<p>Honestly, stay in Florida and use your summers to do an exciting internship and spend a semester abroad. Even if you took out a loan to spend a summer taking classes in NY or Boston, you would be way ahead of what it would cost to go oos. The money is not going to work out.</p>
<p>In some fields, certainly, where you went to college is important. For most students, however, finding the right fit and doing the very best they can is more important than worrying about the school name on the diploma.</p>
<p>From best to worst, in my opinion:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Attending a prestigious college and graduating with honors </p></li>
<li><p>Attending a lesser (but still ranked) college and graduating with honors </p></li>
<li><p>Attending a prestigious college and graduating with decent but not spectacular grades</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The OP will need to decide how important the school name is to her eventual career choice.</p>
<p>“The OP will need to decide how important the school name is to her eventual career choice.” </p>
<p>With what $ will the OP make this decision? This isn’t even a matter of taking out Staffords or not taking out Staffords; if the parents won’t pay, there’s no way for the OP to attend any of these schools. The prepaid will give her less than $10K/year for schools with a $50K COA. In order to do this, she would have had to have targeted schools with good merit and earned an AMAZING amount of merit (full ride). That is highly unlikely at the schools she listed but may have been possible at a fourth tier school somewhere. However, I don’t think the OP would have been happy at a fourth tier school.</p>
<p>Honestly, stay in Florida and use your summers to do an exciting internship and spend a semester abroad. Even if you took out a loan to spend a summer taking classes in NY or Boston, you would be way ahead of what it would cost to go oos. The money is not going to work out.</p>
<p>Very good advice… Do one or two semesters abroad. That will give you a feel that you’ve ventured further than Florida!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No not quite…the OP doesn’t really get to “decide”, the OP needs to get some facts and back up the reasoning why Rose Hulman is better, or why Georgia Tech is better, or why CM is better etc. etc. and articulate to the parents why they should spend the additional dollars. I don’t know maybe we are weird parents but since the kids were very young the incorrect answer to our question “why” is the answer “because”…the follow up question from us is “because why?”… Fortunately I’m not the OP’s parent because with a lack of supporting reasons I’d be inclined to say “you can leave Florida and go anywhere in the world you want when you graduate” if wanting to leave Forida is the only reason the OP has right now.</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^^^</p>
<p>Fair observation,nevertheless, IF the parents have the resources, AND the OP has better reasons then just to leave Florida(IMHO, a good idea ;)…i feel the parents should support their child’s plan…</p>
<p>Also starting salaries (fresh out of college BS, little experience except perhaps an internship), with the exception of the very tippy top MIT/Harvey Mudd caliber engineering schools whose graduates do seem to start at slightly higher salaries are tightly lumped for the most part between about $48,000 and $60,000 depending on which engineering concentration regardless of which engineering school one attends with Chemical and Petroleum engineering sometimes exceeding $60,000. So we are not talking about the “halo” effect that some unis/colleges have with specific majors. Hint, hint OP, an important part of the equation in your discussion with your parents is where/what companies the graduates from these various college end up working since employers tend to “fish” the same waters year after year for entry level engineers.</p>
<p>qdogpa, The thing is that UFL is an excellent, excellent school. Really. It is Florida’s flagship university and most FL kids stay instate. Why? Well, first, Florida is not a state where salaries are high so most kids can’t afford to go oos. But, additionally, the colleges are so cheap and the prepaid is so common that kids are often looking at oos with gap/debt/work-study OR an education that’s already been paid. The only FL kids who usually go oos are the ones who have low EFCs and get into a top meets-full-need school. </p>
<p>And, I also want to add, having a yacht in Florida is much less expensive than oos private tuition. Really. So the parents probably have an income in the $150K range, 3 kids, two who they’ve put through college and one still left. FL property taxes are high and property values have taken a real hit. I shouldn’t speak for them but it seems to me, on that income, they would have a hard time justifying full pay unless a school throws the OP some merit $. If the EFC were 9999, meaning the parents had a MUCH higher income, I would understand. If the EFC were low, this student would qualify for need-based aid at those schools. But the parents’ EFC is barely full pay. </p>
