Yes, I’m young. Yes, I probably should be looking so far ahead, but this has been on my mind for a while now. I’m a freshman in high school, and I’m very academically advanced, go to a good school, involved in extracurriculars, etc. I’m not Ivy League material. I neither have the work ethic nor the connections, but my goals are high. I know I probably already sound conceited and egotistical (oops) but let’s just overlook that. Anyways, on to the juice. I have this big decision. My father had this military qualification thing (I’m not going to get into the details) where if I were to get in to any South Carolina public university, I would go tuition free, regardless. However, the best university there is Clemson, and although it’s a decent school, I want to go somewhere that I can work my ass off to get to, and I don’t want to undershoot myself. My dream school is duke, so let’s use it in this situation. If I were to be accepted into both schools, should I go to duke (40,000 tuition a year) with a hell of a lot of debt after, but a prestigious college education, or Clemson, with hardly any debt afterwards, but only a decent education? (I would consider myself and my family upper middle class, if that helps)
There is no point in choosing any school for your list, let alone which specific one to go to, 3+ years in advance.
Clemson provides more than a “decent education” This will be between you and your parents , in terms of how much they would consider paying . Excessive debt is not a good idea. If you really don’t like any of your tuition free options, you might want to focus on schools that may give you merit aid . And yes, since any applications are years out, anything can change (finances, GPA, scores,preferences, etc).
Come back if you get accepted to both. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time with choices that don’t have to be made any time soon.
Clemson will give you the same quality education as Duke. It’s what you make of it. You didn’t specify which majors you are considering, so I can’t compare specific programs at the two universities. But what is most important is to start out your life after college debt-free, so you are not burdened by debt. If you really want a better university than Duke, then plan on doing so well in high school that you get a full-tuition merit scholarship somewhere else.
Duke really isn’t all it seems. I have two friends who went there, and they both emphatically told my daughter not to even apply there. They warned her against going there, so she didn’t even apply. In fact, she didn’t want to, because she went to a summer program there and did not have a good impression at all. I have read on CC and elsewhere of many Duke alumni warning people not to go there. Sometimes a place can seem so “perfect,” but really no university is perfect, not even Duke, and it certainly is not worth all that money when you can go somewhere else for free.
You also need to understand that undergraduate students (not graduate students) are only allowed a very limited amount of loans for attending college – an amount I believe is $7,500 the first year and $5,500 each year thereafter (or something close to these figures). Any amount over that going up to the $40,000 cost of Duke tuition would have to be loans co-signed by your parents, and it sounds like they would not be willing to do that. Why should they, if you can attend Clemson or another university for free tuition?
If you start a successful business in high school and can pay for that yourself, then go for it. But don’t beg your parents to take out loans or dig into their savings to satisfy your dream of Duke versus Clemson. It isn’t where you go, but what you do when you get there. It is always possible that you could go to Duke for graduate school – then YOU can take out the loans, or you can choose a degree that is fully funded (like a science PhD).
As someone who personally took out loans to attend law school, and just paid them off in my 50s, I can tell you that the burden of having loan payments hanging over your head for decades and eating into what kind of lifestyle you can afford during the prime of your life isn’t worth it at all. I have met many young lawyers graduating with many times the amount of debt that I had, and they are hugely burdened. You can’t afford the house, the car, the vacations, or the day-to-day lifestyle, or all the things you want for your kids, if you have a huge payment going to loans each month. Be grateful you have the opportunity to attend college tuition-free.
Other options aside from Clemson or getting a full-tuition merit scholarship somewhere else would be to attend college in Europe. There are still many countries in Europe that offer free tuition (or nominal tuition of a few hundred dollars), even to American students. Scandinavia or East Europe are options, or if you learn German over the next few years, you can attend college in Germany. It is free, or close to it. You can search for European universities and see their tuition rates here: https://www.bachelorsportal.com/ You can also see the language of instruction, and you will see that many degrees are offered in English, regardless of the language spoken in the country.
Clemson because it’s cheap. What you learn at any school is ultimately up to you.
What you do in college is more important than where you go. OK, you may not need to “work your ass off” to get into Clemson. But if you enroll at Clemson and THEN “work your ass off”, your education and the subsequent grad school and career opportunities will be more than “decent”.
Well UofSC has best public honors college and the kids there are very high stat and motivated. You would feel challenged in those classes. Same with Clemson’s honors college. I will say that USC is more generous with money in our experience than Clemson, but apply to both. Working hard at either place will get you access to research and fellowships and other great experiences.
You have several years before this is an issue. While I do know someone from here in SC with full ride to Duke, good merit aid there is rare and your top scores (if you have them) will be nothing special. And remember than looking at just tuition is not a good measure. Duke’s total COA is estimated at $73 for next year and you’re a couple of years away (tuition stated at 53k). This will go up.
@NathanRubin10 I suggest that you do your homework regarding SC schools. There are many great schools in SC that you can “work your ass off at” . It is too soon to know how you will measure up for admission to any school. I suggest that you look at the Common Data Set for each school to learn statistics regarding admissions patterns for the most recent years. I think that you’ll be surprised at what you’ll find.
You are only a freshman in high school. You are a long way from getting to university. However, you will find five or six or seven years from now that any good university can be more of a challenge than you think, and a lot more of a challenge than high school. This will be more true as you get into upper level classes.
If your dream involves any significant part of 40k per year as debt, then your dream will turn into a nightmare before four years is up. Clemson is a very good school. If you can go there for free then that is a “dream” that is worth dreaming. You can do very well with a degree from either Clemson, or Duke, or many other good schools.
Also, somewhere around about 10 or 12 years from now you are likely to find yourself working with graduates from Clemson and graduates from Duke and graduates from MIT and USC and lesser schools that you have hardly heard of and no one will care where their coworkers got their education. The “prestige” of an education will be something that no one ever talks about and no one cares about. Many of your coworkers will however either be glad that they are debt free, or sorry that they took on too much debt to get their education.
You can only borrow $5,500 freshman year and slightly increasing amounts each year after that yourself.
$40,000 a year now is probably $45,000 a year when you graduate high school
4 years x $45,000 = $180,000 in debt.
When we bought my house in 1991, it cost $158,000. And it came with a 30 year mortgage. And, fwiw, that’s Long Island prices. The median home price in South Carolina, according to Zillow, is $145,000 https://www.zillow.com/sc/home-values/
So you can either go for free, or in effect pay for a house you’ll never live in-- at $35,000 more than the average home price where you live.
Seems like a no brainer to me.
If you really are a HS frosh and you really wrote that post, nice writing! (seriously.)
Keep working hard, especially at things you love. Don’t think about college until fall of your Junior year. LIfe will work out fine.
As a HS freshman you are getting way too far ahead of yourself. But here are a couple of things to consider:
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If you have an outstanding HS career, when the time comes you can look into honors college programs at the SC public schools. These can be very attractive options.
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Unlikely you can take out a ton of debt without your parent’s co-signing.
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Graduating with a ton of debt will handcuff your life choices for years and years. It could impact your ability to attend grad school, you may not be able to take a job that is lower paying but would give you great experience, you may not be able to buy a house/car when you want etc.
Clemson! Be a big fish in a medium size pond! Excel there and go to a “prestige” grad school if you still need that.