First off, I already know the logical answer to this is to choose the school with less debt.
I am going into aerospace engineering. I am now debating between University of Alabama - Huntsville and Georgia Tech.
I have worked throughout high school to get into a school like Georgia Tech. I could have skipped class and guessed on the ACT and still get into UAH (sorry if that's offensive). The caliber of the schools are completely different.
I have a full tuition scholarship at UAH. Total cost per year is around $16,000 before competitive and outside scholarships. Georgia Tech is going to cost $48,896 per year. I have a $7,600 grant this year for my financial need and merit and next year my sister is going to college so I should have more need. To be fair, I assume the $7,600 may just extend throughout. That's $30,400 scholarship. I can move off campus and save a few thousand. Total cost per year would be an average of around $40,000.
I have around $23,000 in family money ready to pay for the school upfront. I also have a “rain check” I guess with my parents where they said they could give me $10,000 more after I graduate. That’s $33,000 in debt I don’t have to worry about.
I also have co-op opportunities and internship/research/study abroad ways to save money at Georgia Tech and make it even more free at UAH. Co-op average salary is $8,000-$10,000 at Georgia Tech, so let’s assume I get $7,500. I have three terms of that and then add in an internship somewhere for $6000 to be generous and that’s a total of $28,500.
I also have private scholarships. I have a 1/10 chance of winning $26,000 scholarship. I am the only applicant who is not going to a small state school and has major financial need because of the school I may go to. No guarantee. Either way, I am guaranteed $2,500 and likely to receive at least $5000 or $9,400.
Total cost of Georgia Tech is crazy. Is it worth it AT ALL to pay $1000 a month for 10 years to go to the school I have dreamed I would go to since middle school? Or do I just need to settle and go to a school that does not excite me as much?
I visited both schools. UAH is definitely not Georgia Tech, but it’s not horrible. I would really prefer GaTech for the overall college experience.
“The caliber of the schools are completely different.”
Honestly I think you’re just wildly asserting this based on feelings alone. UAH is pretty damn good for AE. You will also have co-op/internship opportunities at UAH. Not only does UAH have a great many employers that come to recruit, but also, you could have ZERO campus recruiting and still get a top internship (hi!) – whether or not somebody comes to campus, you have to fill out the same application, and go through the same process.
I’m just going to copy/paste a comment I just made in a related thread (also about not being able to afford GT):
"Girl. Look. From one student to another –
When I was at Northrop Grumman, as a nobody high schooler, I made the same exact wage as my coworker from Stanford.
When I was at SpaceX, as a nobody high schooler, I made the exact same wage as my roommate from Stanford, my friend from UC Berkeley, and everybody else interning in engineering.
When I was at Microsoft, as a nobody college student from a nobody college, I made the exact same salary as my coworkers from Harvard, the University of Michigan, and my roommates from MIT and Georgia Tech.
If you have bada** skills, you will end up in the right spot in life no matter what. I don’t think there is much sense in paying so much money–that you don’t have–for a degree in THE LEAST prestige-dependent field ever (engineering). I make the same money as everybody else: they’ll graduate with a fancy name degree and I won’t. And it has NEVER mattered."
If you are looking at $40,000 a year at GT, and have $20,000 saved, and you borrowed $140,000 (you can only borrow $27,000, so parents would have to take out the other loans) over 4 years, at 8% interest. That would be about $1,700 a month payment for 10 years. Most likely more because each year’s loan would accumulate interest while adding next year’s loan.
$1700 times 120 payments is over $200,000 !!!
If you earn maybe $60,000 at your first job, after taxes you might have $4,000 a month for rent, food, utilities, car, etc.
Do you really want to pay almost half of your net salary on student debt?
And you said your sister is starting college soon after you. If your parents are borrowing $35,000 a year for you, will they be able to help pay anything for her school?
Remember you are counting on a lot of money that does not exist yet. Yes, you are likely to earn a lot at internships and co-ops at both schools. However taxes, rent, auto expenses, food, etc. will eat up a lot of those earnings.
Really since both schools will offer similar abilities to earn money during school, the question is do you want to graduate debt free from UAH with a healthy bank account from co-ops or graduate from Georgia Tech with no money saved and a six figure debt that could limit your life choices for the next ten years. Your choice.
I thought that UAH had a lot of aeronautical related companies into the area. Maybe other can comment if that is true.
I think you underestimate the number of top students in similar financial situations. You will be surprised by how many peers you will find amg the students on campus.
It is the approach my kids have had to take. Our oldest attended a similar school to UAH for chemE, co-oped alongside top engineering school students, had multiple job offers at graduation, and now works alongside top school grads (who, btw, do not get paid more bc of the name on their diploma.)
I have a ds who was accepted to GT. It was his most expensive option. It wasn’t ever a real option bc we won’t cosign loans or take out loans. He is very happy and thriving at UA which is a full ride for him. He has great friends, wonderful research opportunities, and professors willing to mentor him.
I have never had a student attend UAH. Our 12th grader really liked it, but it was not a good fit for her major. But she often commented on other visits that she really liked Huntsville and wished other campuses had that university/internship close relationship locally.
“I think you underestimate the number of top students in similar financial situations. You will be surprised by how many peers you will find amg the students on campus.”
Seriously, this. I’m a top student who ended up at a not-top university, in their honors program. MOST of the honors program are kids who were HS valedictorians, or national merit finalists. You’ll find PLENTY of Ivy-caliber kids at many schools, especially UAH.
OP, my daughter was admitted to UMD aerospace engineering (which ranks #8 in the country), accepted to her first choice of their seven Honors programs, and awarded one of their top scholarships.
She just committed to UAH instead. The campus won’t provide her (or you) with the traditional, big school experience but she feel’s it’s the right fit because they emphasize collaboration and practical hands-on experience, plus the co-op and internship opportunities are stellar there.
OP, my daughter was accepted at UMD (ranked #8 in the country for aerospace) with an invitation to her first choice of their Honors programs and one of the highest scholarships they offer. That, plus her tuition remission and an external scholarship, would have given her a full ride.
She just committed to UAH. It’s actually going to be a couple of thousand dollars MORE for us to send her there. However, she feels the fit is good because of the hands-on program, the collaborative atmosphere, and the stellar co-op and internship opportunities.
P.S. Statistically she would also have had a good shot at GT. She didn’t apply because we couldn’t afford it without debt.
OP, remember to come back in 4+ years and let us know how awesome the internship opportunities were at UAH and how you couldn’t believe that you once thought that amount of debt would’ve been ok.
Your parents are not wealthy if they need to take loans out for you. If your parents need to take out loans to even send you to GT from the get go, on top of your own loans, they are far from wealthy.
Part of being a great engineer is having a nearly instinctive sense of the cost-benefit of a solution when making a decision.
When you are interviewing for jobs or internships and the inevitable question: “Why did you choose UAH?” comes up…being able to say that you weighed the scholarships offered at UAH against the debt you would have incurred at GT will earn you smiles. Big big smiles and managers who are thinking to themselves “Yes. This guy gets it!”.