Hi guys! So I’m really lucky to have a bunch of great college acceptances to choose from, but I’m completely stuck as to where to go from here.
I was accepted to Yale SCEA, but b/c of the very limited financial aid that they’re offering, I won’t be able to afford to go. I’m assuming the rest of the Ivies I applied to (results next week) will also be out of my budget, so I’m not including them in these choices.
I’m currently deciding between Rice (Trustee Scholar, 24k a year), Emory (Scholar Finalist, so with the possibility of even a full ride), Berkeley (no scholarship, but somewhat more affordable than Ivies?) and Hopkins (no scholarship, but my dream school!).
I’m planning on majoring in English (or, at schools where it’s offered, Creative Writing), and hope to have a career in academia as well as being an author, if possible. I know to get really good positions as a professor, you need a “name-brand” degree, so will my decision to skip the Ivies hurt me in the long run? Or does only grad school matter for that?
Basically, which of these schools would be the best for me, program-wise and financially? My parents say that they don’t care about the costs, but I don’t want to make them pay too much. At the same time, I really love Hopkins!
Please let me know what you think I should decide and what would ultimately help me achieve my professional goals. Thanks so much!
I don’t know Emory but of the other three, I would pick Rice > Hopkins >>>>>>> Berkeley. Cal is a big state school where you won’t get the personalized attention the other two can give you. Class sizes can be huge. They are VERY different. My son applied to both Rice and Hopkins and factoring in having to pay full tuition, I would have sent him to Rice. With the 24K scholarship, it would be hard to beat, imo.
If I were you then I will go to Yale for English major since your parents don’t care about the cost. Not many people can go to Yale and I believe people graduated from Yale have better opportunities to work on their dream job in the future. You can pay your parents back after you graduate.
By the way, I am glad most smart kids go to National Universities so my S was able to go to LAC with good scholarship and aid award.
Thanks to both of you for your responses! I’m also leaning towards Rice right now, 1203southview. Where does your son go now?
GwOWEn, my parents say they don’t care about cost, but I know it’s a factor. I have 2 siblings who also need to go to college eventually, my mom doesn’t work rn, and they would have to take out loans to pay for me. Also, because I’m not going into any super-lucrative career path like Wall Street banking, it would be really hard for me to pay them back in time for my siblings to go to uni. That’s why, at the moment, I’m not even considering any Ivies, especially when I have such great offers from non-Ivies.
Why would Cal be cheaper? Is it in-state?
You really need to find out costs of all your options first and then come back. JHU being a dream school makes little sense; they’re unlikely to cost less than the Ivies.
@1203southview, class sizes and faculty attention at a giant public would depend a lot on the department. Most departments would actually not have a ton of students in upper-level classes (obviously the less popular ones).
@PurpleTitan, Berkeley is out of state, but according to US News, it’s $25,064 tuition and fees, which is roughly around what I would end up paying at Rice even with the scholarship.
You’re right, Hopkins is just a little under the Ivies but I’ve wanted to go there for so long and the opportunities it provides for Creative Writing (Writing Seminars!) are so unique and amazing. I don’t know, however, if it would be worth the money - which is why I created this thread. I’m so confused! 
^^^
Berkeley will cost over $50k…did you forget to look at annual costs??? Where are you getting THAT number? Are you forgetting about room and board?
Your posts are misleading. You say that your parents don’t care about costs. Then you say that they’ll have to take out loans. THEN you say that you have younger siblings and that you’re pursuing a career that won’t allow you to pay back those loans.
WHO is supposed to pay back those loans? If your parents “don’t care about cost” because YOU will get stuck with paying back some/most of those loans, then your parents’ casual feelings about this matter is terribly naive.
I think you should go to Rice.
Emory has a fantastic English department at the undergraduate level. The support for undergraduate humanities there is far stronger than at many schools, in that both the institution and student body truly values what such departments can bring and allocate the necessary funds to support such programs.
Additionally the school has excellent programs in cultural studies as well as creative writing which would further bolster an undergraduate English degree. If you get the Emory Scholar’s award and it’s financially doable, I would strongly encourage you to give the school a serious look. From what I understand, Emory is quite similar to Johns Hopkins in many aspects.
Each school’s website has their tuition and total costs, you know. It’s a little mind-boggling that you didn’t look there and are relying on info from USN (that could be many years out of date) instead.
@mom2collegekids, Thanks for your response. You’re definitely coming off as overly aggressive, however, especially when all I’m asking for is advice. If anything is contradictory, it’s a reflection of my own confusion, not my intention to mislead anyone. I got the $ for Berkeley off the website ^, and off the Berkeley website. If that’s wrong, please link me to where you’re getting your information. Right from the beginning, I stipulated that cost is a factor, so I don’t see where you misunderstood. My parents will have to take out loans that THEY will be paying back, so it’s a huge burden on them, especially when the time comes for my younger siblings to go to college. Although they say it’s manageable, I would feel like that’s too costly a price to ask them to pay just for my undergrad education (as you mentioned, my career will not allow me to pay them back for this anytime soon, so I’m essentially just taking money from them) . I hope my situation is clearer now.
@whenhen, Thank you so much! That was extremely helpful. I have heard that Emory is great for English, and have recently started looking at the school more. It seems amazing! My only question would be, if I want a career as a professor, would having a degree from Emory as opposed to Hopkins, Berkeley, or Rice, hurt me? Or are they viewed equally? I’m only asking this because, before I started my college search, I hadn’t even heard of Emory. Thanks again!
