<p>A. Enroll in AirForce ROTC and have 3.5 years of my college at ND paid for. Graduate with a major in Computer Engineering and spend 4 years serving the military as an engineer with 4 years in reserve. </p>
<p>B. Go to Auburn University with Tuition and 10,000 over 4 years assured with the rest of room and board likely to come. All my friends are going here and it's likely to be nonstop fun.</p>
<p>Impossible Option C: Take out loans and dive 150k into debt for ND</p>
<p>Help me! Is it worth possibly putting my life at risk like that? I'm not planning on flying or being a commander. I just want a fun life with a great job and an amazing college experience.</p>
<p>As a mom of an AROTC cadet, sophomore in college, and another son, sernior in HS, who has received AROTC, AFROTC, and NROTC full tuition scholarships, here is my advice:</p>
<p>DO NOT accept an ROTC scholarship unless you are committed to serve in the military. Think about it very seriously.</p>
<p>Well, the scholarship to Auburn is of course great and is a great option. However, a Notre Dame education is something priceless. When combined with military service, an ND degree will create enormous appeal to ALL employers.</p>
<p>Think long and hard about it. Its your decision. And yes, you must be committed to serving in the military if your are going to willingly accept an ROTC scholarship, which is taken very seriously at ND.</p>
<p>Have to agree with singaporemom-make sure you are committed to serve for once you have agreed to a military tuition pay; they will make sure you put in your service.</p>
<p>Auburn is not a bad place to obtain an engineering degree; but it is clearly NOT ND. Their endowment cannot even begin to touch ND…</p>
<p>If serving in the military is your primary consideration, take the money and go to Notre Dame. If your primary consideration is getting your college education paid for by enrolling in any of the ROTCs, then I’d say don’t consider it. The lure of a paid-for, or substantially paid-for, college education via serving in the military is too insidious for those who would otherwise not consider it, save for the bribe of college money.</p>
<p>Wow, this is depressing, but I expected these answers. I’m kind of in denial, I guess. I’m a good athlete, and I’ve always told myself that if I had to enlist I’d be in the airforce. I’m not one to bail on responsibility. I know someone who did Airforce as a psychologist, so I guess I can talk to him about it. I’m getting caught up in the dream of ND, and unfortunately it’s simply not viable financially for the middle class these days. Thanks for the opinions.</p>
<p>Only go into the military if you want to, remember that your would be an officer and have leadership postion over enlisted men. You owe it to them that your want to be a good officer and not just in “to get by”.</p>
<p>The AF has very good technical opportunities and treats their people well. ROTC has a large presence at ND and you won’t get a lot of flak about being in ROTC at ND.</p>
<p>I would not go into debt though for ND, maybe $20K at most would be acceptable. Unfortunately, ND is not affordable to middle and even upper class kids in this economy. ND’s financial aid model is still to squeeze every cent out of the parents and burden the grads with $20,000 in debt (or as their FA officer said to me “isn’t an ND education worth the price of a new car?”…they must be coached to say this) </p>
<p>An engineering degree from Auburn would be equal to an ND engineering degree also. Both would be schools that big companies would recruit at.</p>
<p>Just $20,000 in debt (for 4 years)? I’d say that’s a steal for ND education. Most middle to upper middle class folks end up close to full sticker, which puts you $200,000 in debt.</p>
<p>Sorry, my post was confusing on the FA and debt issue. Our experience with Notre Dame is that if the family income is above $170,000 year (which is easy to meet if both parents are working and have white collar jobs), then you will pay the $52,000/year and expect increases of 3-4% per year. ND will offer you loans that will add up to $20,000.</p>
<p>I am not going to get into our particular financial situation, but for us to afford ND, it would have been a severe financial strain, we would have had to drop down in our 401K funding, which we could not do because our pensions have been pared down also, we would have had to borrow another $50,000 and then our child would have had at least $25,000 in his own debt. Necessary tutoring and saving for our younger child would have been stopped also. Also, the economy and our job security was worrisome.</p>
<p>Our child was admitted EA also. But we declined to send our child to ND.</p>
<p>Ultimately, schools like ND are going to realize that this is not sustainable, that there will be less parents willing to pay $220,000 for a private college. It is interesting that ND took a huge amount of kids off wait list last year (280?), and their yield dropped below 50% for the first time ever, so we saw this might already be happening. </p>
