<p>Our son has been admitted to WashU (we are thrilled). But, he will not be receiving any financial assistance. He has also been invited into an Honors Program at a good Big 10 school. Since he will receive no need based/merit aid at WashU, the Big 10 school is going to cost about half of what WashU will cost. We hate to tell him to decline WashU, but we are having a difficult time justifying the cost. Part of our difficulty is we always thought private schools would offer some discounts to be competitive with the public schools. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Did you apply for aid?</p>
<p>Do you mind saying which other school your son is considering? Wash U is a great institution but the cost may very well not be worth it, considering his other options.</p>
<p>Yes, we received the letter from WashU yesterday saying we are not eligible for need based aid.</p>
<p>The other school is University of Illinois. He would be one of 40 freshmen in the Business Honors Program. It sounds like a great program and he is excited to be going there. But WashU seems very attractive, too.</p>
<p>My DS who is now a junior was accepted into the same program at U of I with a full tuition scholarship three years ago. It is a great program - well run - lots of access to opportunities not available otherwise including a trip abroad to work with a corporate partner. My DS ended up choosing another school - and now have some rather large loan balances. If your son is excited and happy for the U of I program - then by all means - go with it!!</p>
<p>FletchFFletch, this is a very personal decision that only your son and his parents can make. But we had the same exact dilemma with our daughter – accepted into Honors Program with merit $$ at OOS Big10 U with highly-rated business school and (surprisingly) admitted to WashU with (not surprisingly) no merit or need-based $$ (yes, we applied). WashU is almost exactly 2x the cost of the OOS Big10 U counting the merit $$. When we visited WashU in the fall, our hearts said if our daughter got accepted we would do anything we could to send her there. We all loved it, and felt it was a perfect match! But then financial reality set in. Theoretically we could afford WashU… if we maxed out loans, never took a vacation and survived on a diet of Ramen noodles. Together we decided that while it was a great honor to be accepted at WashU and DD would get a fantastic education, it just wasn’t worth the financial burden and stress of graduating with debt, when she has another fantastic option at half the price. Our personal decision - we chose the Big10 U. We will never know if it was the “right” decision, but we are confident it is a “good” decision.</p>
<p>Kennedy2010 - Thanks for your feedback. I guess WashU might lead to better compensation upon graduation, but the thought of large loans scares me a little bit. And, higher compensation would just be spent on loan payments. Thanks again. I really appreciate getting other people’s thoughts.</p>
<p>stbemtpynest, Thanks for your feedback. I had to laugh a little bit because your situation is so much like ours. We really enjoyed picturing our son at the WashU campus - what an impressive place. And, the staff made us think he would really get a lot of attention and exposure to helpful people. Even the students we met were very friendly/helpful - not cut-throat at all. But, when you take the cost - especially when you multiply it by four years- it is a significant sum. It’s great to get this feedback from people in similar situations. It makes me a little more confident about my son’s decision.</p>
<p>FletchFFletch, I don’t think your son should hesitate to choose U of I if that’s what he prefers. It’s notable that he’ll be in the honors college so I’m sure he’ll have lots of opportunities available.</p>
<p>Wash U is a great school, but student loans can be crippling. Given the strong alternative at U of I, I wouldn’t advise choosing Wash U if you don’t feel comfortable with it.</p>
<p>There was a study recently released that was based on tracking graduates from all types of colleges. It found that graduates from top colleges were not paid more over their careers than graduates from mid-tier colleges. The study had data for 50 years. </p>
<p>I will probably get some negative comments from this but here is my oponion. If you are looking at an undergraduate degree from Olin (WashU business) vs Illinios, I would select Illinios based on the savings.</p>
<p>I know some take issue with this ranking, but Payscale’s 2013 ROI list puts Wash U at 158, while UIUC is 68 (in state) and 88 (out of state).</p>
<p>I would say go with U of I, except if your son wants to go into one of two areas; medicine, or business. Washu has world class programs in both that simply don’t compare to U of I. (honors program or otherwise)</p>
<p>What does your son want to do in business? Does he want to go into Investment Banking? If so, he’s going to have a hard time getting a job on wall street out of U of I. Not impossible, but nearly. It seemed like practically everyone in my Washu finance classes that wanted an internship on wall street got one (I majored in econ but took olin finance classes). The big wall street firms recruit out of washu. </p>
<p>Olin is one of the top, if not the top undergrad business school in the country. Business is all about connections and networking and any serious job your son gets after graduating with a business degree will offset the huge loans you will incur. What does a first year wall street I-banking analyst earn these days…$120k? $150k? </p>
<p>Maybe he wants to be an accountant…they make considerably less…it just depends what he wants.</p>
<p>If your son wanted to study history or art…sure…price is an issue and job uncertainty is a real consideration…but business? There’s no sure thing in this world…but I’d put my money on a business degree from wustl. </p>
<p>Then again, if cost is really an issue…graduate with a near perfect GPA and as many and varied internships as you can manage from U of I…work for a couple years, then hit Washu for your MBA! ;-)</p>