<p>Ultimately, the college experience is highly overrated. With the large difference is cost, simply show him how long it will take to pay back using the difference in starting salaries between a VaTech grad in engineering and a Rowan grad in engineering. It will take most of his adult life, it not the whole thing to make up the difference. </p>
<p>@Magpiesfan When my son was looking at colleges, a major criterion was that the college be located in a “major league city.” By that he literally meant that the city should have major league sports teams in it. And that’s where he ended up: Chicago (and UChicago). His best backup in this regard was a large state flagship that had nationally competitive D1 sports (UMichigan). Most of his other choices were small LAC’s located in the boonies, with the exception of Reed which at least has major league (NBA) basketball in Portland.</p>
<p>I can see the attraction of having the “major league” experience of attending a university with strong D1 athletics. But I think it’s easy to overestimate how important that is. Small(ish) colleges also have plenty going on that generates school spirit, whether in athletics or other activities. And even for our son, in the end he would have gone to the college that best suited his intellectual or programmatic interests, not the one with major league or D1 sports, if he hadn’t been admitted to Chicago. He was ready for new experiences, and college offers so many of them, often in areas the high school kids don’t focus on (such as study abroad programs).</p>
<p>It seems to me that the key factor has to be the quality of the program, both in the major and outside of it. You are right to think about alumni networks, etc. From what you’re saying, he can do very well as the either of the colleges you are referring to. And I would hope he recognizes this as much as you do.</p>
<p>In my son’s case, we didn’t put a price constraint on his choice. It cost a lot of money. But we had saved for him to have this opportunity; the small NMS award that the university provided helped a bit. The cost of attending his first choice wasn’t much different from the cost of any of the alternatives – except UMichigan, since he was offered a scholarship and had in-state tuition there. In the end, however, we left it for him to decide.</p>
<p>Did he look at some of the other in-state schools like Rutgers and NJIT?</p>