<p>I am really struggling with my college decision. I can't decide between going to Yale, my dream school or Wake Forest, a school that I really like where I have a full scholarship waiting. I've listed some factors about each school, but I just don't know... Ahh, please help!</p>
<p>Yale:
-prestigious
-great political science program (my intended major)
-New England (I love the weather and the preppiness!)
-BUT no financial aid (My situation is pretty complex, because my father passed away, and there's his insurance policy...)</p>
<p>Wake Forest:
-full scholarship
-friendly, laid-back atmosphere (better social scene, from my experience)
-more focus on athletics
-guaranteed summer research grants</p>
<p>I'm interested in going to graduate school after college. Would it be easier or harder applying to grad school from Yale? Is the prestige of the school worth $200,000?</p>
<p>Sorry, an exceptional scholarship to a great school is too much to pass up.</p>
<p>Admittedly, I'm a bit of a hypocrite on this topic as I am leaning heavily towards Pomona over MSU and Alabama with huge scholarships(and some really really cool research opps). But I personally find the social/personal aspects of Wake so much superior to Yale, and really was never a huge fan of most of the Ivies, so once again, not the same situation as you.</p>
<p>But if you like the 'preppiness' of Yale, Wake should be a great fit. And Wake's BBall team should be real good these next few years, as an added bonus.</p>
<p>If you can afford to go to your dream school, go, especially since it is Yale. Yale is known worldwide, and you will be in awe of what your classmates accomplish in the future. It will give you a significant edge towards grad school over Wake as well. Let's face it, Wake is a good school but not in the same class. I would give it an edge with weather, but that doesn't even work for you.</p>
<p>if your folks are very well off, 200k may be worth it. But, if your family is middle/upper middle class, I would go to Wake and take the full scholarship. 200k, after all, is a huge sum of money just for undergrad, and it should ultimately come down to your family's financial status.</p>
<p>No college is worth $200,000. NONE. Not harvard, MIT, Princeton, OR Yale. Its not like its between yale and community college. Its between yale and WAKE Forest. That is NOT a $200,000 difference.</p>
<p>get a 4.0 at Wake and save your $$ for grad school and an apartment, and convince pops to get you a new car</p>
<p>I know it's a tough call. Giving up Yale for a low-level school would be dismal. But Wake is a national university with challenging peers and a selective school ambience. As a Wake alum, I'm not exactly unbiased. But you'd be a star there, and it's a fun, invigorating campus culture. Four years from now, that 200K could buy you a house and you could rent space to classmates to pay for grad school.</p>
<p>I would choose Wake, especially if you're planning to continue to grad school. 200,000 in debt would not be pretty to keep as well as going to school even longer.</p>
<p>barc you're outstanding individual, whichever school you go to, u're gonna end up doing fine in life....200k might seem costly, but u'll easily earn it back next time, and a world class education is priceless</p>
<p>many changes will occur during college life, you might end up never attending grad school, so the best and safest option here is to go for the best thats available....Wake is good, but it certainly doesnt offer the kind of exposure or international prestige yale does, which can potentially open many doors for you</p>
<p>besides, going to the place perceived to be not as good "a fit" can be rewarding, college is afterall a chance to venture out of your comfort zone and learn to be independent....life in yale would undoubtly be more academic and rigorous compared to the laid-back, relaxing atmosphere at Wake, but would you rather slack off now or work a little hard to reap the benefits later in life?</p>
<p>athletics and social life are impt, but college is afterall a place of learning, and Yale is indeed strong in political science which you happen to be interested in</p>
<p>i would say $200,000 for yale anyday</p>
<p>p.s. i think you could negotiate with Yale wrt the financial aid, being need-blind i'm sure they'll be willing to offer you at least some aid as long as you prove that you do need it</p>
<p>I'm going to assume that is not an adult opining.</p>
<p>What do your parents think--really think? Maybe they have the money saved, and don't mind spending that much. In that case, I guess choose Yale if you think your future happiness depends on it.</p>