@CandyFloss When they say that tuition is 24 K out of state…that’s the SUPPLEMENT for out of state that you add to the instate tuition kids from California pay- $13,878. Thus, your TOTAL out of state tuition is $37,902 per year. This is direct from Cal’s website- http://admissions.berkeley.edu/costofattendance. Scroll down to the text below the table titled “other estimated costs”. The second sentence will tell you what you need to know.
Adding that tuition to the room and board costs, Cal will cost you $57,116/ year.
You should go to Rice.
Truthfully my English professor at Emory absolutely discouraged the idea of going on to a phD program in English. Not saying it’s not possible to go to a tippy top phD program from Emory, it is. HOWEVER, the job outlook for phDs in the humanities is abysmal and the field is extremely over-saturated. I wouldn’t choose an undergraduate school based on the small chance of later obtaining a phD.
@CandyFloss. With the information you have given…cost as being very important…and majoring in English and possibly wanting to write or become a professor…I would strongly recommend Rice over the others right now…but, if you should get a “full ride” that is even better offer than Rice…I could see you choosing Emory over Rice. Rice will give you a great education in a wonderful college setting…
If your goal is to obtain a PhD, then when you are applying for jobs the only name that really matters is the name of your graduate school. Where you got your undergrad will matter with regards to how well it prepares you for graduate school and how much support you get applying to graduate schools. Ask about how many students apply to graduate schools in your desired field of study, how many are accepted, and what schools they attend.
Also realize that there aren’t a whole lot of fully-funded PhD programs in English. So you need to be as frugal as possible with undergrad spending so you can afford to attend graduate school.
No one on CC can help you with this decision the way your parents can. When it comes to financial burdens, it is a family decision.
Wanting to be a traditionally published writer (=“author”) does not require any of these degrees. (I am one, so I know what it takes) but a career in academia does, and a degree from Yale does matter, especially in English. Since Yale is a school that gives great FA for those who really need it, I assume your parents have a way to make it happen. You are a thoughtful family member to think about your siblings’ needs and the whole family picture.
As to the dismissal of Berkeley as a “large school,” that it is. But writers need life experiences and Berkeley is a fantastic place to accrue the “what” to write about. The English dept. is top-notch.
You have fantastic choices. You sound like a fabulous person. This is a terrific time for you, and no matter what you do, you’re the sort of person that will make it great.
Make the decision with your parents, not here. Congratulations on the amazing opportunities.
If you haven’t seen it, Emory did particularly well in a USA Today article, “The 10 Best American Colleges for Writers.” First, actually. For extra reassurance, two of the top three are on your list:
- Emory
- Hamilton
- JHU
Good luck.
My parent advice is to weigh out all the programs, but a ‘good enough’ program at the best financial bottom line. No way paying full cost. Going to a private usually is a better value/better in a lot of ways if same cost public. Sometimes a large college’s honors programs, well developed program in your field of study, etc may weigh in for the public - but your peers may be better at the private (of course again, honors programs at publics can also weigh in on this). How well you do at UG is going to be the key to your current goals. You are going to have to work out the cost details with your parents. If taking out loans, realistic look at what that means on payback.
I don’t think @mom2collegekids is being ‘aggressive’ - sometimes 17/18/19 years olds want to read messages differently, so giving a firm answer shouldn’t be misinterpreted.
Looks like you have some good options if any of them are affordable. Good luck.
@CandyFloss, what’s your family’s EFC? Can your parents afford it? The problem with parents borrowing for one child when they have several younger children is that they may not qualify for loans later on. Students can’t borrow more than the federal student loans ($5500 as a freshman, $6500 as a soph, $7500 as a jr, & $7500 as a senior).
What’s the cost of attendance at each school (tuition + fees + room & board) - financial aid (grants + $5500 the federal student loan)? How much can your parents pay without taking out any loans? The net cost is an important factor to consider.
Wow! Thanks for all your thoughtful responses!
To all the people who enlightened me about the actual cost of Berkeley OOS - thanks! I’d only checked on the website and other indirect sources, so I guess I really underestimated it. (I live in Texas, and even for OOS people, UT Austin would be a lot less expensive than UC Berkeley). I guess Cal isn’t really a viable option after all …
@whenhen, Did she really? So what sort of degrees/career trajectories would you recommend for someone interested in a career in academia? I guess I just assumed a PhD would be the natural track, but if that’s not correct, I’m definitely open to other options.
@gravitas2 and @InigoMontoya, Thanks you guys! So you’re both essentially saying to go wherever the scholarship is the largest, right? Basically, Emory vs. Rice? If I do get a full ride at Emory (fingers crossed!) would you recommend it as a school over Rice? I wasn’t aware that the undergraduate school didn’t even matter as far as becoming a professor went.
@205mom, That’s so awesome! Congrats on your success! I definitely will sit down and discuss it with my parents, thanks 
@merc81, Wow!! I hadn’t seen that article, even though I’ve been researching Emory for so long! That definitely makes me less nervous about the school … thanks so much!
@SOSConcern, Thanks for your parent advice! It seems pretty solid :). I definitely think that Rice (and maybe even Emory, if I get the scholarship) would be the most financially viable options. Would your advice be to go to whichever is less expensive?
@austinmshauri, Thanks! You’re totally right - ultimately, net cost is the most important factor, so it looks like right now, Rice is the most viable option. I still definitely need to talk to my parents about that, though.