<p>The question is simple: How much is a good education worth?</p>
<p>Many of you will undoubtedly answer that it depends on the ability of the parents to pay but assuming a parent could pay the full sticker price, is it worth it? The full sticker price at many top privates runs at about 260k over four years. Is that amount worth it if you can pay it? What about 100k over 4 years is that worth it?</p>
<p>In context, I am referring to the top 25 or so schools listed on US News and World Report every year give or take a few.</p>
<p>I am assuming that you are talking about families that do not qualify for financial aid. For some lower income families, the top schools meet full need and may be less costly than other colleges. I would urge any student who gets a large scholarship at a top college to take that opportunity.</p>
<p>I think it is fair to say that one could get a good education at a number of colleges, including less elite and less costly ones. What you do get from the top 25 is a good education + name brand recognition, alumni networking, perhaps a better fit school for some students, and possibly connections to jobs that someone outside the top schools might have. It is worth it to some extent, or people wouldn’t pay for it.</p>
<p>That said, it’s up to the family to decide how much this extra is worth it to them in comparison to the “price” of paying for it. I’m not just talking about dollars, but the additional stress, debt, loans, and extra work a family might have to do to pay for it- assuming they are paying most to all of the cost. Does this family have other obligations- several children to go to college, student plans for professional school, a family member such as a grandparent to care for and so on. How will paying the college bills affect the stress on the family. Will the student be stressed? Does the student have to take on extra jobs that may interfere with studying. Will the student be so cash strapped that even a movie or coffee with friends be outside the budget? Can the student do any extra activities like study abroad? Such a student might choose to go to a less costly school, have more time to study, and more resources to pay for additional experiences.</p>
<p>I would say if money is not an obstacle- the student’s family can pay full fare without large discomfort, then it is probably worth it to get the top experience- as long as the student does his/her part and does well. That said, many families who would consider the cost to be a burden could decide it isn’t worth it or even possible. In this case, they can be reassured that their child can get a good education and still do very well with it. I honestly think that a high caliber student is going to do very well no matter where he or she is, but “worth it” is very individual and families decide this differently. </p>
<p>I tend to be a bit more practical…My example is teaching. If you are going to college to be a teacher, I’m not convinced that going to a school that is overly expensive is going to make you that much better of a teacher than the one who went to Community College and then a local state school. There are a lot of careers like that where the prestige of your University will not get you a lot more money or a better job in the end. </p>
<p>There have been a number of discussions on this board about this very topic, so feel free to poke around and see what has been said before. </p>
<p>Yes, major is very important. Taking on 50k in debt for psychology is much different than taking on 50k debt for engineering. I used 50k as a number I think most would agree would be okay for engineers. Personally, I think more could be argued if the engineering program is Top 10-20.</p>
<p>I would put it around 100k for many, and that is my singular personal opinion. I know there are some that will disagree with that, and probably have some ground to stand on. However, I would argue that a Top 20 STEM degree for a student who is passionate about their field is worth that 100k debt. For some, it will be paid off easily. For others, it will take some time. But I think that time is okay if the student will enjoy the field, even while working to pay it off. The experience will also be a positive. I would be naive (more than I am) to say that it isn’t a front-loaded sacrifice, but I think it is one that can be worth it for many.</p>
<p>No undergraduate degree in any field from any school in the universe is worth 100K of debt. In any case, top 20 schools generally give good need-based financial aid so if one were fortunate enough to be accepted as such an institution, one would probably not have to amass that much debt if your parents were able to meet their EFC. No undergraduate student should take on more than the Stafford max, around 30K. I don’t care what you’re studying or where. Parents should not co-sign loans for their children that allow them to assume 100K debt by age 22.</p>
<p>^I concurr: NO degree in any field from any school is worth 100k in debt. You can go slightly above the Stafford maximum (27k for all 4 years) in some fields such as CS or engineering but 50k is pushing it for engineers and it’s crazy for other fields.</p>
<p>Guys the OP said this situation was assuming the family could afford the full sticker price (and I assume somewhat comfortably). So responses should not be debating debt in this hypothetical situation.</p>
<p>I think a good way to rephrase this question would be: If your family can comfortably afford a top 25 school (also assuming it is strong in your field of study), is it worth the full $260k price? Or would you choose to go to a less well regarded school, but also save much money? (This question also assumes the student majors in a STEM field and would likely be making good money in their career)</p>
<p>If the family has the money and wouldn’t incur debt, well, that’s the price. So if for them Harvard or Williams or MIT are worth it, considering they have the money, yes I’d say it’s worth the money. It becomes a personal/family choice.</p>
<p>Anything you can afford is worth it if you want it and you have the money. Are you really expecting anyone here to say “$260K for a Harvard education is NEVER worth it even if you’re Bill Gates”?</p>
<p>(By the way, does anyone know where Bill Gates’ oldest kid is going to college? I remember finding out years ago that she was a year older than my oldest, which would make her a HS senior this year. Just curious.)</p>
<p>Probably 100k, assuming we are talking about a legit major. Outside of the top 25, schools can get much cheaper, so it is tough to justify a +70k premium if you don’t take advantage of the best opportunities.</p>
<p>Even within STEM, it depends. For CS or another “hot” major, a rule of thumb for borrowing is 1Y of salary, or 60-80K. Note, however, that the world could change a lot 4 years from now. We’ve already had a period in recent memory (after the dot-com bust) when times were tough for recently graduating CS majors. Likewise, pay for petroleum engineers is terrific right now, and the field is booming like mad, but it wasn’t that long ago that there was an oil bust and the whole energy sector seemed to be shutting down.</p>
<p>For bio or many types of pure math, most folks who graduate with those degrees don’t get paid all that well if they have just a bachelors.</p>
<p>Outside of STEM, it also depends on the industry. The bulge bracket targets are much better for getting you in to investment banks or hedge funds. Those salaries can support 100K in debt easily. However, breaking in is no sure thing even for Harvard and Wharton grads.</p>
<p>So it comes down to what you study, what your career goals are, how successful you will be in your field, and what your family’s financial situation is.</p>
<p>Oh, and for pre-med, if you’re dead set on medicine or healthcare, go to the cheapest school, as admission comes down mostly to MCAT and GPAs (science and overall) anyway (though I would avoid those elites that curve science classes or top publics like UM who have over a thousand kids applying for med school every year).</p>
<p>This student debt bubble is an awful societal problem and it’s simply ridiculous that we have allowed this to occur. I’m not one to always point to Europe to say that America should emulate European public policies, but in this case the Europeans certainly do it (higher education financial support) better than we. The mining, farming, lumberman etc. communities of the midwest and west had it right 150 years ago when they established institutions like U of Minnesota, U of Wisconsin, U of Washington…they knew that education was the key to progress. The Iron Range, the Fertile Plains and the Great Forests built these universities. It’s a shame that we as a country do not use the resources of today to provide for the achievements of tomorrow.</p>