<p>Idk… OP, one other idea is what my daughter’s friend did and negotiate with her parents to pay 2 years at her dream school. I thought it was a dumb idea because she did the first 2 years… which then turned into 1.5 years because she ran out of $… but they’re all happy. I don’t like this idea for you but you could always ask.</p>
<p>^^^^, here are some current starting salaries for engineering grads in various schools</p>
<p>MIT–71.1K
Harvey Mudd–71K
Stanford–67.5K
RPI----62.5K
Bucknell–56.5K
CIT—69.5K
Carnegie Mellon–65.3K
Polytechnic of NY–62.5K
Cooper Union 61.1K
WPI—61.1k
Rose-Hulman 61.1K
Colorado school of Mines—60K</p>
<p>Idk… OP, one other idea is what my daughter’s friend did and negotiate with her parents to pay 2 years at her dream school.</p>
<p>I would think it would be better to do it the other way around so that the degree is FROM the dream school. What good does it do to go to a dream school just to do the Core req’ts?</p>
<p>150k income in the Orlando area of Florida is equivalent to 255+k of Northern NJ…These parents have PLENTY of $$$$$</p>
<p>mom2collegekids, Like I said, <em>I</em> didn’t think it was a bright idea! LOL The kid was hell-bent on going where she was going and the part that really didn’t make any sense was that, in that case, one parents worked at an even better university and the kid could have gone there for free. But she felt she only got in because he worked there (and she sort of did) and she wouldn’t go because she felt she didn’t deserve it. Great kid. Great heart. I didn’t agree with the decision but it wasn’t my decision. </p>
<p>qdogpa, $150K in Orlando is probably $100K in take-home-- maybe. (FL has no instate income taxes but the property taxes are high.) $100K with a nice house, a yacht payment, 3 kids… yes, it’s definitely a nice life in FL but it doesn’t mean $40K-$50K a year is affordable, especially when they haven’t been saving for it. Again, I think had the student targeted merit schools or if the OP had merit $ thrown at her, it would make more sense. (Had she targeted a few schools where she might have earned a half-tuition, for example, she could have combined it with her prepaid and she would now be convincing her parents of only $15K-$20K a year, not $40K.)</p>
<p>But, again, it’s all sort of immaterial. The OP can talk to the parents. My guess is they won’t budge-- not if the choice is already-paid or $40K-$50K. And then, that’s it. The OP cannot take out $40K in loans on her own. Banks won’t do that. </p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with saving and paying oos for any of the schools on OP’s list-- but that would have been a huge family decision when 3 kids were college-bound and EFC just barely makes full pay. Assuming they’ve been earning good $ all along, they would have had to set it aside for years. Of course, it’s possible that they make much more than that and EFC is split between her and a sibling-- so income is more in the $200+ range. In that case, it would be possible for the student to convince the parents. In that case, the best argument would be that engineering firms tend to hire locally and some schools tend to send more grads to certain companies. But again, I wouldn’t be suprised if the parents say no, especially after paying instate for 2 other kids. Not only are they likely to feel that instate and prepaid served their family well, but they may feel like it’s unfair to the sibs to give this additional money to child #3. Again, OP can try but I think at this point we need to help her look at it from a different viewpoint. What I don’t understand is what the conversation was around the dinner table when the student was applying to all these schools. What did the parents tell the student?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that you cannot sell a yacht or a boat in this market and, in the meantime, they need maintenance. I suspect OP’s dad has been putting it off for too long already.</p>
<p>What’s with all the focus on the yacht?</p>
<p>^^So we think the parents have plenty of money. So what? The point is: It’s the parents’ money and they have the right to determine how to spend it. You and I have no idea what their income is and/or what their expenses are. Perhaps they have an expensive mortgage, perhaps they are self-employed and have to fund their own health care and retirement pans, perhapse they are supporting elderly parents in a nursing home…</p>
<p>These parents clearly accepted the responsibility to provide each of their children with a college education and set aside the money to do that in the FL pre-paid plan. It’s not for us to judge that they should automatically give more just to fund the OP’s “dream school.”</p>
<p>We have a 26,000 EFC and although I’d love to pay it, I really can’t. After 10 years of being a single mom and supporting my only child on a relatively small salary (no opportunity to save $ for college), I got remarried. Here’s the problem - my new H makes quite a bit more money than I do and already owned our home when we got married, so “our” assets are really his. He has two kids of his own in college (they don’t live with us, so they can’t be considered on our FAFSA). We’re probably a little older than the average parents, so any savings/equity he has is needed for retirement. I know this probably sounds like I’m making excuses, but I’m just truly frustrated. My point is, I have a EFC of 26,000 and an actual ability to pay of zip.</p>
