How much better must a school be to make it worth the extra cost?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>At what point is a school worth the extra cost? When the acceptance letters arrive in April you have to make a choice based on costs and benefits. How much cheaper will your second choice have to be to make you turn down your first choice? How sensitive are you to price differences?</p>

<p>What is it that you are primarily paying for? Academics? Campus beauty? Location? Social life? Sports? Prestige?</p>

<p>Would you pay for an elite private school when you could go for in-state tuition to a great public school like:
Berkeley?
UCLA ?
Michigan?
Virginia?
Georgia Tech?
Wisconsin?
Illinois?
Texas?
Indiana?
Florida?
North Carolina?
Penn State?
And so on…..</p>

<p>How much will an elite private school actually cost after the financial aid is awarded?</p>

<p>Personally, I think the elite private schools are well worth the cost. But, everyone has their own priorities. At what point does a private school become “not worth the price”? </p>

<p>Is there some kind of financial “rule of thumb” or is it completely subjective?</p>

2

<p>Here are some top liberal arts colleges and some financial information about them from IPEDS 2005-06</p>

<p>school, percent receiving grant aid from the school, average grant from the school, SAT 75th percentile, total cost to live on-campus, price minus average grant</p>

<p>Agnes Scott College 98 14287 1335 33670 19383
Albion College 98 13844 1312 32624 18780
Allegheny College 98 12694 1320 35700 23006
Amherst College 52 30059 1560 43630 13571
Augustana College 99 10159 #VALUE! 31737 21578
Austin College 94 9964 1350 29646 19682
Bard College 54 17630 #VALUE! 43500 25870
Barnard College 41 21707 1450 44102 22395
Bates College 36 23720 #VALUE! 44150 20430
Beloit College 88 14102 1360 34208 20106
Bennington College 67 19106 1340 45108 26002
Birmingham Southern College 91 9170 1290 29294 20124
Bowdoin College 38 24069 1470 43750 19681
Bryn Mawr College 55 21496 1400 41660 20164
Bucknell University 46 18944 1390 41360 22416
Carleton College 65 18837 1500 41670 22833
Centre College 93 11780 1348 32610 20830
Claremont McKenna College 46 20148 1510 42920 22772
Colby College 38 24996 1430 43270 18274
Colgate University 35 26878 1430 42780 15902
College of Saint Benedict 96 10660 1310 31791 21131
College of the Holy Cross 43 18898 #VALUE! 42264 23366
Colorado College 49 20900 1400 40200 19300
Connecticut College 36 22523 1400 44275 21752
Davidson College 49 18785 1440 39550 20765
Denison University 93 14048 1330 38840 24792
DePauw University 89 14119 1330 35150 21031
Dickinson College 59 18923 1380 42670 23747
Drew University 79 14439 1310 43226 28787
Earlham College 85 14385 1350 35454 21069
Franklin and Marshall College 62 16361 1370 42190 25829
Furman University 80 14213 1370 35626 21413
Gettysburg College 69 16996 1340 40584 23588
Goucher College 70 13782 1310 38575 24793
Grinnell College 95 15512 1490 35370 19858
