Harvard vs. Georgia Tech (Full Ride)

College Search & Selection
1

Hello everyone!

After much deliberation, I have narrowed down my college options to two schools. These schools are Harvard University and Georgia Tech. It has always been a goal/dream of mine to attend Harvard, and I still have a letter I wrote in the 4th grade noting these intentions. However, after being offered the Stamp’s President’s Scholarship (Full Ride) at Georgia Tech, my decision has become much more difficult.

Financially, my parents’ income hovered around 180k in 2016, which caused Harvard to give me 32k in aid. Thus, I would still need to pay around 40k a year with around 5k being student contribution (Federal work study etc.) and 35k being parent contribution. However, my parents are only willing to contribute 15k a year to my education, which would leave me with 20k in loans per year, for a total of approximately 80k over four years. My Dad has said that he is willing to cosign on these loans if he must. Also, my Mom received a 20k raise in 2017, so my family’s income is now over 200k. I know this increase will likely decrease my aid in my future years.

Contrastingly, Georgia Tech is offering me a full ride (Covering the entire COA) plus an $1,100 stipend for a laptop, $12,000 enrichment funding (Travel, research, etc.), annual retreats, a two week expedition before freshman year to an international location, priority housing, and annual trips to various domestic and international locations. My Dad is heavily leaning towards this option while my Mom has left my decision entirely for me. Also, if I attend Georgia Tech, my parents have said they will give me $100 a week and I will not have to work, whereas I would at Harvard.

In terms of career goals, I am planning to major in neurosicence with pre-med, where Harvard is ranked #1 in the world while Georgia Tech just began offering this major in Fall 2017. I am about 80% sure that I will continue to medical school, but if not, I will probably head to law school. Thus, I am about 95% sure I will be attending some form of graduate school unless my interests significantly change. My parents have said that if I attend Georgia Tech, they will place the 60k they are willing contribute to my education in an account for me to use for graduate school.

I am also concerned about the grade deflation of Georgia Tech versus the grade inflation of Harvard. Will the easier grading at Harvard significantly bolster my acceptance into a good graduate school?

Overall, I am aware that Georgia Tech is much more viable financially than Harvard. However, is Harvard worth 80k in debt? Will Harvard open doors and offer opportunities that I will regret missing for the rest of my life? Is 80k a measly investment for a Harvard degree? I would hate to look back in 10 years wondering “What if I went to Harvard?” but I would also hate to look back in 10 years wishing I had accepted a full ride because I now have crushing student loan debt.

So I guess this is the real question, is Harvard Worth 160k more than a full ride to Georgia Tech? (With 80k being student loans, 60k being parent contribution, and 20k being student contribution)

2

I would take Harvard if prestige matters to you… if not, you will get a fine education at GT, its a great school.

3

I’m no expert and you seem to see the picture well. One thing to consider, even for good students, is that pre-med is time consuming. Having to work while in school is a huge disadvantage. If you go to medical school then at some point in the future you will have a similar choice: do I work where I fit or where the prestige is highest?

At Harvard you will be a dime a dozen. At Georgia Tech they are rolling out the red carpet and pre-selecting you as a standout for whom they are providing a standout experience.

In the future, do you take a job somewhere with low taxes, low cost of living, lots of autonomy but away from big city amenities; or do you live in a crappy condo, pay half your money in taxes, spend 10% of your life in traffic, but work at a prestigious facility? In the end, it is your call!

4

Yes, it is. Take Harvard. It will improve your odds for a top professional school, no matter how your interests evolve.

Harvard and Stanford have the strongest combination of undergrad, plus grad schools in law, business, medicine, engineering, and education.

Universities in the second most influential group are Columbia, Penn, and Yale. (And Chicago, if you ignore the lack of an engineering program).

The third group is Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, Michigan, and Berkeley (but has no medical school).

There are also a few influential but less broad schools: MIT, Cal Tech, and JHU.

These few schools control an outsized percentage of the top undergrad and grad school programs. Unsurprisingly, they tend to admit more of their own students to their grad programs (how could they explain to the Trustees that their own undergrads received a relatively poor education?) They also admit more students from the other schools in the group (because no one benefits from an admissions war.)

In the end, you can get into a top program from any school, but your odds are a bit better if you begin from inside the group.

5

I know the heart wants what the hearts wants, but I can’t imagine take on that much debt with so much more debt on the horizon. Stamps is an amazing opportunity. You will benefit from that scholarship now and for years to come. My mother would always ask a doctor where they went to school … MEDICAL school … not undergrad.

6

Congrats on the great accomplishments! You don’t have any other schools offering merit aid that you are considering? Assuming not, Harvard doesn’t seem affordable. I’d be concerned about grade deflation at GA Tech for law and med school. But then again, you seem highly accomplished and likely will get great grades wherever. Given your two choices, I’d pick GA Tech to avoid the large debt.

7

Harvard is amazing… but so is the opportunity awarded you at GT. Your intentions are medical school… I would take the full ride. Medical schools will not care if you came from Harvard or GT. Congratulations and best of luck!

8

Excellent point. If going to GT means not working or working very little while premed, that’s a big plus

9

@Sunny66 I also received the Foundation Fellowship (Full Ride) at UGA and the Cornelius Vanderbilt (Full Tuition) at Vanderbilt University

10

Not sure, but I believe that part of your Foundation Fellows award at the University of Georgia is a Stamps Scholarship award.

You may find it helpful to read the Wikipedia entry on Stamps Scholarship/ Stamps Foundation.

One of the great benefits is a networking page where you can post your resume & career interests.

11

@GaBassin I know this is not part of your question, but I would take the Vanderbilt full tuition scholarship.

12

Congratulations to you…seriously…this is a great accomplishment. (I’d take the Stamp fellowship…but always work in that I turned down Harvard to take it :slight_smile:

13

Wow, awesome options. I would take Vanderbilt, only because of grade deflation at Georgia Tech. I don’t think it is worth taking on that amount of debt for Harvard.

14

If you have a full ride opportunity to Vandy, I would strongly consider it:

  • Better than GA Tech in the humanities and social sciences if your interests changed to pre-law
  • Save ~$80,000 vs. Harvard
  • Very strong reputation and very good academically -- not quite H, but probably worth that difference in cost.
  • No (known) grade deflation issues
  • Not as hot as Atlanta and not as cold as Boston
15

I believe the Vandy award is full tuition – not full ride.

16

@GnocchiB @prezbucky The Vandy scholarship is full tuition, I would still be responsible for approximately 22k a year

17

GT

18

GT, hands down. Best case at Harvard is at least 80K of debt when you finish, if not more. Then pay for med school on top of that?

GT is a great school and will leave you very well prepared to move on to med school without the huge burden of student loans. Before you choose Harvard, run some financial calculators so you can see for yourself what the real cost is of those loans. You’ll wind up paying over $150K for that 80K loan if you take 20 years to pay it off. That’s hundreds of dollars a month that will NOT go to a mortgage, or to investments, or in your own future kid’s college fund. Don’t do it.

19

If you werent going pre-med I would say Harvard for sure. For pre-med it wouldnt matter that much. Plus better save money for grad school and enjoy time in college. But if you are looking for more broad experience with top kids from around the world Harvard is def going to give you that.

20

^^^What if the OP were interested in engineering? Still Harvard over GT?