<p>Have you visited Pitt and spoken to professors in the areas that are of interest to your D? That’s what I would do, and also arrange for her to meet with kids in the Honors program. She may decide it’s a good fit after all.</p>
<p>University of Pittsburgh is a highly ranked semi-public institution with a massive endowment.
Pitt’s standards for admittance and for the UHC have gone up gradually for at least the last ten years.
Pitt may not have the reputation that UVA and UNC have, but I think if you compare the statistics of the enrolled class, you might find that the difference isn’t that substantial.</p>
<p>If you are interested in the sciences, Pitt should win the decision.
If the UHC means small classes, then Pitt should be a similar experience as a small LAC.</p>
<p>If your child is interested in graduate school, then the cheaper choice would allow you to help pay.</p>
<p>Personally I would do the Public Undergrad and consider the Private for Graduate School… because it sounds like in Humanities she will need it. </p>
<p>@tamtiger, my oldest went to Carnegie Mellon (hence my familiarity with the city of Pittsburgh). He was a comp sci guy. My youngest is a senior at Tufts majoring in International Relations. His girlfriend attends Wellesley. 
He met her in Jordan while they were both doing semesters abroad.</p>
<p>If a PhD. is in her future, she should assume that she’d go to a program where they pay you to attend school. It’s not worth it otherwise. If other sorts of grad school or professional school she’s more likely to have to pay herself.</p>
<p>I am very biased, but I think it’s MORE important to go to the LAC for a humanities major. It’s tough getting a job when you graduate with a humanities degree, and the name of the college matters more, IMO. Nobody in their right mind pays for a graduate degree in the humanities; if you can’t get into a fully funded program and/or get a fellowship, it’s not worth going. Only borderline acceptees have to pay–and at most top universities nobody pays.The cost of “graduate” school only matters if she’s interested in a MBA, law, or med degree. Remember that she can borrow more herself for professional school than she can for undergrad and she can also spend a couple of years working before going on… </p>
<p>With both D1 and D2 we talked about what could be done with the funds saved by taking the big scholarship (or going to the instate public). It’s not just grad school, or professional school: it could be funding for living expenses if they pursue careers where one initially gets paid very little. It could be seed money for starting up a business. It could be getting to take advantage of extras during undergrad: travel, winter/spring break short-term study abroad, more expensive activities (skiing, dining out), a car. Both Ds opted for the full pay schools.</p>
<p>We also talked a great deal about how there was no point in spending the $60k+ a year if they weren’t going to take advantage of the opportunities that they’d have. D1 has really, really taken this to heart, which has meant that in her case so far yes, she is very much getting our money’s worth. D2 will be a freshman next year, so we’ve no idea yet how she’ll do. </p>
<p>Close friends have a happy full-pay D at Wellesley; another friend has a happy full-tuition scholarship D at Pitt. No bad choices. </p>
<p>@Slithey… Thanks. </p>
<p>And thanks to everyone who offered words of wisdom. All these thoughts have been going through my mind as well. In the end it is up to my D to decide if she wants to blow away $250 + K for UG or to save it for her Masters or Professional school. I am trying to make sure that I will be advising her correctly and not misguide her in her decision making process. She is fortunate to have good options, hope she will make the right choice.</p>
<p>@Consolation is spot on with the question what would you do with the money if not spent on UG. over $160k could be some nice study abroad, grad school, a house post grad, dream wedding.</p>
<p>This is your kid for life. Look at this as what you want for the next 10 years, not just the next 4.</p>
<p>Your daughter has fantastic opportunities no matter what you decide! </p>
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<p>PhD programs are only worth attending if they are funded (tuition waiver + stipend, often in exchange for being a TA).</p>
<p>Professional programs like JD, MD, etc. can be very expensive, though.</p>
<p>Ack!! PLEASE don’t tell me your D would pass up Wellesley and then blow the money on a “dream” wedding! That is one decision that I could NOT support, not one tiny little bit. :)</p>
<p>Actually, the way I read the post, the money saved could be used toward ALL of those things (and more) if it isn’t all gobbled up by the U. </p>
