Accepted to both - Mount Holyoke gave me a great aid package and Columbia School of General Studies will cost $50k out of pocket. Columbia is a great opportunity, and will be more academically rigorous than Mount Holyoke - but is the cost worth it? My parents are willing to try to pay for it, so I wouldn’t have to graduate with debt from loans – but what do you guys think?
How much is the difference?
@ucbalumnus About $20,000?
I’m leaning towards Mount Holyoke, but it’s hard to pass on Columbia. I would only be there for two years though, so maybe the cost would be worth it?
Guess it depends on what $40,000 means to you and your parents in comparison to your relative preference between the schools. I.e. is it something your parents can easily pay without any significant impact on their finances, or would it mean raiding their retirement accounts, having less money for college for your younger siblings (if any), etc.? Only you and your parents can decide this trade-off.
Also, is it necessarily a given that Columbia is more rigorous than Mount Holyoke? It probably depends a lot on the major and courses you choose.
@ucbalumnus Thanks for the response! It definitely wouldn’t be easy on the finances and would be a huge trade-off. You’re totally right too that Columbia isn’t necessarily more rigorous than Mount Holyoke. I’m looking to study English, Music and Theater – so I’m not exactly headed for Wall Street.
Ah decisions! I personally think the smaller school will be more supportive and is probably the better pick, but I just want to make sure that I’m not biased and just writing off Columbia because I feel like I can’t afford it. But money is a huge factor!
Which campus do you prefer?
And would you prefer being in Manhattan or in a small town/rural environment? Would you prefer the cultural/entertainment buzz of the big city or the quiet serenity and beauty of rural life?
Columbia does have the bigger name, but you will receive good teaching at both. You’ll likely have smaller classes and easier prof interaction at Mt. Holyoke. Columbia, meanwhile, offers more majors to choose from.
If the extra $40,000 would require your parents to make major (and inconvenient) changes in order for you to stay out of debt, then I would probably lean toward Mt. Holyoke.
Caveats would be if Columbia offers a major that interests you, which MHC lacks; if you found that you simply love Columbia too much to turn it down; or if MHC grew sour on you.
If they are even after considering “fit” variables, I think you should choose MHC and keep the $40k.
If Columbia becomes the choice for fit, talk to your folks about the $$$ and see if you can make it work.
there’s a lot of factors at play here as well since GS is not the same as Columbia college. I believe you have to live off campus and are therefore not as assimilated to the student body. Different schools with mixed classes but different colleges.
I believe that GS students have access to the same classes as College students, including the exact same Core courses.
That said:
OP, check to make sure that there are no meaningful limitations on your choice of major at Columbia GS.
class and rigor wise, GS and Columbia College seem the same given overlapping classes. I’m wondering if the employment outcomes are the same however based on statistics and employers.
GS students are last for the housing lottery, but can still live on campus in apartment and suite settings. Also they have equal access to courses and are fully integrated. So I’m not worried about that at all. There’s a lot of confusion here about the two programs, but there’s very little difference between CC and GS. Sadly GS is notorious for not having a lot of aid money.
I guess it’s just a matter of – is money just for prestige worth it? Should I commit to a school that it’ll be a struggle to pay for if I might be happier there (the core, the city). Or will Mount Holyoke potentially be an even better choice by being smaller, less hectic and more community-oriented?
Just thinking out loud.
is it 50k total for all years at columbia or 50k per year? and how many years?
Columbia has some career survey reports by division:
http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/students/data/2015
http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/news/2014-graduating-student-survey-results
However, they do not break down the results by major, and distribution of majors may differ significantly (they have College+SEAS versus GS, so the engineering majors are mixed into the former but not the latter).
About 50k per year for two years, probably slightly less for the second gear because they give more merit money once you establish a good GPA.
year*
so $100k versus how much at mt.holyoke? I would not advocate $100k for an english major.