Gustavus Adolphus College 93 11850 1350 32470 20620
Hamilton College 56 21232 1440 43160 21928
Hanover College 96 12576 1300 30050 17474
Harvey Mudd College 78 17603 1560 43850 26247
Haverford College 41 23002 1470 44194 21192
Hendrix College 99 12075 1370 30874 18799
Hobart William Smith Colleges 75 17760 1270 42623 24863
Hollins University 97 10153 1230 33555 23402
Hope College 77 8880 1360 30260 21380
Illinois Wesleyan University 90 11968 1380 35480 23512
Juniata College 96 13149 1270 34980 21831
Kalamazoo College 96 11815 1400 34467 22652
Kenyon College 43 19601 1420 41480 21879
Knox College 99 12335 1370 33575 21240
Lafayette College 55 21305 1370 40842 19537
Lawrence University 87 12986 1390 35763 22777
Macalester College 76 17233 1450 38080 20847
Middlebury College 42 21008 1400 45390 24382
Mills College 90 16260 1260 42808 26548
Millsaps College 100 12421 1333 30756 18335
Mount Holyoke College 65 21624 #VALUE! 43648 22024
Muhlenberg College 72 13241 1330 38600 25359
New College of Florida 100 4249 1390 30304 26055
Oberlin College 52 19720 1460 43177 23457
Occidental College 73 14034 1380 41700 27666
Ohio Wesleyan University 97 15831 1320 37520 21689
Pitzer College 45 17373 1330 43844 26471
Pomona College 54 24073 1530 42624 18551
Presbyterian College 95 13922 1240 33117 19195
Principia College 88 16010 1310 29265 13255
Randolph-Macon College 97 10041 1180 33070 23029
Reed College 42 25308 1470 42956 17648
Rhodes College 84 12588 1350 37558 24970
Saint Johns University 96 10368 1300 31449 21081
Sarah Lawrence College 46 21196 #VALUE! 46906 25710
Scripps College 50 18937 1450 42800 23863
Sewanee: The University of the South 57 14494 1330 36655 22161
Skidmore College 40 19491 1340 44000 24509
Smith College 66 20209 1380 43994 23785
Southwestern University 84 9668 1330 30790 21122
Spelman College 0 3500 1140 29508 26008
St Lawrence University 81 19972 1250 41780 21808
St Mary’s College of Maryland 32 4000 1350 31490 27490
St. Olaf College 80 12090 1390 34450 22360
Swarthmore College 51 24678 1530 43672 18994
Sweet Briar College 93 10703 1230 33210 22507
The College of Wooster 97 15391 1340 36590 21199
Thomas Aquinas College 62 9850 1393 27673 17823
Trinity College 35 24638 1400 43920 19282
Union College 98 4362 950 21770 17408
University of Puget Sound 82 11651 1330 38800 27149
University of Richmond 54 23893 1390 42550 18657
Ursinus College 96 16301 1330 40900 24599
Vassar College 47 21841 1460 43500 21659
Virginia Military Institute 48 8520 1250 31107 22587
Wabash College 95 13490 1310 32716 19226
Washington and Lee University 38 23500 1450 38990 15490
Wellesley College 57 23870 1480 43030 19160
Wells College 85 7679 1210 24470 16791
Wesleyan University 41 23538 1490 44088 20550
Wheaton College 66 8264 1440 30334 22070
Wheaton College 62 15725 #VALUE! 41945 26220
Whitman College 47 16500 1420 37920 21420
Willamette University 94 13593 1320 37216 23623
Williams College 48 26299 1530 42098 15799
Wofford College 74 10564 1300 33586 23022</p>

