I am trying to decide between three schools, Harvard, Columbia and the Robertson at Duke. The Robertson is a full ride to Duke with three summer experiences. I am worried that I will regret not going to Harvard or Columbia which have been a dream of mine. Am I being completely irrational? I definitely like NYC/Boston more than Durham. But, I don’t think it would be worth the money to go to Harvard or Columbia because of this incredible scholarship. My gut is currently very confused and worried that I’ll make the wrong decision.
Any advice or words of wisdom would be appreciated!!!
Thanks
@crocadile1246 What is the cost to attend Harvard or Columbia? Will it strain your family finances?
If cost is really not an issue, personally I would say go for Harvard or Columbia. Your heart seems set on Harvard & Columbia. You will not have any more opportunities at Duke even with that scholarship, over Harvard or Columbia. These kinds of scholarships are especially designed to lure kids away from schools like Harvard etc, but if there is no issue with cost, i don’t see a big benefit. You will have incredible chances for internships at Harvard and Columbia. The location of these to schools alone allows you access to some of the best internship opportunities year-round, and of course their reputation and connections open amazing doors.
If cost is an issue then Duke is definitely the way to go. No school is worth going into significant debt or really straining your family budget. But if cost really is not an issue, then I feel the extra money is worth going to a place you seem to prefer a lot more and also that has a slight edge in variety/quality of opportunities, academics and reputation/prestige.
It would cost around 35K a year at both. I am trying to appeal, but that was their initial offers. I agree that it’d be nice, but it seems unjustifiable to spend that much money over Duke which would be free?
I don’t have any advice, but I will tell you that my work colleague’s son turned down the Robertson to attend Harvard, full-pay, so you are not the only one to have been in this position. Good luck to you at whichever school you decide to attend.
Over the years, I’ve known several students who have been admitted to Harvard (and Yale) and received the Robertson Scholarship for a full-ride at Duke. My advice has always been the same – and it’s really a no-brainer. You will receive just as good an education at Duke as you would at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, MIT or any other tippy-top college. Even if your family can afford to pay the full-fare at one of those schools, you should STILL attend Duke. That’s because with the money your family is saving, they can easily provide a few extras for you – such as your own car, four (4) summer adventure trips to far off places, a ski trip to Aspen or Vale, a spring vacation to Tahiti, a down payment on a condo or house, a graduate school degree etc. IMHO, when Duke offers you a free ride with the Robertson Scholarship, you take it and turn the other schools down. Best of luck to you . . . and may you choose wisely!
My feeling is that the Duke offer is better for you as things stand currently. $80K debt is well above my “common sense” debt limit. You still have grad school to think about in terms of accruing debt.
You have until May 1 to decide, right?
Here is a possible way to make this work with lower debt:
Call CU and Harvard and tell them that you’ve got this great offer from Duke. Can they improve their offers? Do not be shy about this. Some people go back as many as 3 times to ask. Duke wouldn’t have made their offer if they didn’t think you were worth it. Let H and CU know that you’re worth that and bargain with them. Feel free to call the Admissions Depts at both schools, if the number is available. And get their offer in writing via email.
Simultaneously–get scrappy and think of every way you can make a few bucks. The objective is to get rid of that debt little by little. You can do it. (Not to get personal but I got through my similar level school through doing the suggestions below, plus some that were pretty funny, and it worked, and it absolutely changed my life.)
take a gap year and work. This is probably the most lucrative. Harvard ENCOURAGES its students to take gap years. How about using yours to get a job -- any job that pays -- and save it all. If you save even $40K through work and livign at home, you would cut your debt in half.
find out if your parents can scrape together any more money for college at your dream school without tapping into their retirement savings. Even $3K per year would cut your debt by $12K over 4 years.
find out if you have a relative who maybe forgot about a $3K or whatever amount savings bond that is under their mattress towards your college. Yes, these things do happen. Again, don't tap into retirement plans or guilt trip them. Just gently ask. Or ask your parents if there's anyone they might ask. You never know. A relative might just have a check they can write for a portion. Or they can make a private loan to you with terms you agree upon. Makes sure that you have an actual contract and repayment plan with them.
figure out a way to maybe $5K per summer through work. That would cut the debt by $20K over 4 years. Work two jobs during summer . . .