Well, not exactly. GS students don’t live in the same residence halls as CC and SEAS students. Their housing is provided by University Apartment Housing, which is the same service that provides housing to graduate students at Columbia. Most accommodations by UAH are apartment- or suite-style, although some of them are dormitory style - however, even the dormitory style houses are with other older/non-traditional students. They are also not “on-campus” in the same way CC and SEAS accommodations are on-campus; they are “nearby” campus. But some of the actual CC/SEAS housing is also merely “nearby.” My husband goes to GS and his apartment is very close to campus - walking distance, and honestly closer than some of the undergraduate residence halls - but he lives in an apartment with other graduate and GS students, not traditional undergrads. That also means that someone has to sign up into any traditional campus residence halls, if you are meeting someone there or going to a party there.
However, given how close you are, you can still be very integrated into the campus culture and life (my husband was, until recently, the drum major of the Columbia marching band) and if you are close to a traditional-aged student nobody will necessarily even know that you are in GS. It’s functionally the same for taking classes, career services, and campus life other than housing.
However, you should note that $50,000 is a LOW estimate of what you will pay. That is JUST tuition, and it’s low even then. GS tuition is $55,000 a year if you take 15 points per semester, which is what you will have to take (at least) if you want to graduate in two years and you transfer in 60 points. That does NOT include your monthly housing costs or living costs. If you choose to live in dorm-style housing, a double will cost you on average $800/month (but ranges from $700-1025) and a single will cost you on average $995/month (but ranges from $750-1100). You could also get placed into an apartment share - you get your own room in a 3-4 bedroom apartment and share common areas - they cost on average $1100 a month (but range from $900-1500). So that’s $8,000 to $11,000 for room alone. You also can’t get a meal plan in UAH housing so you’ll have to prepare your own meals: I’d add an additional $2,000 to 3,000 for board. So that’s an additional $10,000 to $14,000 on top of the $55,000 tuition - full cost is really something like $65,000 to $69,000 per year. (And that’s, of course, not including transportation and any personal costs to yourself).
Are you in the Frances Perkins program at Mount Holyoke, OP? or did you just transfer as a regular student? Either way, you do have the option of living in a traditional residence hall there, although there is a dormitory on campus for FP students (it’s all single rooms).
Either way, I would lean towards attending Mount Holyoke. The gap seems like it may be larger than you anticipate (if MHC will only cost you $30K a year and Columbia is closer to $65-70K) but even a $40K is a pretty decent-sized gap. You also sound like you really want to go to MHC but are only having a hard time because of Columbia’s prestige and maybe the location in New York. Don’t. MHC is also a great college, and everyone I know who has gone to college in the Five Colleges area (I know a lot of Smith and MHC grads) has absolutely loved it. The other Five Colleges expand the range of classes you can take.
I also want to say that while the Pioneer Valley technically rural; Northampton (where Smith is) is a medium-sized city and South Hadley is a decent-sized town. It’s obviously not the same as going to college in New York, but it’s not all farmland either - definitely lots of natural beauty and serenity if that’s what you’re looking for, but the Pioneer Valley is also rated as one of the best places in America to live even if you’re not in college.
Forget about the prestige of Columbia. Reading between the lines, your choice is already made and its MHC.
Very different environments and experiences, as @prezbucky stated. When you picture yourself headed to class on day one, or on move in day for that matter, which place makes you feel more excited/confident/comfortable?
MHC does not have the prestige of Columbia. But the remaining ‘7 sisters’ still hold a lot of love from a lot of people and a strong alumni base in general. If you relish the once in a life time experience of a Women’s college, then the choice is obvious. What are you wanting from your experience, @switcharooney?
I guess I just feel very lucky to have gotten into Columbia, and a part of me wants to make sure that I don’t just write it off because it seems stressful/beyond reach financially.
My gut feeling though is to go with MHC, where the price of my education won’t be hanging over my head. I’ll feel less guilty, basically. Also I think the rural setting is actually more appealing – I never pictured myself favoring Massachusetts over NYC!
I applied to Holyoke as a transfer, not through Frances Perkins. Admissions was nice enough to let me potentially go through orientation with FP scholars though and even (maybe) live in their housing.
Is the main difference prestige? Would classes be that much different?
I wish my gut has an obvious answer but I tend to over analyze until my head is spinning! Ha. Hearing the encouragement about MHC and that it’s still a good choice is nice though.