<p>We’ve visited twice, attended preview day, and my D is in love with the school. Me - not so much with the price tag. Yes, I’ve heard all the marketing hype about wonderful internship opportunities in DC, politically active students, study abroad opportunities… etc. They really present a glowing portrait. But is this real? I’ve seen the stats about % of students who are employed 6-9 months after graduation, but my daughter would have killed me if I asked if those stats included Starbucks. As a full pay parent, with merit money highly unlikely, I am really struggling with the idea of spending more that twice what it would cost to attend our respectable in-state flagship. So tell me - is being in DC really that much of an advantage for students leaning towards some vague combination of IR/political science/economics?</p>
<p>In my opinion, yes. I graduated from AU in May, and currently I am happily employed in my field (which was not IR/poli sci/econ), and most of my friends are as well, whether it was IR, business, education, science, etc. DC is a very good job market at the moment, and has been relatively well-buffered from the recession for those with college degrees, especially because of the opportunities to gain hands-on experience before graduation. Comparatively, a much larger proportion of my friends who attended my home state’s respectable flagship institution are still looking for full-time career-oriented jobs (as opposed to retail or food service), and have realized they will likely have to leave the state to find one at the moment. Full disclosure, I chose AU over my in-state flagship partly because of a large merit award, and it was before the recession hit. I clearly still stand by that choice, so take it as you will.</p>
<p>it’s not worth going in to debt for – no school is. We are full pay and for our D, this was really exactly the right fit. She has really been able to take full advantage of the opportunities that being in DC offers.</p>
<p>jsjs2, it’s a fair question, and as I’m sure you know, it’s really one that each family has to answer for itself.</p>
<p>My daughter just did choose AU over our state flagship. (She did get a merit award at American, but she also got one from the flagship, so I think those kind of balance out.) For her, the key issue was size. Our state flagship is enormous, as most of them are, and she thought (probably quite correctly) that it would be hard for her to be the best version of herself at a university with 27,000 undergraduates.</p>
<p>My wife and I would love, of course, to pay half what we’re going to pay for AU, but we have been impressed with what we’ve heard and seen about AU’s advising–both academic advising and career advising. We have the sense that AU really tries to take the kids it gets and polish them, so that they have a real shot at good jobs or good graduate programs after graduation. Now, in fairness I should say that my daughter just graduated from high school and is taking a gap year, so we don’t know whether our favorable impression of AU advising will ultimately be borne out.</p>
<p>As I said, I can’t answer for you whether it’s worth your paying retail for your daughter to attend AU. Presumably, for the price of an AU degree, she could get a similar degree from your state university and have $100,000 or more in change. That’s a lot of money. It’s a master’s degree, or money for her first condo, or money for your retirement.</p>
<p>No answer, sorry. Just a list of the things we thought about as we pondered the same question.</p>
<p>I agree that I would not go into debt to pay for any undergrad degree, but some people do. Just not a choice our family would make. Our D received good merit aid from AU, but we are still stretching the family budget to pay for it. D is starting her second year and has enough credits to graduate in 3 years. Is it worth it?? I can’t really do a return on investment analysis for something as intangible as a college degree. Sure, we hope she gets a job after graduation, but she’s also going to gain so many things that can’t be quantified. We just ask of both of our kids - do your best, make the most of the opportunities given to you, have a great time, make lifelong friends. If they can achieve those things, then our investment will be worth it. (And grad school is on their own dime!)</p>
<p>But, regarding AU specifically, here are the things that I personally believe are better than our state flagship. 1) availability of internships (summer and school year), 2) opportunities available in DC - politics, arts, nightlife, etc., 3) small class sizes, 4) no grad student TAs teaching undergrads, 5) access to professors, 6) study abroad opportunities, and 7) great career services office.</p>
<p>In our state university (a highly ranked one), the majority of students take five years to finish. So one needs to compare five years worth of costs versus four. </p>
<p>“Worth” is the mind of the buyer. We wouldn’t have had $53k a year, so it wouldn’t even be an issue. My d. finished in three yeras, had internships in India and Jordan, made friends with a senior official at the World Bank (among others), got a VERY high-paying internship this summer (they took three out of 200 applicants, many of them from the Ivy League) which will likely lead to a full-time position, and will spend her fourth year getting a masters degree (also from AU).</p>
<p>We are very, very, very pleased - but, no, we didn’t spend $53k.</p>
<p>My family has had a similiar expereince to Mini. My daughter is starting her four year in a few weeks and is presently working on her third internship. She spent all of last year study abroad in Sweden and was able to get this summer internship while being abroad. She started this third internship in mid June and it will continue through the school year. And it is not in a political/IR/ business field - it is science. She loves the school, the opportuities, nightlife etc.</p>
<p>With that being said, I think a lot has to do with the personality of the kid. My daughter is a go-getter. She will work her tail off to seek opportunities. She has lots of American UN. friends who are back in their home towns working retail or not working. They are not motivated. The career office is terrific and there are many jobs you just have to get off your duff to find them. </p>
<p>My daughter is on a merit scholarship as we could not have come up with this much money. We are Virginia residents so she had many choices, especially with her high stats. The other thing is out of pocket expenses for her to just live there. Rent and food is alot.</p>
<p>She has received a good education and we are hoping she gets a permenant job offer at the end of the year. Worth $52K out of pocket- no way.</p>
<p>Good luck, every family has to make a decision they are comfortable with.</p>