's tier and the cost difference is probably not so much as to justify attending it rather than Barnard. I don't particularly like Bing - but it's considered a good State U and would probably leave me nearly debt-free. </p>
<p>So, opinions?</p>
<p>I think it depends on what you want to do after graduation. If you want to work, then it might make sense to consider Barnard. If you want to go to grad school, then go to Bing.</p>
<p>In the interest of full disclosure, my D attends Barnard and adores it. She says the connections are amazing and the internship opportunities are amazing. She isn't interested in econ so she says these incredible opportunities come her way, but she declines.</p>
<p>If you are planning to work right after graduation the NYC connections would probably justify 50K of debt; I'm not sure about 100K. If you want to attend any professional or grad school right after college all debt is very dangerous.</p>
<p>See the threads from taxguy if you want to calculate the impact of debt on post grad income.</p>
<p>Good luck with your choice.</p>
<p>Thank you for your thoughtful response.</p>
<p>I'm pretty certain I'll be working the years I'm attending Barnard to try and get the debt down to the lower-end of that debt range. On the other hand, if I chose a cheaper school, I wouldn't have to be working year-round and I could focus more on my studies and travel. </p>
<p>I want to eventually pursue an MBA, but I need several years work experience before I would be accepted into an MBA program. I'll check out taxguy's thread.</p>
<p>Anyone else wants to help in my dilemma?</p>