Congrats to your son. It’s a great school. Definitely ways to alleviate some of the financial aspects like RA and work-study. Check out AP credits, too. Looks like Bucknell gives credit for 4s and 5s. That, too, could help out, possibly shaving off a semester.
We are in the exact same boat as you describe. Incredible scholarship at state school, looking at full sticker price at Bucknell. Is it worth it? Many sleepless nights trying to make decision.
We are in a similar situation - trying to decide between UCONN honors program and Emory. Emory is about 3x what we would pay for UCONN. Our daughter really wants to go to Emory, but it’s hard to pass up UCONN.
Hi there , personal decision for all. After doing the Research once I started this thread, it became clear to be that Bucknell is worth it. Their job placement at to tier employers is amazing. They reported 2016 job or grad school replacement 3 months after graduation was 98%. Their reputation with Wall Street is top tier. My son is majoring in Finance so we just really feel good about our decision. For you, it’s one you have to pray about and feel good about. I suggest you read the responses in this thread. Good luck with your decision
We are in the same boat
No merit money from Bucknell but a nice amount from UofDel and Tulane - really torn - do we really feel that Bucknell s worth so much more money - my daughter is a business major - sent an appeal letter to Bucknell but not feeling hopeful based on what I’ve read here
My S is at Bucknell, he’s a junior. He did get a scholarship and his other choice was NYU which had an even higher list price for his major. One word of caution regarding Bucknell, the rate has increased about 4% every year, keep that in mind. We are happy with the school and my S loves it. Beware of Greek life there, however (S is in a frat) it totally monopolizes the social scene and there are plenty of kids who rush but don’t get in. I’ve heard very sad stories about kids who didn’t get in. My D will be going to Colgate next year, she received a lot of money from UCONN (STEM honors) and MIami and Bucknell gave her a $10K a year scholarship. She chose Colgate at full list price in the end after considering Michigan and UCLA also at full OOS list price. It’s a personal decision and it’s very true that they be paying even more for graduate school soon. We are fortunate enough to be able to afford it but I’ll admit that I had thoughts about her accepting the money from her safety schools. In the end I personally felt that it would have regretted denying her the possibility of having an experience better suited for her personality and dreams.
Regarding grad school. If a student wants to go to law or med school, yes you will need cash.
My S graduated from Bucknell last year and is in a fully funded PhD program now with tuition and stipend. So aside from keeping him on our phone plan, neither we nor he are paying for grad school.
Bucknell nearly double the COA of Penn State (for comparison). It better be worth it for the not so affluent folks!
Penn State (31k-35k)
https://admissions.psu.edu/costs-aid/tuition/
Bucknell (67k)
https://www.bucknell.edu/TuitionAndFees
Having lived in the Lehigh Valley area for a long time, I know that S/Ds of my friends are doing quite well having attended the likes of Penn State/Pitt/Temple/UDel/Rutgers/UMD.
My son was also accepted at UCONN Stem Honors and Bucknell. Interesting that there are a few of us with similar options.
no doubt you can flourish at Penn State, Rutgers etc. I have friends and family who have gone. But it is not the same experience as going to schools like Bucknell, Colgate, Vassar etc.
These are individual choices and if someone can find a way of coming up with the additional 30K a year I think it’s well worth it.
That said, regardless of the opportunities and environment, it is up to the kids to make the best of it.