How much is a Uchicago education worth?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>We all know how expensive UChicago is. I don't care who you are, $60,000 a year is a lot of money. That being the case, even after receiving a generous financial aid package, student loans are a necessity for a student like me.</p>

<p>So, as the title asks, is it worth piling up a mound (or mountain) of debt to attend UChicago JUST for a bachelors degree? How does that debt weigh up to the opportunities available to UChicago undergrads?</p>

<p>$20,000... $40,000... $100,000? How much debt, in your opinion is too much? </p>

<p>Personally, I've really struggled with this question. I've heard advice telling that it doesn't REALLY matter where you get your undergraduate education anymore - as long as you work your butt off. I've also heard of the poorly-equipped student employment resource centers at "lesser schools" making it more difficult to find employment in your field of study. </p>

<p>I, and I think may other CC regulars, would love to hear what current students and recent graduates have to say on the matter. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>What’s your definition of a UChicago education? How much can you personally get out of it? If you come here and take the easy way out and take all the easiest classes with the easiest professors, being $100,000 in debt is definitely not going to be worth it. However, if you take advantage of the <em>vast</em> amount of opportunities here (and this is comparing a state school to UChicago as you would probably have a similar debt at similar ‘leveled’ universities), going $100,000 in debt <em>may</em> be worth it for <em>you.</em> You won’t be sitting in a classroom being taught by Levitt or Sally just anywhere. You won’t be able to found organizations with other extremely bright students just anywhere. etc. etc. etc. Those experiences begin to add up and it’s up to YOU to take the initiative to do so if you decide to come here.</p>

<p>I can say these opportunities do exist and people experience them on a regular basis…</p>

3

<p>As a parent who let S give up a full ride scholarship elsewhere to go to U Chicago as a full pay student, I would say, no undergrad education is worth getting into $100K in DEBT for, with a very rare exception (VERY RARE).</p>

<p>But, where do you draw the line? That’s the real difficult question, isn’t it?</p>

<p>In general, if you are planning to go to the graduate school for Ph.D. you can get a great preparation from any top flagship state school. You won’t be disadvantaged at all, and all the life of the mind fun can be had in the graduate program.</p>

<p>If you are gunning for a medical school or a law school, save the money for that and get your undergraduate education at your choice of top state school. You may even benefit from better GPA in that setting: law and medical school admission is very number driven. For an MBA at a top flight program (Wharton, etc), well, they don’t want to take you right off college anyway, so 2-4 years of post graduation experience and resume matter as much or even more than the undergraduate degree (I have an MBA from Wharton, and there were quite a lot of state school undergraduate degree holders, and they all did well).</p>

<p>If you really are unsure about your future path, then the question of how much $$$ in debt is a matter of how much you and your family can absorb. If your family’s finance is such that they will not absorb any of the loan, and it’s entirely up to you to pay back, AND, your career ambition does not lie in a field with a highly lucrative payback (like Wall Street, investment banking, etc) that requires a spiffy name brand undergraduate degree from Ivies, U Chicago, etc, then I see getting into a huge debt to be a very risky proposition. Imagine having a $50K loan hanging over your head when you want to become a social worker or a librarian, or a teacher. The burden of paying that this debt will be felt for years. Simply not worth it.</p>

<p>U Chicago happened to be just the perfect school for my son, and he is thriving beyond my wildest expectation, taking advantage of every opportunity there is. Not only has he grown tremendously (intellectually and otherwise) there, he also formed the kind of friendship I don’t think he could have formed easily in other schools (he really got into this “life of the mind” crowd - would not have been so easy in other schools). However, he is also benefiting from the brand equity of the school itself directly - he intends to pursue a career in high finance, and he is already benefiting tremendously with prestigious internships and what not that are directly attributable to the fact that he is a U Chicago student. Plus, we could afford to pay his tuition out of pocket.</p>

<p>But, take any one of these major factors away from the equation, I won’t recommend a student getting into a heavy debt for an undergraduate degree.</p>

4

<p>im in your same position. My family does not have the money to contribute to my education, but its my dream to go. And i feel like going to chicago will open me up to so many more opportunities than would be available to me by going to a state school. I know ill prob be around 60K in debt, but i feel like the benefits outweigh the costs. If its your dream to go, then enroll. I did <em>hopes everything turns out well</em></p>

5

<p>As a parent I agree with hyeonjlee. From strictly a financial standpoint, my S would have been better off going to the honors program at our State U, and then later pursuing a graduate degree. We promised that he wouldn’t have any student loans to worry about and its been tough. He’s gotten a fine education and will also benefit from the brand but in the long run it is hard to see how it will be worth it. Save your money and consider UChicago for graduate school!</p>