There is no reason to bash any good college on this forum just because it isn’t ranked in the top 20, or just because it is very expensive, or just because someone you know went there and didn’t like it, or because it didn’t “show you the love” with a scholarship, or whatever the reason.
If your family cannot comfortably pay for a college - without going into debt - then you should not be considering that college. Period. I don’t care what it’s “ranked.”
OTOH, if a good fit college is offering to pay your way without going into unreasonable debt, then it is an awesome college for YOU and you need to look at it seriously. Period.
For some, that will be Syracuse…for others Columbia…for others Minnesota…for others U of New Mexico…and for others, yes, NYU.
People here tend to make these one-size-fits-all proclamations about colleges. Choosing a college is a very individual decision. However, the one UNIVERSAL truth is that no college is worth going into six figure debt. If you can pay without debt, great. If you can get it paid for you, via scholarship or FA, great. Otherwise, move on.
Hey guys sorry I’ve been busy filling out a scholarship for Syracuse. As for my package, it is $32,000 in scholarship and grant aid, $15,000 from my mom which is $47,000 that doesn’t have to be paid back. Total cost is $57,000 which is billed, not including extraneous things but my mom will cover those too. $57,000- $47,000=$10,000x4=$40,000 debt - extra $5000 first year = $35,000 debt which doesn’t feel like too much. I have decided on Syracuse though unless I get more aid from Villanova or get off the Cornell waitlist.
ASU’s Barret’s is a fabulous option. If you plan to consider law school, I will add to the drum-banging NOT to take on a boatload of undergrad debt. ASU or Syracuse (if you really think you can swing the debt). NOT NYU.
Update: I am now enjoying my first semester at Syracuse abroad although I was never accepted off the Cornell waitlist and will be applying as a transfer this winter.
Congratulations on choosing Syracuse!
BTW ifyou have to come up with 10K/year, summer work 3K+ moderate part time work 3K + subsidized loan 5.5K and you’re good to go.
Because regardless of how much I’m enjoying Syracuse, Cornell will still prove more useful to my future. Moreover, my ability to enjoy university doesn’t come from the university, it comes from my ability to adapt and thrive in a given environment. Plus, I am sure Cornell will be a better environment for me regardless. I hear the aid is very good but I would take any amount of debt for an Ivy. As I said, I am positive having an Ivy degree is monumentally helpful in the careers I want to pursue. I can’t definitively say I enjoy Syracuse yet because I’m spending my first semester at their campus abroad but I still find the motivation level of my peers to be lackluster, a quality that I would expect to be improved at Cornell. I will continue to post about my experiences when I actually arrive on campus.
Think again. A mortage is secured by the property that the loan is used to buy. Education loans are secured by… nothing but a promise to repay, which coming from a young person with no collateral and little (if any) earnings and credit history is worth next to nothing.
Being abroad would generate a different attitude than being on-campus. Being abroad is not about being serious, it’s about learning differently and growing personally.
Soak in the culture, learn the language, go to the theater and opera, watch TV in Italian, talk to a political youth group and go watch the elections this weekend, join a football (soccer) club, learn how to make your own pasta (learn how to cook in four courses), read Brunetti novels in English and compare to your experience, travel around Europe ( you can easily visit Malta, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, at the very least), and keep a blog/diary of it all.
@MYOS1634 I’ve done some of that but I’m leaving in 12 days and definitely wish I have done more. I didn’t get to see an opera unfortunately and haven’t traveled as much as I would like. I visited paris and will likely be going to prague soon but that is all. I learned quite a bit for the next time I study abroad though! @Sportsman88 What risk do you think I should be evaluating. Here is how I see it, an ivy league degree is permanent and debt, if I am as successful as I want to be, is not. If I’m not and the debt stays with me then fine, I’m ready to accept those consequences.
That is the risk. You may not like the field of study or you may struggle in it. You may get into the work force and find out that the salary isn’t worth the hours and stress but you are locked in. “At any price” is a big phrase. $60-80,000 debts for undergrad is not sensible by any right but survivable in fields other than investment banking. $200,000 in loans isn’t.
You also mentioned corporate law. You do need to go to a top law school for that at $60k/year just for tuition. Say you scrap money to pay your living expenses, that’s $180k in debt for law school added to your undergrad debt.
There is clearly risk. Risk doesn’t always mean run but it does require acknowledgement and mitigation at a minimum.
I was once fishing buddies with a retired VP of a major corporation. He brought along one of his fellow retired employees one day and the junior member was still arguing that the corporation should have pursued a certain project. The wiser member calmly said something to the effect that the numbers didn’t support it and pursuing it would be foolhardy and a drain on profitable projects. Good lesson.
Can I reduce it to something as simple as it something I simply want. I have reasons but as much as I can try to articulate them or justify them, at the end of the day they are still just my reasons. Can I be successful without an Ivy degree? Yes. Is the debt worth it from a purely numerical stance? No. But will I ever have another chance to have an undergraduate degree from an Ivy league institution? No. It is purely an affect of pride, a box to tick off my list. As I said, to me it is justifiable. There is nothing more that I want in my life currently then to be among the academically elite at our schools top universities, if just to say I attend (it is about the people and education as well but for the sake of argument I’ll ignore that)
Well I’m going to have that regardless if I go to law school. I was going to try to get a job in a firm after undergrad Ex: Morgan Stanley, Goldman. If I can’t then dual degree program at columbia, yale, or harvard was the backup plan. After seeing the bills my debt after Cuse unless I finish in three years will be close to 50 grand.
but I’m leaving in 12 days and definitely wish I have done more. I didn’t get to see an opera unfortunately and haven’t traveled as much as I would like. I visited paris and will likely be going to prague soon but that is all. I learned quite a bit for the next time I study abroad though!