<p>I am unfortunately caught in the favorite dilemma on CC. Do I go to the free state school or go to the costly but more prestigious liberal arts college? I am an Iowa high school student, stuck between going to Grinnell College or Iowa State University.</p>
<p>Iowa State is giving me a full ride for 4 years for being a National Merit Scholar. A great deal and a pretty good school, but I don't really want to go there.</p>
<p>Grinnell has given me some merit aid, but the cost for my parents and I to split yearly would still be ~$25,000. I like everything about Grinnell more, but that price tag difference is substantial. I had hoped for at least some need-based aid, but I got zero. My parents own businesses, which makes you look wealthy on paper, but in reality most of the assets are tied up in them, i.e. not liquid. Their actual incomes are nothing special and paying for Grinnell would be a burden. Furthermore, I would have a significant amount of debt upon graduation.</p>
<p>I think I would enjoy ISU, but I know I would have a much happier undergraduate at Grinnell. So I ask the esteemed members of CC: do I give in to my parents' wishes and go to the free state school or accept the monetary woes and go to the more prestigious college I actually want to go to?</p>
<p>How could you and your parents come up with that 25k for next year, and the increased cost in future years? What kind of debt are we taking about here by the time you would graduate? More than 20k? More than 30K? </p>
<p>I’ve studied at a Grinnell-equivalent, and at ISU. The experiences were very different, but I cannot say that one was particularly “better” than the other. Rather like comparing a new T-shirt and a new road-grader: both things are excellent, but they are totally different.</p>
<p>Given the cost differential, and all the great things you can do with the money you aren’t spending on tuition (year abroad, 5th year if you change your major too many times, a car, living expenses while you do unpaid internships, etc., etc.) I am going to have to vote for ISU on this one. </p>
<p>Wishing you all the best, whatever you decide.</p>
<p>It also depends, to some extent, on your plans after graduation. Will you have to pay for graduate school (law, medicine, business) which means taking on even more debt? Will you be working in a professional environment that typically doesn’t pay a premium or give extra credit for a pricey undergrad degree (like teaching? or civil service?) Are you hoping to do activities over the summer that might not be paid or paid much? Will having to work during the school year be an issue for you? If you had the extra cash in your pocket, what could you do with it that might enrich you educationally to make up for the larger, less personalized learning environment of a big state school? (Study abroad for a year? Do research for a prof instead of working during the school year? Go directly to grad school instead of working to pay off debt?)</p>
<p>All these factors-and your parents judgment of what makes sense for you-should be given due weight. The fact that they are willing for you to attend Grinnell, if you take on some of the debt, suggests that they don’t think it’s a bad idea. Rather, it’s going to impact your choices later and you need to understand the trade-offs. That’s a very reasonable expectation.</p>