<p>For most people, though, the difference in cost is quite significant. As in, vacations vs not, opportunities for younger siblings vs not, graduating with debt vs not, being able to travel vs not, do a semester abroad vs not. You get the idea. My son took a similar scholarship to a different southern university; he has a nice car, money in the bank, will graduate free as a bird with respect to debt, can travel. I don't worry about his future opportunities because I think a lot of that is up to the individual.</p>
<p>If you didn't like Wake, I would make a different recommendation. But you said you really liked it, and I assume that means you have thoroughly checked out its programs, course offerings, internship possibilities, travel abroad office, etc. If not, do that now.</p>
<p>OK, done being an opinionated parent--for a while.</p>
<p>The way I see it - if you regret going to Yale, you won't be eligible for the National Merit scholarship and benefits if you want to transfer. You'll have completely missed that opportunity. If you regret going to Wake, you can probably still transfer into Yale and you've saved a year's worth of tuition.</p>
<p>I can only dream of getting a full ride to a school that good. Ignore everything longbowmen said. You won't earn the money back that fast. Even with a full ride, college is a financially tight time because you won't be able to work very much. Just think ahead to five years from now. You'd like to be able to afford a new car, but you can't because you've got hefty student loan debt. Yeah, you might make a little extra money since you went to Yale, but it probably isn't enough to pay your loans. Not a good situation.</p>
<p>**Negotiate with Yale wrt to the financial aid<a href="there%20some%20threads%20here%20in%20CC%20that%20offer%20advice%20as%20to%20how%20to%20go%20about%20doing%20it">/b</a></p>
<p>dont give up your dreams, but dont lose sight of the realities as well...and DONT listen to ppl who snub others' views w/o looking at the full picture</p>
<p>Tough decision, but I'll offer some support to you. If you choose Yale and pay $200,000, then you will have done the right thing. On the other hand, if you attend Wake Forest University on a full ride, then you will have done the right thing. But, that's just my opinion. Hope it helps! My point is that regardless of what you decide to do, don't look back. Only you can make this decision. If it were between a smaller, lesser school and Yale, then my advice would be different. Wake Forest is big enough to find what you need. Personnally, however, I would go to Yale, and if you were my child & Yale was your first choice school, it would be Yale. Much smaller classes, brighter students & better faculty and, most likely, better lifelong connections. But that's me--not you. Life is full of choices and each option has pluses and minuses.(Guess that I kinda dropped you off right where I picked you up. Sorry--but it is a tough decision.)</p>
<p>Er, I meant to add that I made a similar decision on a smaller scale and choosing the less prestigious school with more opportunities and less debt was probably the best decision I've ever made. It was one of those, "should I go to the school that just accepted me, or the school that really wants me to attend and will offer me extra opportunities I would not otherwise get?"</p>
<p>I know of someone who skillfully negotiated MIT vs Yale for a change in the specifics of the f.a. package, but not the total amount. It is highly unlikely that Yale will negotiate with respect to Wake's offer (or just about any other school), partly because Wake's offer is a merit-based one, and non-merit schools don't match merit offers.</p>
<p>The prestige definitely isn't worth $200,000, to answer your specific question. Whether it's worth it to you to go to Yale, only you and your family can decide.</p>
<p>not negotiating with respect to Wake's offer, thats kinda suicidal (not to mention yale's officers will probably be like what the fu**?)....but negotiating wrt to the fact that 0 aid was offered to the OP who's actually in need of some aid</p>
<p>OP, u probably dont qualify for aid based on their general guidelines, but your case is special and kinda complex, you should let them know about the details and why you really need aid to attend....i'm pretty sure they will be reasonable enough (i mean c'mon, need-blind/22.9billlion and they deny aid to a needy student? write to the new york times) and when that happens, u can tell Wake to screw off lol</p>
<p>$200,000 for Yale? i'll take it anyday anytime =)</p>