<p>Assuming one has received a full ride at an average state flagship university, how much debt would you incur in order to go to an ivy league school?</p>
<p>Also, assume the person genuinely wants to go to ivy league school not just for prestige purposes, but because he feels it is a better fit for him. </p>
<p>Basically, how much is an ivy worth in regard to finances? and what are the advantages of attending an ivy league over a state school?</p>
<p>Just exactly how much debt are you talking about here? The only loans you can take out on your own are the Stafford Loans which add up to a maximum of $27,000 over the course of all four years, and the Perkins Loans if they are offered by the school.</p>
<p>Most parents would tell you that anything more than that is too much, period.</p>
<p>At least some of the Ivy League schools are rich enough and generous enough with financial aid that they could very well be less expensive after financial aid than state flagships for all but the top 3% or so of households (unless you get full-ride merit like Robertson or Drake).</p>
<p>Economically, not much according to most recent studies. </p>
<p>[Revisiting</a> the Value of Elite Colleges - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/revisiting-the-value-of-elite-colleges/]Revisiting”>Revisiting the Value of Elite Colleges - The New York Times)</p>
<p>If the OP is asking I’m guessing he doesn’t qualify for much need based aid.</p>
<p>I would not borrow more than 40K for any school if iparents wont be helping with pay back.</p>
<p>After that it depends on the specific schools.</p>
<p>Well, actually, I qualify for quite a lot. My estimated package (from dartmouth) is a parental contribution of 1500, student contribution of 3000, and a 2500 work study. But, since I got a full ride at South Carolina ( + the college is giving me ~3000 to do whatever), my parents refuse to help pay.</p>
<p>I was just wondering whether it was worth it to work jobs during the summer and during college AND take out a small loan for an ivy league school.</p>
<p>Does that package include a student loan? If not, a full Stafford Loan for your freshman year would be $5,500, leaving only $1,500 for you to come up with.</p>
<p>However, that doesn’t account for increased costs each year as Dartmouth raises tuition etc. You may want to ask how that will work in future years.</p>
<p>You also need to double-check about that package at South Carolina. Do you need to maintaina certain GPA in order to keep it?</p>
<p>No, Dartmouth’s package is no loan. Well, I think. It says a “Dartmouth General Scholarship, Federal Pell Grand, and Federal SEOG”… and the work study and contributions I mentioned. </p>
<p>And, well, maybe… It consists of a NMF scholarship, a Carolina Scholar Scholarship, and a Palmetto Fellows scholarship. And the only one that requires a certain GPA is the palmetto fellows award, which only constitutes ~3000 of my award, and even it only requires a 3.0.</p>
<p>So, if i take out a stafford loan and work, I’d be able to attend Dartmouth, for instance. But is it worth it, in your opinions?</p>
<p>If you only need a Stafford Loan, and what you would be making anyway from part-time and summer jobs, then you are good to go.</p>
<p>Do sit down and talk this over with your parents. They may want you at South Carolina because it is closer to home. Dartmouth may just seem too far away to them. If something like that is part of the issue, give them time to sort through it all before you make a final commitment.</p>
<p>It would be well worth it in my opinion. Dartmouth will give you great career opportunities though it’s powerful network.</p>
<p>It also depends on your major and career goals. For example, if your career goal involves investment banking or management consulting, then school prestige matters a lot (so Dartmouth would be the obvious choice). But if it involves engineering, then school prestige matters less so (and USC engineering appears to be broader and deeper than Dartmouth’s engineering).</p>
<p>Well I honestly AM leaning more toward investment banking and business type jobs, but I’m not totally sure. But my parents are doing anything they can to keep me in South Carolina, and I hate it. I mean, we’ll never see eye-to-eye on this issue. I want to get away, and they simply don’t.</p>
<p>d a r t m o u t h!</p>
<p>When I was your age I had a similar decision. I was a Pell, SEOG, etc grant recipient accepted to Northwestern but it required me to also take $2000 in loans each year. I did not have full scholarship to our state flagship but it was so cheap that no loans were necessary.</p>
<p>I took the loans and went to Norhwestern. I, like you, wanted to get out of my rural state and explore new places, meet people from all over the country, etc etc. It was worth it just for that experience alone. I wish you luck.</p>
<p>Thanks, that’s what I thought. But I don’t know how to get my parents to care what I want. Also, how easy would it be to pay off that loan? I don’t want it to be hanging over my head for my entire life.</p>
<p>When posters ask about this kind of choice, typically they’re talking about a much larger amount of money, even a fairly staggering amount such as the full cost of the Ivy. Not a difference of $1500 / year. Yes, in my opinion, Dartmouth is worth that much, especially if you believe it’s a better personal fit. </p>
<p>What barrons did not mention above (#4) is that, according to the same study he cited, the economic benefit of attending an Ivy (or other highly selective school) can be significant in the case of minority students or children of parents who did not attend college. How much difference could Dartmouth make in your case, compared to South Carolina? That’s hard to predict, but you might want to show your parents the average salaries compiled for these two schools by payscale.com: </p>
<p>School … starting median … mid-career median
University of South Carolina … $38,800 … $70,400
Dartmouth College … $51,600 … $114,000
[Top</a> State Universities By Salary Potential](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/top-state-universities.asp]Top”>Best Public Colleges | Payscale)
[Best</a> Ivy League Schools By Salary Potential](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/ivy-league-schools.asp]Best”>http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/ivy-league-schools.asp)</p>
<p>There are other differences that might be significant to you.
Compare average class sizes, on-time graduation rates, average faculty compensation, faculty awards, professional school admission rates, alumni PhD completions, etc.</p>
<p>Of course, there may be other issues besides cost. That seems to be the case here.</p>
<p>“But I don’t know how to get my parents to care what I want.”</p>
<p>I’m sure they care - but perhaps if you can articulate their concerns more clearly to us (why exactly do they want you closer?), we can offer advice on how to increase their comfort level. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that wanting you nearby is not irrational. It’s natural for parents to want to be able to see you occasionally, be there in an emergency, and to want you to build a network locally that you might come back to permanently some day, etc…If you blow them off and don’t acknowledge that they have possibly legitimate reasons for wanting you close, it will be harder for them to hear you when you talk about why you need to go elsewhere. (And this is from a parent whose kids are both plane rides away!)</p>
<p>The study I cited uses actual real certified Social Security income data. Payscale is crap. And while the benefit for minorities and others does exist it migth not be enough to justify the cost enless you go for free. The delta was not THAT large. Just big enough to measure.</p>
<p>Although the Krueger pay study is definitely an interesting study and a significant result, it’s not completely authoritative. It has been much discussion of it on these forums and elsewhere so if you are considering using it in your decision it would be a good use of time to read some of the substantial commentary on it.</p>