<p>Have you tried asking Wellesly if they can offer SOME merit and/or FAid to lessen the financial pain of choosing them? Probably wouldn’t hurt to ask and just see what they say. We did for S and his favorite U offered $2500 for 4 years=$10,000, which was more than they initially offered. It helped. </p>
<p>It’s a very personal, and sometimes very tough, decision. Assuming no loans are needed, it MIGHT be worth it to me for a school like Wellesly or Amherst, depending on what the rest of my financial picture (income, amount already saved for retirement , house paid off or not, how many other kids you have to put through school, likelihood of her attending grad school, etc.) looked like. </p>
<p>Anyway, I’m sure she will be successful either way. Congrats on both acceptances.</p>
<p>No wrong answer here. These schools are wealthy and generous. If my child got into Amherst & Wellesley and got no need-based aid, I’d probably support my child’s choice to go there and pay it all, because by my standards, their determination means I can afford it. This is the very top echelon of schools, and I think they offer something special. But I certainly do not think any parent has an obligation to pay that price; it’s a personal balancing act.</p>
<p>@HImom
Wellesley does not offer any merit or non-need aid :(</p>
<p>Ok, didn’t know that. Well, you knew that when your child applied. Are you seeking any FAid? How much would being full pay affect other things you planned to pay for–retirement, travel, future housing for your kid & other expenses?</p>
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<li> FWIW, we were in a similar position with our second child, and with a lot of agony on everyone’s part, including his, we let him take the more expensive route. A major additional factor was that his older sibling already attended the same expensive private university. It proved impossible for us to tell #2 that because he had worked harder and done better than his sister, he wasn’t allowed to go to the same college, which he loved more than she. Also, we could afford it, although not without pain, and there was some help from family members who strongly supported the decision.</li>
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<p>If I had to do it over, I’m not sure I would be in the same place. It worked out fine, though. We didn’t go bankrupt, and he and I both loved his education. (We would have loved it at the other college, too, but he doesn’t believe that.)</p>
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<li> We know a number of first-rate students who went to the honors program at Pitt, some who turned down much fancier colleges for the full-tuition scholarship, others who did things like apply to Harvard, Columbia, and Pitt (with a reasonable chance of admission to the first two), and were fine with Pitt when they didn’t get into Harvard or Columbia. Pitt is a big public university, but you can find a Wellesley (or more likely Amherst) or two embedded in it if you look. Is it the same? No. Does it matter? Maybe for some people, maybe not for others. Because of the strength of its medical research, Pitt seems like a great place for pre-meds, but that’s not your daughter.</li>
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<p>My D was admitted to Wellesley, Amherst and the honor college at Pitt. She went to Amherst at full fare. Worked two years and is now at a law school. She had a good education experience there but felt a bit claustrophobic at times. </p>
<p>Wellesley is a great school, but it’s really important that your daughter stays over for a night or two during weekend so that she can get a feel for what the social life is like. There are many great things about a single sex education but the experience is not the same as being at a co-ed school. The more she understands what daily life will be like, the better. She should also check out reviews about the social life on websites such as StudentsReview. Yes, some of the comments are written by students who are unhappy, but I just looked at the Wellesley page and many of the comments were more of a “heads up” nature, which can be very helpful.</p>
<p>We let oldest kid turn down full-ride for full pay. 2nd kid had multiple merit offers, but we let her choose the most costly school on her list. 3rd and 4th kids were then “persuaded” (forced) to take full-rides. (We will also look carefully at cost for kids 5-7.) My first question would be: do you have any younger kids and how will this affect their choices in the future? Are you at the very bottom end of “full-pay” with no savings, or is the full pay school still affordable without a significant impact on your lifestyle?</p>
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<p>How are you managing the possible resentment that kids 3 through 7 may have that kids 1 and 2 got to choose expensively but they have to choose cheaply?</p>