<p>Don’t sweat it rsingh13. You’re also still just a kid : ) I knew very little about colleges at your age. Hell, I also paid little attention to colleges until just the past few years when I had a vested interested in them. People my age never discuss what schools they went to because it’s pretty irrelevant at this point in your life. What matters more is what you do or have done with your life or career.</p>
<p>Thanks for the support NJSue. I take the “uneducated” comments with a grain of salt. When it’s clear they don’t know the facts, they lose credibility.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that Rutgers-NB is dead set against it because the trade-off is that they are going to get a medical school, which it dearly desires.</p>
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<p>CS&S = college search and sellection (i.e. the subforum you’re on.) </p>
<p>I didn’t look at the employers, but my ex-roommates’s brother got into stanford from Angelo state. The argument isn’t whether Lafayette university can get you into some decent grad programs, it’s whether it’s prestigious, which, sorry to tell you, it isn’t.</p>
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<p>Lafayette costs 40k in tuition a year, which is on the high side of what private universities cost. Assuming your son will be staying on campus, he’ll be paying an additional 13k. So, is lafayette worth 33k? Not imo (and not if you think it’s prestigious.)</p>
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I’m sorry to burst your bubble but you’re wrong. It’s impossible to compare national universities and LACs but Lafayette is more highly regarded in the LAC world than UCLA is in the national university realm. Your standards for prestige are too high for someone who went to community college and then transferred to a state school.</p>
<p>Also my son received highest merit Lafayette offers of $20K a year. Not many schools give better merit than that!</p>
<p>Actually, there are schools that give better merit than that. You can’t look at dollar amount. You have to look at the amount in relation to tuition. That is only a HALF TUITION scholarship…nice, but not unusual. And that’s half tuition at a school that charges very HIGH tuition. My own kids’ flagship probably would have given your son FULL TUITION plus 2500 per year for engineering…remaining costs about $11k per year…and with the full college experience. I know of other schools that would have given similar offers. </p>
<p>Since I don’t know your son’s exact stats, UDayton may have offered an amount that would have yielded a lower final cost…probably Arizona State and UArizona would have as well.</p>
<p>As for the “elite/prestigious” name, there is no “there there.” Neither school is going to make a big difference for grad school admissions. My older son is in a PhD program at an elite school (recognized by CC folks as being elite…lol). His classmates are from a variety of undergrads ranging from ivies to flagships to even regional publics.</p>
<p>Why are the ONLY choices these 2 schools? Where else did he apply??? How much will those schools cost? If these are the only two schools, it doesn’t surprise me that your son might be balking at a Rowan…he’s a student with strong stats and probably feels that he “deserves” attending a school that is better than a regional public. He probably wants to be able to tell his classmates that he’s going to a better sounding school.</p>
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<p>$20,000 off a list price cost of attendance of about $55,000 per year is still a net price of $35,000 per year. It is best to compare net prices and not be swayed by the large discounts off of high list prices that still leave high net prices to pay.</p>
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<p>Outside of the region, people are unlikely to have heard of Lafayette (or Rowan). Prestige or lack thereof of these schools is likely to be only regional. Although, based on postings from people in the northeast, it appears that many there think that any private school is more prestigious than any state school.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure what your point is, ucbalumnus, as the $35K per year cost of Lafayette compared to the close-to-zero cost of Rowan is the presenting issue of this thread. The OP has already done the math.</p>
<p>“My own kids’ flagship probably would have given your son FULL TUITION plus 2500 per year for engineering…remaining costs about $11k per year…and with the full college experience.”</p>
<p>My son DID get a FULL TUITION PLUS ROOM & BOARD scholarship at one of our top state schools (Rowan), which by the way is rated #2 behind TCNJ as the top regional public university in the North. Remaining cost about $3K per year! Did you lose sight of my original post? </p>
<p>These are the FINAL two, not the ONLY two schools my son applied to. As I already stated, he would be happy to attend ANY ONE of the several schools he applied to. </p>