<p>ND and other lower ranked schools are not worth this sacrifice. Maybe HYPMS are though.</p>
<p>ND41: define “as good”, by earning power per graduate, USNWR ranking, number of alumni in congress, etc…? ND is a nice school to send you kid to, they will be in a nice environment, with good ethical kids around them…but is it worth $220,000?</p>
<p>YES! But, as I have stated before many times on this forum, it is a personal decision that should be based on finances, fit, etc. CollegeChecker, we have no regrets, and yes, we have sacrificed dearly for it. I think that w/o a doubt the ops that our student has had (insternships, research exp., and full-time job op) are a direct result of ND’s rep, not to mention the alumni base that is intact across the nation. However, I would never encourage anyone to attend just based on our personal experiences; there are many factors to consider and in this economy, finances should be right up there as number 1. For us, the $220,000+or-, has been well worth it!</p>
<p>per the NYT Book Review section today on a review of the new book “The Great American University”…" In 1980 average private tuition was 20% of median family income, but it is 50% today".</p>
<p>Thank you for your comments, CollegeChecker. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Hopefully, you and your student have found a good fit with regard to college and your student will indeed be happy and successful. I stand by my previous posts with regards to ND and our personal experience. No regrets!</p>
<p>It’s not an “oponion”, it is a tragedy these college want to charge $220,000. and sell the myth that alumni connections, ethics courses, etc… somehow translate into better career oportunities.</p>
<p>Thanks for your “thoughts” then–you have made your point and won’t sway my thoughts! Why are you so intent on continuing this rant about cost? It is no secret what the cost of ND or UMich is at this point. You have hashed this issue until there is really not more to say…enough has been said-move on.</p>
<p>Collegechecker, an opinion is exactly what you have. As do others. You think ND’s costs exceed the value of a Notre Dame education. That’s your opinion. Others may not share your view. I agree that college costs have risen so much that many families, no matter what the oracle who calculates “Expected Family Contribution” says, are being priced out of many institutions of higher education. It’s a bubble, just like the housing bubble, that I believe will soon burst. Notre Dame is one of the best educational institutions in the United States. Its focus on the undergraduate, its Catholic character, and its nuturing environment are not easily quantifiable, but after a recent visit, I can assure you that they’re very noticeable.</p>
<p>Having said that, I’m not sure we can afford it, but I can tell you that I’d love to send my son there, and I’m anxiously awaiting the final offer of financial aid to make the final determination.</p>
<p>For some families, college is about more than a career. But, in any event, it doesn’t seem reasonable for families earning $170K+ to expect Someone Else to foot the bill for their children’s college education. Contrary to popular belief, there is not an endless stream of donors who are eager to provide scholarships for upper-middle class kids so that their parents won’t have to reduce their retirement contributions or make other sacrifices in the family budget.</p>
<p>I dont think any college IVY, ND or otherwise is worth putting a child into debt for a good portion of his/her life. If a parent wants to do so for themselves, I think that is fine. But saddling a young student fresh out of college-- when forging their way in the world is hard enough–with debt seems a bit cruel. I do agree, though, that tuition at most colleges has risen well beyond the cost of living. It borders on ridiculous. </p>
<p>Back to the original point, though. Don’t join ROTC just to get into Notre Dame. It seems like an amazing school and I hope one day my grade-school son would like to attend, but the commitment to the military and serving our country tops that. However, if joining the military is a dream and a serious commitment for you, then I say by all means go to ND. Not many schools can offer the whole package like ND-tradition, emphasis on morals/values/social justice, academics, 100% NON Greek life etc. I disagree with the poster who said HSYP would be worth it but not ND. I belive the opposite. Again, that is each to their own opinion. Just expressing mine :)</p>
<p>A ND education is really worth taking student loans out for, though. The connections you make are definitely worth the money, because they will for sure help you out in your later life. ND has an amazing alumni network, and becoming apart of it will work to your advantage.</p>