My son has received a Tuition/room/board scholarship from U of AH, but he is more interest in U of M which he will get some scholarship for but would be expected to pay 25-30k. Based on USnews and world reports - UM has better ranking 69 vs UAH 212. However, for his selected degree median pay is 1k difference between the 2 schools. Further he is thinking masters. We have 80k to give him. So, if he goes the UAH route he can have masters for with about 30k loan. UM route would be 100k+ loan. Which way to steer.
You will have to borrow most of that money, or at least co-sign with your child. If he is eligible to file the FAFSA, he can borrow federal student loans that top out at awhopping total of $27,000 for his undergrad degree. How do you feel about taking on something like $100,000 in debt just so your kid can go to U MN-TC?
My kid chose the cheap option, and we have had no regrets.
Ok a little more information - We are not qualified for financial aid only merit based scholarships. His degree choice is chemistry/biochemistry double major of chemical engineering. UM is ranked higher in chemical engineering 5th in nation rated by USnews… I do not know ranking of UAH but again median salaries are very close. I believe his perferred choice is based on a better “college experience” not $ and sense. I have 2 more children which will overlap. I can afford 80k for each but no more.
If you’re doing this based on USNews rankings, you’re doing it wrong.
forbes ranks UAH 474 and UMtc 139 a little more of a discrepency. UMtc is a Big10 school UAH is not. Any suggestions on how to do it right?
There isn’t a choice here. You can afford UAH. You can’t afford UM. Tell your son that. He may be more understanding than you think.
Forget about the generic ratings ginned up by USNews, Forbes, et.al. The student (with appropriate help from parents) should make decisions based on the real-world criteria that are important to him/her.
$100,000 in debt is generally considered too much – it would require parent loans or parent-cosigned student loans, which are generally a bad idea if you do not really have the money.
- Stop looking at rankings. They're an ok place to start, but this is going to be home for four years. You need to visit the schools and see them for yourself.
- Visit schools you can afford. If you can put in 80K, and student can borrow a maximum of 31K from the government over six years, and just 5,500 of that as a freshman, 30K per year is pricey.
- Add more choices to your list. There are more than two colleges for Chemical Engineering out there. Try some other schools known for good merit aid. Look at starting at community college and transfer.
- Plan ahead for four years. For years when you are putting two through college at once, each may qualify for some aid which may help. (Financial aid depends on your family income and family college expenses.)
Without rankings involved and making visits to both schools, my feelings are that UM is probably the better of the two schools. But 120k better, i do not think so. Graduation from either school should get him a job in his area,with little difference in pay. My goal for my children is to get them through college without them having a house mortgage on their back when they graduate. Regardless of the final choice, I will help him to the best of my ability. There are many ways to make the 80k gift work to this goal. However, he wants to go away, no community college. 80k will not work without a significant merit scholarship which he will not get at UM.
U of M is considered tops for Chem Eng, but if he is thinking grad school you might be better off saving $ for that. BIL did his undergrad at a mediocre school in same degree, and ended up doing his PHD at UIUC(considered excellent). He got a job in Silicon Valley right out of school and hasn’t stopped working since, and seems to do pretty well for himself.
Go to UAH and don’t look back. 
Congrats on the scholarship!
Your feelings don’t matter as much as your child who has to go to school there.
Why have you limited yourself to just those two choices?
^^^^^^this. Had to tell S1 that he was going to follow the $$$. He had some doubts until he heard his friends in them dorm talking about their debt & realized that he had none. Calls it ‘survivor’s guilt’! Is very happy in his junior year at the $$$ school.
Fwiw - he may have better opportunities as a big fish/smaller pond if he is very good & committed. S1 is locking down a summer 2018 internship already partially because schools tend to put their best face forward to recruiters -which are the academic scholarship people many times imo
Go to the school that you can afford. It’s a better idea to have zero debt after graduation, than a huge loan to worry about. Have your son get a job/ work experience after he graduates and maybe his future employer will pay for his graduate degree.
I’m not saying that the money shouldn’t be considered at the right time.
Somewhere in February through April, it’s time to commit to a final choice. Right now OP should be casting a wider net and looking for someplace that is both affordable and somewhere your son would like to go.
States who’s universities are often affordable to out of state students besides Alabama include South Dakota, West Virginia, and New Mexico.
He is not going to be paid more money because he went to a higher ranked school for engineering. As long as the school is ABET accredited, he does well and get some internships under his belt he will be fine
100k if debt will severely limit his opportunities. We will not be able to live on his own or make any major moves if the has to count every penny to service this debt.
Forget about the masters. If he ends up at a good corporation they will pay for the masters.
UAH is very strong for eng’g and STEM. Wouldn’t worry about that at all.
But what about other schools that will also give him a lot of merit?
What are his stats? Is he a NMSF? What are his test scores?
He has applied to 17 colleges we have visited 5. UM is his choice as of now (after a recent visit). He has a friend at UM and one other that is also serious about attending. This is most likely the reason for his decision. We plan on visiting a couple more colleges, but the money aspect of any of the other colleges he may be interested in will be similar to UM. UAH is the only college with this unique opportunity for him to get full ride. He is very smart (17th in his class of ~300, ACT 35), but this is not enough to merit the top scholarships given to like the best 20 students who apply. He is getting scholarships from other schools applied to, but the largest ones received up to now have only offset out of state tuition cost.
I feel he is more focused on the “college experience” (he has said these exact words) than the education quality. I realize this is important as he will be living there for four years. However, I am not sending son out for a “college experience”, but rather an education which will allow him to find a job. Too much “college experience” then not enough focus on academics. People can make friends at any college.
There are lots of universities that will give him aid for an ACT of 35, just not the very most elite ones.
Did you run net price calculators before choosing those 17 colleges?