<p>qdogpa…it’s possible, your info seems about right for MIT and HM…but again these aren’t 2 that are in the realm for the OP and yes, I know those two schools command higher starting salaries and S and CIT are right behind them. My statistics came from the recent NACE survey (National Association of Colleges and Employers) and reflect all colleges and a broad swatch of employers. My employer is a member and we are a global (primarily engineering company) and submit participating info. In full disclosure, we also offshore engineering which is keeping starting salaries relatively flat the past couple years in the large companies that hire many engineers and interns. Rose Hulman is a good engineering school and not one often mentioned on these forums, but it’s in Indiana…how much “worse” is Florida vs. Indiana to the OP? Georgia Tech, also, but again…not San Fran or the NE…</p>
<p>Here’s the link, not sure how much you can access if you’re not a member, but good solid real information…</p>
<p>[NACE:</a> Home](<a href=“NACE - Page not found”>NACE - Page not found) </p>
<p>You probably think I’m being a stinker, but I know what I’m talking about with regard to engineering and school perceptions and starting salaries and I’m also a parent so feel that I can at least pretend to possibly understand why they are pushing back…</p>
<p>Qdogpa…and if I had a kid who was interested in being an engineer and could get into MIT, HM, CIT or S then I would move heaven and earth to get them there. But clearly after those 4 schools for me, there is no value add and I would want my kids to find the best engineering school for the concentration they were interested in that was recruited by companies they might want to work for that I could afford. That is absolutely the best criteria for picking an engineering school…so I’m not “picking” on the OP, merely telling the OP if he/she wants to “move” the parents he/she needs a better argument and some facts to back it up.</p>
<p>Don’t disagree with the OP needing to “work over” his/her parents…</p>
<p>here are some links to my salary #'s</p>
<p>[Which</a> College’s Graduates Make the Most Money? - Business - The Atlantic](<a href=“Which College's Graduates Make the Most Money? - The Atlantic”>Which College's Graduates Make the Most Money? - The Atlantic)</p>
<p>[Do</a> Elite Colleges Produce the Best-Paid Graduates? - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/do-elite-colleges-produce-the-best-paid-graduates/]Do”>Do Elite Colleges Produce the Best-Paid Graduates? - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Just for clarification, I am a BOY. I’m sorry if that wasn’t clear. </p>
<p>Here are my stats copied from the duke decision thread. It doesn’t have everything, but it has the jist of me.
Time: 1:16
Decision: Waitlisted</p>
<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 680R 800M 650W
ACT:
SAT II (if submitted): 750 PHY 780 MII 790 USH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/650
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics C Mech, Calc AB&BC, US History, Psychology (5); Environmental, Biology, World History, Chemistry, Physics C E&M, English Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP(Art History, Spanish Lang, English Lit, Microeconomics, US Govt), Dual Enrollment(Matrix Theory, Diffy q, Programming C, Calc 3)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mu alpha theta president (2 years), treasurer, honor societies, etc.
Job/Work Experience: 3 year internship in IT department
Summer: ECE and BME program at University of Miami
Volunteer/Community service: usual
Essays: Good, probably didnt bleed Blue Devils though
Teacher Recommendation: Solid
Counselor Rec: Solid
Additional Rec:
Interview: Friendly, good
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes (probably wont get though)
Intended Major: Electrical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Not low
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths: Show my interest in ECE/Engineering with work experience, science Olympiad, summer program, essays, curriculum
Weaknesses: no national awards, probably didnt express strong interest that a private school like Duke wants</p>
<p>Alright, I’m on my phone so I will answer back with a longer response later, but why does my decision have to be so focused on what i’m going to do AFTER college? Why can’t it be at least somewhat based on the fact I want to go to a college I will enjoy, and UF is not my type of college. </p>
<p>By the way- I applied to rose hulman, UM, and Georgia tech and pretty much back ups in case UF’s decision was a negative. Weird things have happened to my older friends and UF admissions. </p>
<p>Also, my brothers are independents. The eldest is 25, and is being lazy about finishing his bachelors, and the other is 24 and about to graduate from FAU.</p>
<p>PS- I live in south Florida and my parents make a healthy amount more than 150K, just to give you a better figure. My dad does have a morgage on our house built in 2006.</p>