Hello,
I’m currently on a gap year studying a foreign language on the NSLY-Y program.
I’m deciding between Grinnell College and a local private university. I’m debt adverse and wondering if Grinnell is worth the extra cost. Grinnell would cost me $18,100 a year and the local university would be around $10,000. I will work during the summer and on breaks at my family’s business where I make $15 an hour.
I plan to major in computer science and continue studying a critical language.
Stats:
30 ACT
4.0 GPA
It would help to know the name of the local private university.
For privacy reasons I would prefer not to share. The university has about a 60% acceptance rate and a 24 act average.
Does your local university have your critical language at a high level (300,400?)
Where would the $8,000 difference come from?
If you can afford Grinnell, go.
If you need parents loans then look carefully at what your local university offers.
The local university does not offer classes in my language. There is a large state university nearby that I could take language classes at.
It is great that you are debt adverse. It’s hard to know the difference in what Grinnell and the other school offer in terms of your priorities, and you sound like a strong, hard-working students. I’m including study abroad options, which could be important to you.
What if you worked as an RA during the school year? Does Grinnell have a fair number of RAs? Of course you don’t know if you’d be hired, but that always seems to me to be a great way to cut college costs, because housing is often wholly or partially subsidized. Not an option freshman year, usually, but is so in subsequent years.
What if you also work 10 hours a week during the school year? I believe research shows that that is approximately the ideal amount of work for a full-time college students. Students who work about that much do better academically than those who work less, and those who work more. Say, 10 hours per week x 15 weeks per semester x $12 per hour = $3600.
Working as an RA or some other job (as above) might considerably close that gap. And, I’ll add, if you graduate with critical language skills–and you are off to a great start with NSLY-Y–you will very likely have good job opportunities coming out of school.
So, I guess, I’d strongly consider Grinnell if you think you can make it work. Of course, it’s not my money, and I don’t have as full picture as you and your family.
Good luck whatever your decision!
Does Grinnell offer your critical language to the level that you could study it at that nearby public U?
Why, if you want that language, is the decision local-private vs Grinnell rather than public-U vs Grinnell?