<p>I am choosing between a very well-respected honors college at a state university and an Ivy League university. </p>
<p>I would be able to graduate debt free from either school, but would need to use about 20k in college savings to go to the Ivy. Also, I would do some work-study at the Ivy. </p>
<p>I plan to go to graduate school.</p>
<p>Whether you need the 20k in college savings for grad school depends upon what you mean by grad school. If you mean professional school such as law, medical, or MBA then you will be paying big bucks for that education. If you mean seeking a PhD in the sciences, then these are usually fully funded (tuition is waved and you get paid $20-30k/year to cover your living expenses). PhD’s in other fields and masters degrees can fall anywhere between those two extremes. </p>
<p>FWIW, do not worry about work-study at the Ivy. Most students will be doing the same so you will not be at any disadvantage and generally the jobs are pretty easy and you may be able to study while on the job.</p>
<p>20k for a Ivy league degree is worth it. You are set no matter which one you take though.</p>
<p>Will the honors college give you any perks that make it a viable option as opposed to attending an Ivy?</p>
<p>A little difficult to answer not knowing the Ivy and not knowing the State College, but here goes.</p>
<p>What it really comes down to is the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is the prestige of the Ivy League School vs the prestige of the State College. In most cases there will be a very big difference in favor of the Ivies. However, there are certain combinations – where one can argue that the difference is mimimal (Schools like Michigan, Virginia, Some of the California Schools and a few others that aren’t coming to mind have truly excellent reputations). BTW, don’t factor in “Honors Program” here. Your diploma will have the name of the University on it, which is what people will care about.</p></li>
<li><p>What do you want to study? How strong is the department in each school. If your state school has a world class program in what you want to study, it’s worth considering.</p></li>
<li><p>Which school would you prefer to go to all things being equal? How strong is your preference? If it’s the state school, then again you have to ask whether the prestige of the Ivy is worth not attending a school you might prefer.</p></li>
<li><p>How much will the extra cost mean to your family? Will it mean that a sibling will have restricted choices? Will it impact on ability to pay for Grad School? Will it be a severe family hardship otherwise. Only your family can make this determination.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Overall, based on what you’ve written – the Ivy is probably better on an objective basis and ignoring intangibles such as fit, but it’s not 100% clear cut.</p>
<p>For the Ivy, I assume you have chosen one that is a fit for you (academic system, size, location, etc). There are a number of kids that post here that apply to combos like Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth – it would be hard to find a wider range of styles, yet somehow each Ivy is wonderful for everyone.</p>
<p>Which state honors program is it? Honors colleges offer valuable perks and let you meet some of the top students at your college. However they are often oversold with glossy pamphlets implying a small LAC has been set up inside the larger university. Depending on the program offerings may range from separate honors classes to taking just one honors seminar per semester. And some of the “honors” offerings may just be a special discussion section of the regular class (at many U’s you meet 2-3x a week in a large class with the prof, then everyone meets weekly in a discussion section with a TA).</p>
<p>Honors programs typically offer the small classes and hand-picked profs only the 1st two years of college. They can do this because doesn’t take that many classes to come up with a set that will meet the lower-division requirements for most majors. It is rare to find more than a token amount of upper-division classes since the honors program simply doesn’t have enough faculty members to create entire major(s).</p>