3

<p>Here are some top universities and some financial information about them from IPEDS 2005-06</p>

<p>school, percent receiving grant aid from the school, average grant from the school, SAT 75th percentile, total cost to live on-campus in-state, total cost to live on-campus out-of-state, price minus average grant</p>

<p>*price minus grant is based on out-of-state cost for public universities</p>

<p>American University 61 16753 1360 40472 40472 23719
Auburn University Main Campus 26 6802 1220 15564 25164 18362
Baylor University 87 7360 1310 32302 32302 24942
Boston College 41 21487 1420 43258 43258 21771
Boston University 59 19881 1390 44375 44375 24494
Brandeis University 61 18436 1440 43250 43250 24814
Brigham Young University 43 2604 1330 13780 13780 11176
Brown University 38 23436 1540 44280 44280 20844
California Institute of Technology 52 23367 1570 41019 41019 17652
Carnegie Mellon University 63 16891 1470 43180 43180 26289
Case Western Reserve University 67 18043 1440 39970 39970 21927
Clark University 80 14951 1310 36815 36815 21864
Clemson University 49 5187 1300 19428 29052 23865
College of William and Mary 13 7978 1440 16595 32003 24025
Columbia University in the City of New York 43 22638 1540 44646 44646 22008
Cornell University 43 18364 1480 43827 43827 25463
Dartmouth College 47 23705 1550 43679 43679 19974
Duke University 45 22825 1530 42900 42900 20075
Emory University 46 18863 1460 42846 42846 23983
Fordham University 88 11359 1290 42396 42396 31037
George Washington University 55 21219 1380 49070 49070 27851
Georgetown University 46 20760 1490 45850 45850 25090
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus 25 5768 1420 15450 29792 24024
Harvard University 51 25078 1580 44350 44350 19272
Indiana University-Bloomington 40 4412 1230 17602 29998 25586
Iowa State University 67 3781 1350 15883 25973 22192
Johns Hopkins University 45 20458 1490 43344 43344 22886
Lehigh University 54 18865 1400 42190 42190 23325
Marquette University 83 11066 1310 33316 33316 22250
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 58 24299 1570 44600 44600 20301
Miami University-Oxford 79 12360 1320 34057 34077 21717
Michigan State University 45 3030 1270 16340 28093 25063
New York University 58 10847 1420 44870 44870 34023
Northwestern University 52 18264 1500 45163 45163 26899
Ohio State University-Main Campus 80 4906 1200 20178 31401 26495
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Main Campus 32 4903 1290 22034 32270 27367
Pepperdine University 60 17790 1330 42260 42260 24470
Princeton University 55 25143 1570 43826 43826 18683
Purdue University-Main Campus 40 4238 1260 16068 29434 25196
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 93 17262 1420 43010 43010 25748
Rice University 66 14890 1540 35076 35076 20186
Rutgers University-New Brunswick/Piscataway 29 4932 1300 21185 28783 23851
Saint Louis University-Main Campus 94 11957 1320 44288 44288 32331
Southern Methodist University 79 11925 1330 38088 38088 26163
Stanford University 46 20294 1550 44267 44267 23973
Stevens Institute of Technology 94 17351 1370 42140 42140 24789
SUNY at Binghamton 9 3359 1350 15990 22250 18891
Syracuse University 72 15837 1320 41935 41935 26098
Texas A & M University 42 4504 1310 16721 25001 20497
The University of Tennessee 49 4134 1220 16594 27664 23530
The University of Texas at Austin 43 3268 1360 18410 27748 24480
Tufts University 36 20029 1480 44000 44000 23971
Tulane University of Louisiana Blank Blank 1410 43360 43360 #VALUE!
University of California-Berkeley 50 6960 1450 22310 39759 32799
University of California-Davis 57 5140 1300 21743 39563 34423
University of California-Irvine 35 6575 1300 20270 38090 31515
University of California-Los Angeles 55 7556 1410 22095 39915 32359
University of California-Riverside 55 6822 1200 21390 39210 32388
University of California-San Diego 41 5572 1370 20116 37936 32364
University of California-Santa Barbara 37 7128 1300 21786 39606 32478
University of California-Santa Cruz 38 6816 1280 22075 39895 33079
University of Chicago 57 19394 1530 45055 45055 25661
University of Colorado at Boulder 87 1668 1280 18186 35640 33972
University of Connecticut 48 6164 1280 18710 31214 25050
University of Delaware 48 5512 1300 16442 26598 21086
University of Denver 83 11767 1270 40283 40283 28516
University of Florida 24 3289 1360 13504 27632 24343
University of Georgia 15 5161 1320 13804 26024 20863
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 35 3486 1400 19240 33326 29840
University of Iowa 42 3274 1310 16142 27528 24254
University of Maryland-College Park 45 5185 1370 19773 32097 26912
University of Miami 73 15787 1360 41764 41764 25977
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 41 8513 1420 19643 38031 29518
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 30 5816 1350 18198 29828 24012
University of Missouri-Columbia 58 3325 1310 17100 26226 22901
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 29 5636 1390 14459 28257 22621
University of Notre Dame 53 19017 1480 41802 41802 22785
University of Pennsylvania 39 20613 1520 44300 44300 23687
University of Pittsburgh-Main Campus 8 8841 1330 22626 31974 23133
University of Rochester 92 14623 1410 42478 42478 27855
University of Southern California 61 17770 1440 44582 44582 26812
University of Virginia-Main Campus 22 9754 1430 16907 33827 24073
University of Washington-Seattle Campus 24 4397 1320 15489 29786 25389
University of Wisconsin-Madison 31 2667 1370 15220 29220 26553
Vanderbilt University 55 2433 1460 44358 44358 41925
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 41 2559 1290 14943 26402 23843
Wake Forest University 50 18111 1410 41150 41150 23039
Washington University in St Louis 47 19122 1520 44836 44836 25714
Worcester Polytechnic Institute 90 14643 1380 42530 42530 27887
Yale University 44 25111 1560 44200 44200 19089
Yeshiva University 48 14933 1340 35705 35705 20772</p>