<p>And who says he won’t get the full college experience at Rowan or Lafayette? Each person seeks their own experience. Attending a large university > 10,000 students is not my son’s idea of a good experience. He is not interested in football games, or fraternities, or partying (it’s true; just who HE is, and I know this could change, in fact I hope he does indulge a little as long as he’s responsible). He wants to learn in small classrooms with teachers who are always accessible, and KNOW WHO HE IS. He would be absolutely miserable in a theatre sized classroom, or a huge university. That is the full college experience my son seeks, which obviously differs from what you think is your full college experience. Socially, every school has plenty to offer. </p>
<p>This is the EXACT reason I chose not to list the two schools, because your opinions (no offense) are irrelevant to me at this point. I know the facts between these two schools better than probably most of you, and I already know they are good fits for my son, so there is nothing you can tell me that will change that. My only request is opinions on those making similar decisions. Plug in your OWN schools into A (full ride) and B (prestige), then provide your input.</p>
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<p>Then why are you asking anything?</p>
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<p>And if you really want to know about the value of a school’s prestige, you need to name the schools. USC versus CSULA is a lot different from USC versus UCSD in terms of prestige differences. (And how much prestige matters also depends on other factors.)</p>
<p>In our case it is no aid at all at an excellent, probably best match possible for the kid, private, vs. microscopic scholarship, but still less than half that price in-state public. College A would cost more for one year than two years at University B. We don’t have the wherewithal to cover that difference, and kid doesn’t want to be working and studying part-time for years on end just to be able to graduate from A. A is off the table. B it is.</p>
<p>What makes your case difficult, is that you have reason to believe that your family can afford the difference between your child’s A and B. If your family really, truly, can afford A, then it is perfectly fine to hang up this conversation and just let your child decide. If the truth is that A would mean stretching yourselves more than you can justify, then you need to fess up, and buy the kid the sweatshirt for B.</p>
<p>This questin comes up over and over, and bottom line, if the family can afford the out of pocket cost and will not cause a significant change in their lifestyle or cashflow, won’t require taking out loans, etc, then you are most fortunate to have the luxury of letting your s decide which school is the best fit for him. If both schools offer ABET accredited programs then it won’t really matter which school he gets his engineering degree from. That said, the big caveat IMO (speaking as a parent of 2 engineering sons, one of whom went to a top 20 school and one to a top 50 school, and for which our OOP cost were significantly different due to merit scholarships) is which one has better resources/programs to help the student get summer internships and job placement. SUmmer internship experience and job placement are crucial, IMO. The starting salaries will not differ based on these schools. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>I’m not sweating. I wear antiperspirant</p>
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<p>Uh, UCLA nationally and internationally is regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. This is independent of what you may think about it. Personally, i’m not that that impressed by some overpriced lac, with a +50% admit rate.</p>
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<p>Your ad hominem attacks are amusing. And yes, UCLA is just some “state school.” It’s not like this state school placed 24 ranks higher than your alma matter in reputation or anything this year :rolleyes:</p>
<p>OP, you say that both schools are good fits for your son. That makes it a question of prestige and value. As for prestige, I think you may have a biased view. Lafayette is a fine school (as is Rowan), but does not have significant prestige. Keep in mind that I’m a New Yorker who has been researching and discussing colleges for a long time. I know about all the schools in the area (and many outside the area). Lafayette is a good private school that give a good student all the tools to be successful. However, the Lafayette name by itself will not open any doors or get any wows. There are a couple dozen truly prestigious names out there. No disrespect, but Lafayette is not one of them. Again, it’s a fine school and their engineering grads are respected, but it’s not as prestigious as you make it out to be.</p>
<p>And what is prestige anyway? A door-opening brand name? A seal of approval? You get that with Ivies or elites. You don’t really get that with Lafayette any more than other quality schools. For an engineering student, either Lafayette or Rowan will get you where you want, or at least give you the opportunities. </p>