Find out if you can get a part-time job for two or more thousand a year that you could do on campus (bar-tending; seamstress/ tailor to mend pants; selling used books on Amazon, daycare for prof's kids can make serious money (Barnard next to CU has a babysitting service that you might be able to sigh up for); helping people move; updating computers and other tech stuff; if you have a foreign language, translation; etc. etc.)
Decide to stay on campus for a few holidays per year. If the dorms close, you can house-sit in apartments or prof houses during the breaks.
If all of these comes about, you’ve cut your debt to the low $30s or even mid $20s total for four years, which is more reasonable.
OR
Go to Duke. It’s a great school that many people like very much.
The response from Harvard and Columbia will likely be “We wish you the best of luck at Duke.” Neither will match merit awards, and in fact are prohibited by Ivy League rules from doing so.
Which would be my advice as well. You will get as good an education at Duke, And IMO, neither Harvard not Columbia is worth $80K in debt.
I am trying to decide between three schools, Harvard, Columbia and the Robertson at Duke. The Robertson is a full ride to Duke with three summer experiences. I am worried that I will regret not going to Harvard or Columbia which have been a dream of mine. Am I being completely irrational? I definitely like NYC/Boston more than Durham. But, I don’t think it would be worth the money to go to Harvard or Columbia because of this incredible scholarship. My gut is currently very confused and worried that I’ll make the wrong decision.
Any advice or words of wisdom would be appreciated!!!
Thanks
They might say that, but often they give you more money. Your choice. and you never know until you ask. Often they can find a few thousand dollars, and every little bit will work down that debt load. If it were my child, I’d suggest that he or she make an appt and go up and talk to them personally.
You do get as good an education at Duke in the classroom, and we agree also that $80K debt is not good. But if you dream of living in NYC and attending Columbia with all it has to offer (and let’s face it, there’s a lot there beyond the school that makes that education more attractive than at Duke–everyone comes through NYC and you have a chance to meet them personally at CU for example–ambassadors, presidents and prime ministers, authors, artists, architects and clothing designers, filmmakers you name it. And nearly every dream job exists in the City as people’s ordinary line of work, for another example–theater, art, art history, Wall Street, UN, research, international neighborhoods, social justice, publishing, tech industry, etc). Or if you feel that Harvard is the best place for you with all that it has to offer, and it has a lot to offer, then why not see if you can work down the debt angle?
Whatever people say on this forum, harvard does have magic in it’s title when it is applied to you. It simply does. Around the world. You say Harvard and poof. magic.
If the OP has the chance to access that extra margin of magic. Why not give him or her the means to do so, if that is where his or her heart lies.
Duke is a fine school. But CU and H offer things that Duke cannot.
But really; it comes down to what’s in the OP’s heart.
@crocadile1246 That is indeed a substantial amount of debt you would have to take on. Duke makes more sense given the amount of debt you d have to take on otherwise.
Ivy League schools do not provide merit aid and do not match merit aid awards from other schools so I don’t think there is an option of getting Harvard or Columbia to increase their award.
“Duke is a fine school. But CU and H offer things that Duke cannot.”
And Duke offers a different experience than CU and H. They are all fine schools and $80,000 is a huge amount of debt, so good that you are thinking about that. Good luck with the decision.
@Dustyfeathers:
“Duke is a fine school. But CU and H offer things that Duke cannot.”
Duke, Columbia, and Harvard would all be different and offer different things, but in terms of matriculation at elite professional schools, winning prestigious student awards, and getting PhDs, Duke’s student body actually beats Columbia (and that’s as a whole, not even the Robertson subset), so whatever Columbia offers must not overwhelm what Duke offers.
A friend’s son turned down Harvard for the Foundation Fellows at UGA, which is similar to the Robertson. Its hard to turn down Harvard, but don’t go into debt for college. The Robertson is a fabulous honor and opportunity. And you will stand out. At Harvard you might not.
No one is advising going into debt for Harvard or CU
While I appreciate your POV @PurpleTitan there’s more to school that stats that you cite. The environment for one, as I’ve pointed out. And the style and panache, which shouldn’t be taken lightly. More, there’s fit to personality.
If that can all be had through careful planning and hard work, then great!
Duke is a wonderful school, and competent, but the magic and opportunity in so many fields, plus the shear experience of being exposed to so many opportunities, it just can’t compare, IMHO.