DS is trying to decide between two schools. School #1 is private (full price $49K/yr, scholarship price $25K/yr) and school #2 is public (full price $23K/yr, scholarship price $8K per year). These include room and board but not books and miscellaneous. School #1 was his favorite during visits, the entire family agrees it is a perfect fit, it has tremendous guidance from staff, and is in a city with great internship connections in his field of interest. Zero negatives. School #2 is very good, on par in academics, he ‘liked it’ during the visit, small town so internship connections exist but in a summer or semester ‘out-of-town’ setting. We have fixed funds, so if he chooses #1, he graduates debt free but would have to finance grad/prof school on his own. If he chooses #2 we can help a ton with grad/prof. If I had a crystal ball and knew he wouldn’t to grad/prof school, I would recommend to him #1, but if I knew we was going directly to grad/prof I would recommend to him to #2. Thoughts from the experienced out there ???
Forgot to mention he has almost a full year of dual enrollment credits during high school that transfer. So he could possibly get done in 3 years.
I would let him choose.
I am, but I am ‘guiding’ him and looking for thoughts out there on reasons to consider one vs. the other. I have my thoughts but they can be biased. Looking for other thoughts to pass on to him while he ponders this.
Without knowing the schools & your son’s intended major, the only way to rate them is based on net cost of attendance.
Drake and Truman State. Political Science (and maybe law school after).
Truman State.
How about Truman for undergrad and Drake for the possible law school? It’s a good law school, the neighborhood is not great.
Since both are affordable without debt, I’d pick Drake. It’s a better fit based on what you said, and depending on what he studies he may not need graduate school, could be funded, or could find a way to pay for it as a 23+ year adult. And Truman State has suffered budget cuts so advising, etc, will be less personal.
Amazing how fast they grow up! The best thing is just to let him make the decision and own the results. It’s part of being a grown-up. People finance graduate school all the time. If it’s coming from his own pocketbook, he’s going to be more likely to appreciate the value and choose something affordable for him.
@coolguy40 - “The best thing is just to let him make the decision and own the results”.
Yes, exactly! The purpose of this thread was just to gather some different perspectives. I know my thoughts. I want him to consider this from a few different angles to try and make a sound decision. For example: comments above about state budget cuts, or considering both (Truman for undergrad and Drake for law). I appreciate all the bits of information that either he or I have not thought of yet.
After some research & a lot of thought, the right choice became very clear : Your son is going to be a Bulldog !
At a cost difference of $17,000 per year, I still think that Truman State is the better choice–especially for one considering law school.
Besides funding law school, the substantial savings could allow for study abroad or allow for more choice among law schools as the higher ranked law schools tend to be higher priced as well.
@Publisher - He is also accepted at Butler. He has 3 opportunities to be a Bulldog !!!
Woof ! Woof ! Woof !
Now, if he only gets admitted to Yale & Georgia …
I like this calculator because it has spaces for things other than just the numbers. It even has three columns for his current three options: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
What sort of GPA does he need to maintain to keep the various scholarships? If he has a bad semester, and loses the scholarship, can he get it back again once his grades go back up?
If your son has any serious thoughts of law school, I would nudge towards the lower cost option. Law school can be very expensive. Law can be a very lucrative career but not always. . If he has thoughts of going into public service, for example the DA’s office, he can have a great quality of life, but not much pay. Its really nice to be able to make career decisions based on your true desires and not based on the need to pay back thousands in debt.
@happymomof1 - “What sort of GPA does he need to maintain to keep the various scholarships? If he has a bad semester, and loses the scholarship, can he get it back again once his grades go back up?”
That is a consideration. I think lost scholarships on GPA do not return. This means at Drake, a bad semester means transferring (or huge undergrad debt). At Truman he could continue on but just have less help from us post-grad.
This is getting complicated. The more expensive choice already has lined up a paid 10hr/wk internship starting fall freshman year. This is an indication of what we thought all along, that this school has more opportunities. But … the price difference is still significant. Wish this were easy!
I didn’t mention this internship is also right in line with his intended major, not just some random job.