<p>That leaves the small matter of cost. You are contemplating spending $140,000 for the perceived prestige of Lafayette. I’m saying Lafayette doesn’t have the prestige to justify that cost. You know, saying “I went to Rowan on a full ride” has some prestige too. When our kids are born, we dream of them being great athletes or artists and earning that coveted scholarship. Now that they have earned that scholarship for academics, why do we discount the awesomeness? </p>
<p>My son is grappling with the same dilemma. He got a full ride from the honors college at University of Alabama. He was also admitted to Georgia Tech (not private, but certainly elite and prestigious). He is still awaiting decisions from several Ivies and truly elite schools. His decision of value vs. prestige is even more extreme than yours, yet UA remains a favorite. He knows that a smart engineering student will do well anywhere, yet he has embraced the wow factor and prestige of “I went to Alabama on a full scholarship”. In this day and age, that’s becoming a status symbol on its own.</p>
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<p>For heaven’s sake, people, read what busybeemom has written. Here is what she said she was seeking, in her original post: “I would like to hear feedback from both students and parents alike, especially those who have made, or are currently making, a similar choice.” Though she initially didn’t want to, she has offered up the names of the two schools and has asked that people who wish to compare the two schools do so based on research and facts. Some people have managed that. Others have chimed in with things that have nothing to do with the price of tea in China … Or Pennsylvania … Or Jersey.</p>
<p>I’m also curious about how people seem so intent upon correcting busybeemom on the notion of Lafayette College as prestigious. What’s that about? Y’all know, don’t you, that there’s no agreed-upon meaning to the word “prestige” in this context? I’m certain, in reference to Chardo’s post #56, that there are plenty of people who would scoff at the idea of Georgia Tech as “elite and prestigious.” And plenty of people who would go to the wall on that one. And others who would argue it’s no more prestigious than Lafayette. </p>
<p>Some of us are adults here. Maybe we could put aside our biases, and get over our desire to set the record straight on just what is a prestigious institution of higher education, and answer the OP’s question without trying to get points for our own pet schools.</p>
<p>Just because you can afford the higher priced and more ‘prestigious’ school school does not necessarily mean that you should…</p>
<p>School A: Truman State: $16,000 per year.</p>
<p>School B: Centre College (Lafayette is ranked #40; Centre #42): $25,000 per year.</p>
<p>We can afford either. But we can do alot with that extra $9,000 per year…an extra study abroad trip, a trip to Europe, set some money aside for kid’s future home down payment, fund our retirement at a higher level, etc. </p>
<p>It is neither easy or black and white. We will face a similar decision next year. Best of luck to you. FWIW, right now we are leaning towards the ‘cheap’ option.</p>
<p>“Then why are you asking anything?”</p>
<p>I’m not asking your opinion about Rowan vs Lafayette. I’m asking your opinion on Full Ride vs $140K for Prestige. Plug in your own two schools that you WOULD consider for full ride and that you WOULD pay $140K for prestige, and when given an option of one or the other, what choice would you make (or hope your child makes) and why. Obviously you can’t choose both.</p>
<p>Every person on here will pick a different A and B school for their own personal reasons, and so it is not relevant what my two schools are, unless those are also your two schools. Do you get what I’m asking? Sorry if things got confusing. </p>
<p>On a side not, how do you create a “quote” in a box when you reply?</p>
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<p>The schools matter because the magnitude of the difference in prestige differs. From an admittedly out-of-region view, Lafayette does not have a significant prestige advantage over Rowan, so there is not much of a reason to pay a lot more for it *for prestige reasons<a href=“though%20it%20is%20possible%20that%20there%20are%20other%20reasons%20why%20someone%20would%20pay%20more%20for%20it”>/i</a>.</p>
<p>Note that engineering is not generally that school-prestige-conscious anyway (unlike investment banking, or law with respect to one’s law school, where your school’s prestige follows you forever in your career), although a school’s prestige in the field does have an effect on what employers come to visit the career center for one’s internships and first job at graduation.</p>
<p>And $140,000 is a lot in any case.</p>
<p>Also, generic discussions about school prestige tend to incite “prestige wars”. At least one where someone asked about unnamed an Ivy League versus public school went on for hundreds of posts; someone found the OP’s schools and posted them, but fewer than ten posts after were about those specific schools (the public school was one of the top schools in the OP’s intended major).</p>