I have recently been accepted to UC San Diego and University of Florida’s computer science and engineering programs. I have in-state tuition for Florida, plus I received a scholarship from UF of $5,000 per year, making my total cost of attendance around $15,000 per year (this is not including need based aid). On the other hand, I will be getting OOS tuition for UCSD, no scholarships, and no financial aid whatsoever. This means the total cost of attendance per year will be $50,000+. I know that UCSD has a great computer science and engineering program, but is it worth the OOS tuition? I am having a very hard time deciding between these schools because I am not really sure about the value I will get from either school. Any insight from others on this question will be greatly appreciated.
Think about a couple of things:
- Will you or your sponsor be taking a loan to pay for this tuition?
- If your parents are the ones paying for college, do you think they would be okay with shelling out >$200,000 for your undergraduate?
However, there may be other factors besides money that are playing a part. Maybe you would be more comfortable remaining in your state for undergrad? Closer circle, you already have a network going into college.
The opportunities that you can get at UCSD will definitely be greater. If you see yourself as the type of person to capitalize on these opportunities, you definitely will have your money worth.
Since UF has an excellent program, that’s fairly well recruited, nationally (Intel is a major recruiter at UF), I would highly recommend NOT spending $200,000+ for a BS at UCSD.
Both schools are excellent, but the difference between the two isn’t worth $200K.
No, it is not worth an additional $35,000 per year.
No, it’s not.
I doubt that UCSD’s CompE program is noticeably better than UF’s…certainly NOT worth that much more.
What are your parents saying? Are they rolling in money where they could throw away an extra $140,000 and not miss it?
From Feb 2016 http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19289670/#Comment_19289670
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Accepted!!
Date Applied: October 29th
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.2
UF GPA (If you calculated it): 4.45
SAT: 1910
SAT II’s: Didn’t take
ACT: 27
State Of Residence: FL
Male / Female: Female
Summer or Fall: Fall
Class rank: Salutatorian
AP’s: APUSH, AP Lang, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Computer Science, AP Japanese, AP Lit, AP Government, AP Environmental
Extra Curriculars: Varsity Tennis, Model UN, Red Cross, NHS
Senior Schedule: 5 AP Classes and 2 engineering electives
Is UF your first choice?: I don’t really have a first choice or anything, but this school is definitely up there.
Other schools you applied for: Saint Louis University (Accepted), Missouri S&T (Accepted), UCLA (Waiting), UCSD (Waiting)
Major/Field of Study: Computer Engineering
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I bigger concern is whether you’ll be strong enough for CompE. You may have a fighting chance at UF…I think your CompE classmates at UCSD will be stronger than you.
Why would you want your parents to take on that kind of debt for UCSD?
No, it is not worth it.
Have you even visited the campus? Not worth it.
Keep in mind that taking on all of that debt, is also going to add a lot of stress that you don’t need. The first time you have to drop a class and realize how much $ that’s going to cost…blah. You’ll also have to consider that OOS tuition will continue to increase (8% next year).
No. Anything over $40,000 is too much. Anything under $30,000 is acceptable. Choose Florida.
It’s too bad that in the past 4-6 months you haven’t thought it worth the time to dig more into what its like to be a student at these schools, who recruits on campus, the advising system, class sizes, stuff like that. However I can’t think anyone is going to come up with a list of reasons to go to UCSD that is worth $35K per year.
Keep in mind, too, that 1/2 or more entering engineering students at most schools end up switching out of engineering. While I have no crystal ball to predict what will happen to you, it’s worth factoring this in to your decision.
Take advantage of everything at UF, do very well and go wherever you want to grad school.
$200K in debt is way too much for anyone.