<p>Just a general question...whats better in your opinion? Going to an Ivy League School and graduating with a possible $180,000 of debt, or going to a smaller school where you can get a good amount of scholarship money, but it wouldnt have the same prestige? Can an ivy league school really guarantee you a job thats so good that it would be worth all that money? </p>
<p>I'm thikning of Brown University for ED and getting a JD/MBA in the future, but should I just go to a smaller school which would be alot cheaper, and spend the big bucks on Grad school?</p>
<p>$180,000 debt? Wow, I am not sure any school is worth that. Aren't your parents going to help out at all? How much debt would you accumulate by going to the "smaller" school? Which school is it? </p>
<p>At any rate, considering you are planning on going on to graduate school, where you will probably increase your debt by another $100,000+, my advice to you is avoid as much debt as possible during your undergraduate year without compromising on the quality (NOT prestige mind you) of your education.</p>
<p>well both of my parents went back to college recently, so we have alot of loans from that...(but i still have enough yearly income to not qualify for financial aid...eventhough alot of that income goes for paying off my parents loans)
I'm sure they'll help me as much as they can, but I was listing the worst case scenario</p>
<p>i was referring to my dream school, brown when I said $180,000, and that was just based on the fact that its 45k a year, it didnt include any help that I will hopefully get from my parents..idk if that helps with the discussion</p>
<p>If you're going for a JD/MBA later, I would go for the school where you can get the best job and the highest GPA. Brown can fit the bill as Goldman Sachs loves Brown grads. Once you get your JD/MBA nobody's going to care where you went undergrad. So if you can get a great job out of and a high GPA at uh....Wesleyan (and you get significant financial aid there) then go for it</p>
<p>almost no liberal art like sociology or psychology can guarantee you a well paying job out of undergraduate. It is so not worth it, because with liberal art majors like those and others(philosophy, english etc) all require further education after undergraduate work to even possibly have a chance at a stable career.</p>
<p>It is not worth the 180K when your major doesn't directly link to a career.</p>
<p>By the way, I think youneed reevaluate your choices because if a not known school can give you a full ride and a bigname school won't give you financial aid, you can always find a balance in between those two that can give you financial aid and will still have a strong name, as would Boston University, USC, or schools that give merit aid!</p>
<p>For the elite jobs like investment banking or consulting, the school matters more than the major. And in ibanking you'll be able to pay off $180k in no time....but you still can get into ibanking or consulting from "smaller" schools that give lots of financial aid.</p>
<p>Most private universities offer good financial aidYou should investigate that.Brown university:Undergraduate receiving need-based financial aid: 42%
Average freshman total need-based gift aid: $25,687</p>
<p>Overall cost of undergraduate degree at Brown will be around 200K (as costs rise annually 2-3K). It is very difficult economically justify spending that much on undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>If you are a strong Ivy League candidate you should be able to get a decent scholarship in a school that is almost as good. I would apply to Vanderbilt, WustL, Emory, UofMichigan, JHU, CMU and try to get a scholarship (let us say half tuition) there. You could also add to the list those: Boston University, USC, UNC as even OOS it is around 25K.</p>
<p>Degrees from these schools will open the same doors for you as Brown, you will get as good an education and you will have great 4 years there.</p>
<p>Michigan isn't known for its merit scholarships. Generally speaking, roughly only 10% of Michigan students get significant scholarships. However, if you have good stats (3.8+ unweighed GPA, very challening course load and 2250+ SATs/33+ ACT) it is definitely worth a try.</p>
<p>Trust me on this: if you can't get very decent scholarships from the big name schools, and your parents can't help out much in aid, go to the cheaper, less prestigious schools and take the scholarship! This is especially true if you are going to have college debt in excess of $75,000. I would NOT under almost any circumstances incur close to $180,000 of debt that you mentioned in post 1. </p>
<p>I should note that I wouldn't just enroll in any school. You still want one that is fully accredited and will provide a good overall education.</p>
<p>I have met dozens of people who regret the amount of debt that they have incurred. To me, there is only one exception to having a fair amount if undergrad debt. The exception applies to those majors that give you immediate entre to a career such as accounting, design, architecture and even engineering. Even with these majors, I would seriously consider cheaper alternatives.</p>
<p>Do NOT incur even close to $180,000 in debt! Did I make that clear enough.</p>
<p>Have you tried a financial calculator on the web to see what your EFC would be? It is very unlikely that you would have to incur more than $75,000 in debt to attend an Ivy, after grants and work-study are factored in.</p>
<p>I agree with Taxguy. A debt of more than $30,000 is simply not worth incurring, especially when you have the option to attend a school like Rutgers, which is respected.</p>
<p>You can't judge the actual cost of a private college by the tuition, room, and board because of financial aid.</p>
<p>The expected family contribution (EFC) for a family with one child and a family income of $100K per year would probably be between $10K and $20K per year. If you have brothers or sisters in college, the EFC would be less. If your family income is less than $100K per year, the EFC would also be less.</p>
<p>That translates into a debt load of $40K to $80K, not $180K, even for a family that is fairly well-off. </p>
<p>If the choice is between an Ivy and Rutgers, I would go Ivy and incur the debt. If the choice were between an Ivy and say Berkeley in-state, I would probably choose Berkeley. It also depends on the earning power you are likely to have in your major and how much other debt your parents have.</p>
<p>The interest rates and repayment schedules for education loans are quite reasonable.</p>