<p>Davis is an excellent school and outstanding in some areas. Go there and save money for grad school. I am guessing you live in Sacto.</p>
<p>Well, my parents are planning to pay my four years at any school I ultimately attend. They figure once I graduate, and get a high paying job I'll be able to help them with the loans, though. We are also a black family. That said, my parents are not making a measly sum, nor are they making a fortune, since my father is a P grad and works as an aerospace engineer. We live about 20 minutes away from Concord, CA btw.</p>
<p>The only thing I'm worried about in choosing Davis over JHu is the opportunity cost of a better education and more doors open at JHu. Any commentary?</p>
<p>You will get a good education at Davis. You will get a great education at Hopkins. It is impossible to accurately quantify that difference. In my subjective opinion, education is priceless and, if it were possible for me to opt for the better education, I would. Obviously, that is a personal thing and others will differ.</p>
<p>You can get an excellent (or a lousy) education at both schools; the choice is yours. I don't think JHU is "more prestigious" than UCD but prestige is in the eye of the beholder. I don't think Davis will open any fewer doors for you than JHU and if you choose to work in the West, UCD may open more. UCD sounds like the better fit, less expensive, and more happiness inducing option.</p>
<p>I usually recommend the State school if it is ranked top 50 or 60 vs. a private school that will put you (or your parents) into big debt. Money no object, I think Hopkins offers a little more personal attention, and a little more name recognition in your particular field of interest.</p>
<p>Are your parents willing to go even further into debt for graduate school? If yes, then please, protect them from their own generosity and allow them to take on that debt for grad school, not undergrad.</p>
<p>It's not like Davis is free. Room and board will be between $11,000 and $14,000 almost anywhere you go. Davis R&B plus "reg fees = tuition" is about $23,000 per year (and rising) as you wrote. That is still a substantial sum.</p>
<p>Go a year to Hopkins. Then reassess. Wouldn't it be easy to transfer into Davis, easier than to transfer to Hopkins, for your soph year? </p>
<p>You will have that year at Hopkins if you need to impress anyone later on, showing you got in and attended for a year. </p>
<p>I would just do that, then go to Davis for a year, then you will know which one would be the better choice to graduate from. In addition, you might love Hopkins, but just decide you don't want to continue accruing that kind of debt.</p>
<p>Wait, a minute. So if you go to JHU for a year, you can transfer back to Davis? Even though you declined their admission? I've never heard of this!</p>
<p>Yes, you can apply for transfer to a college you earlier rejected. It is done all the time. So what was your decision yesterday?</p>
<p>I chose Hopkins. But if I feel I don't like it and that I wanna move back home to save money, I'll do that.</p>
<p>if you have cable, don't miss the lacrosse tourney on espnU. :)</p>