<p>I was accepted to UChicago EA. Love the school, it's amazing. But I also received a ridiculously good scholarship instate (put it as graduating with 20K in my pocket. for doing nothing but what I would normally do in college) and all these other benefits----> (see here) Flinn</a> | Benefits</p>
<p>My Chicago finaid came out to 10k in loans and 10k out of pocket. I'm figuring I can cover at least 6k through scholarships. So it comes to about 40K in debt by the time I graduate. </p>
<p>So what do I choose? What would be better for grad school/law school? What are your thoughts?</p>
<p>If you’re planning on grad school, the state deal would be massively better from a financial perspective (obviously). We’re talking about a debt reduction of 60k, which is hardly insignificant. You’d also have a much easier time maintaining universally high grades, which will either make your college life a lot less packed (if you’d be doing exactly the same thing at Chicago) or make it easier to get into one of the top graduate institutions (if you don’t think you’d be able to maintain those grades at Chicago).</p>
<p>If you’re fully after the kind of atmosphere Chicago offers, then it’s probably worth the 60k. The college-within-a-college that Flinn offers will definitely emulate that atmosphere, and some of the other perks are pretty enticing (as they should be), but if you somehow managed to take both experiences at once, the difference would become obvious pretty quickly.</p>
<p>My son has the exact same problem and we are in discussions now. I would take the money and run, debt is NO fun. But you are only in college once and the atmosphere of a school really matters IMHO.</p>
<p>I cant advise you. You have to decide whether the pretige and reputation and atmosphere are worth that much money to you. If it is…go to Uchicago. If not go to the state school and count your money!</p>
<p>This is really the type of decision that comes with the college process. Congratulations for having such a great choice to make. Whatever you decide, you can make the right decision. You are informed and know the drawbacks of each choice and the benefits. As long as you don’t second guess yourself in the future, you should be fine.</p>
<p>I’m weighing some of my options with the 40k in debt being an option, so I know this is a really tough choice. That Flinn program does seem REALLY nice though.</p>
<p>You need to figure out what works for you. Consider the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>do you like to spend, or are you comfortable with a more spartan existence? (think both college and later). Money is everything for some folks, a tool for others, and a frill for some, who can survive on just about anything. And this is a deeply personal thing, with no right or wrong answers.</p></li>
<li><p>do you like to be the big fish in the pond, or do you prefer having folks around who are far smarter?</p></li>
<li><p>do you create your own challenges, or do you like to be pushed a bit? </p></li>
<li><p>last, but most important, where do you think you’d be most comfortable? Trust your gut in the end. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The differences between Chicago and any public university are so vast, it is hard to know where to begin. Start with size, both in terms of student body numbers and physical campus size. Then look at faculty, class size (few state U have a track of all honors classes), peer issues and such. You do get something for all those UofC tuition $$, but it is up to you to take advantage of it. Many students don’t, and would no doubt have been just as well off at a state U.</p>
<p>One final thing is your tolerance for risk: Many state U are in financial meltdown because of financial crises in their respective states. You can expect to see lots of corners being cut while they wait for the economy to improve and tax revenues to rise. Whether any of these cuts will affect you personally if you attend and are in an honors program is anyone’s guess, but the risk is there. </p>
<p>FWIW, 5 years ago we faced a similar situation: full ride at a prominent state U versus no ride at UofC. D took the latter. Best decision she ever made even though we are far poorer now. She took every advantage of what UofC offered her, and has the results to show for it - stuff I can’t discuss publicly out of respect for her privacy.</p>
<p>I agree with Newmassdad. A UChicago undergrad education is the gift that keeps on giving. </p>
<p>I was in the hospital in NYC a while ago from a food poisoning episode and was placed in a room with three other people. One of my roomates was an older gentleman of about 65 yrs who was on the phone constantly with his secretary and and son. He was a very well-off attorney and was trying to get a private room. I couldn’t help but overhear his discussions since the room has rather small. </p>
<p>He was planning a trip to Miami to visit his son and was criticizing the lack of museums and general lack of culture in SoFla. He wasn’t stuffy about this, on the contrary, he was very funny and fascinating to listen to. After a few minutes, something about his speaking style, his quirky intellectualism, the literary references he was making, all this came together in my head and I knew that he was a Chicago grad. Its hard to say what it was specifically, but there was something about him that screamed “UChicago”. We both laughed when I accused him of his Chicago roots and neither of us were surprised by this recognition. There is something indelible about 4 years spent at U of C that leaves a permanent mark.</p>
<p>Our other roommate was the godson of the British painter, Lucian Freud, and we spent an enjoyable 48 hrs talking about art, literary criticism and psychedelic drugs while laid up in Beth Israel.</p>
<p>My child, who is now a third year at the U of Chicago, had the same predicament a few years ago. She was offered almost a full scholarship in the honors department at a prestigious State University. We all felt that if she was going prelaw or premed, she would have accepted the State offer. But her interests lay elsewhere and despite the high cost of Chicago, it has been the best thing that she has ever done. The school is sensational and very supportive. There is no comparison between the State School and Chicago. Huge classes with little attention vs. small classes with lots of individual attention. Exciting and stimulating students, wonderful on campus opportunities, fabulous off campus activities in Chicago, great study abroad programs, I could go on and on. On top of it, the career advising center is superb and my child is spending the summer on a school sponsored fellowship in Washington. Chicago is really unique and one of the greatest educational (and for the right student) social experiences in the U.S. Consider Chicago highly if you can possibly afford it. It is making a big dent in my financial picture, but I would never deny such an experience to my child and I never look back.</p>
<p>Same issue here. My son got a full ride honor program offer from a very good public university (OOS). We are 99% sure he will go to Chicago, probably full pay. The reason? The intellectual rigor. After much research all around, we realized that even in Harvard, there is a chance that you could graduate with good enough education for a good profession, but not thorough intellectual grounding, where as there is no chance that he will graduate from Chicago without a rigorous intellectual outlook that will pay hefty life time dividend. </p>
<p>Especially, comparing something like Chicago to the state U, I think there is a huge difference regarding what kind of general attitudes shape the air he breathes and water he drinks. We believe that even with a very selective honors program, the state U will simply not provide the overall ambiance that emphasizes the intellectual zeal. I want him in a school where 90% of the student body is primed to pursue this as opposed to 30%.</p>
<p>But every situation is different. If the financial issue is something that cannot be reasonably overcome, the state U with a hefty fin aid may be the right way to go.</p>