<p>Can we discuss the relative benefits of a 60K per year education at a top tier school vs. a full ride at another school, such as a non top tier midwest state university or suchlike?</p>
<p>Posts like this tend to generate endless useless arguments about the value or lack thereof of prestige, or other differences between super-highly-selective schools versus highly-selective schools. Vague terms like “top tier school” and “non top tier midwest state university” could mean different things to different people, further extending the useless arguments.</p>
<p>If this is not a ■■■■■ post, name the specific schools, the estimated net price to you for each school, and your intended major and post-graduation plans, if you want to get any information that is useful in making a decision for yourself.</p>
<p>[College</a> Confidential Site Search Results - College Confidential](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/search_results.htm?q=prestige+vs.+cost&sa=Google+Search&userInput=&sitesearch=collegeconfidential.com&cx=013579521852154800353%3Avvp1k6kluvq&cof=FORID%3A9]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/search_results.htm?q=prestige+vs.+cost&sa=Google+Search&userInput=&sitesearch=collegeconfidential.com&cx=013579521852154800353%3Avvp1k6kluvq&cof=FORID%3A9)</p>
<p>I’ll bite. Start with this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the link “bump”. I am curious about these state OOS flagship full rides, though. Anecdotally it seems that they exist primarily in the south. Our state (Washington) is broke, as is California, Oregon, etc. They aren’t giving away money like they used to. They are raising tuition and cutting even promised aid. WSU does give merit scholarships, but automatic $$ still leaves over 20k out of pocket for COA. I keep hearing about BAMA, UT Dallas etc. but nothing like that in this neck of the woods.</p>
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<p>No undergraduate college is worth anything close to $240,000 when there are so many affordable alternatives where you can get a superb education, if you are determined to get a superb education and take advantage of the opportunities available at almost every college in the United States.</p>
<p>Evidence? Start with the thread linked above by happymom. Then consider the conclusion of two researchers who reviewed hundreds of studies on the effects of universities: “on just about any outcome, and after taking account of the characteristics of the students enrolled, the dimensions along which American colleges are typically categorized, ranked, and studied, such as type of control, size, and selectivity, are simply not linked with important differences in student learning, change, or development.” [Pascarella and Terenzini, “How College Affect Students,” vol. 2, “A Third Decade of Research,” (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005), p. 641]</p>
<p>mom2collegekids is one of the resident experts on the current state of full-rides. You also can take a gander at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a> which is reasonably up-to-date.</p>