4

<p>Wow, great info. And a big help to those combing for prospective schools. But to answer the OP’s question, it becomes an individual thing. It’s what each school offers the OP that matters and that can vary widely. </p>

<p>As to when is it worthwhile, that is a very individual thing. It depends a lot on many personal attributes and situations. This is the fuzzy logic thing that most upper mid/middle class family has to determine. It’s often a simpler thing for those who absolutely cannot come up with the cost. But for those that can, but through sacrifice, there has to be a balance between potential benefits vs. cost of giving up that amount of money. I’ve known folks who have said it was worth every penny to pay for an expensive college, and some who regret having gone down that path.</p>

5

<p>Was the information on Vanderbilt incorrect?</p>

6

<p>Not gonna turn down Michigan in state unless it’s HYPS Wharton</p>

7

<p>collegehelp: where do you get all those info..??</p>

8

<p>streak-
I think the Vanderbilt information is incorrect, although that IS what is on the IPEDS Peer Analysis System website. The year before, Vanderbilts average grant was about $23000. The $2433 listed for Vanderbilt in 2005-06 probably has a dropped zero, which would make the true Vanderbilt net cost $24,000 for those 55% who receve a grant.</p>

9

<p>The “value” of an education is often times very difficult to measure in hard statistical terms. I am not a fan of cold statistical analysis. In fact, I think that is a grave disservice to students and parents as it is highly misleading.</p>

<p>The “cost” can be measured in financial terms and also soft terms. What can you afford is a different question than how much are you willing to spend. Small classes, individual instruction, knowing professors personally and often eating in their homes, being more than a number, knowing most of your classmates, professors who teach…not just research, all the factors that attract some students to smaller private schools. But the other thing is that private schools often give better financial aid than state schools and can approximate the cost or come very close to the total cost of going in state. If you are happy and content and thriving, what price would you put on that?</p>

<p>I am not saying you cant do all of the above in large state schools. Its just more difficult to do so. Some kids prefer the anonymity of large state institutions. Some programs are superior at those schools. </p>

<p>But its an individual decision and is really of measure of who you are inside rather than some list of statistical data which is at best a blunt instrument of success and happiness.</p>

<p>Statistical data is empirical to an extent. But it does not measure that “fit”…that epiphany or warm and fuzzy feeling you may get at a particular school…which may or may not be a big state school…or even a big private school like USC. </p>

<p>If finances are truly a determinative factor, then what you must do is apply to the schools you truly believe are good for you, and then see what happens with their financial aid or scholarship packages. </p>

<p>Some people thrive in a large institution. Some just survive. Some do much better in a smaller setting and some find that stifling and obtrusive. But only a school visit can help you for sure, if you see yourself there, after talking to students who go there.</p>

<p>In the end, a quality education that is both academic, social and helps you grow as a person and prepares you for the adult/working/real world is priceless. I have NEVER looked back upon my education and said, “I wish I went to State U and saved money!” Never.</p>

<p>But that is my perspective. You may be different.</p>

10

<p>But I have to say, if you score a 1560 and get into Amherst, you are in fat city…they seem to have the best deal on the planet, after grants! LOL.</p>

<p>Amherst College 52 30059 1560 43630 13571</p>