<p>$80,000 isn't exactly a bargain when you have very good schools that will cost you a whole lot less.</p>
<p>$80,000 isn't "very easily paid back." It COULD be, depending on what kind of job the OP intends to gain. As I said, repayment will cost the OP over $900/month and she'd have to make a salary of at least $112,000 a year to comfortably repay such loans in 10 years. If she had a longer time -- 30 years -- she could make less (around $70,000) but she will pay $111,000 in interest over the life of the loan, and that's if the rate is only 6.8%</p>
<p>This is just personally, but I wouldn't spend an extra $191,000+ over 30 years when I can go to a great school (Ohio Wesleyan and Ohio State are both great schools) and not worry about that kind of debt before I even get my life started -- that's not even counting graduate school, a house, a car, investments, retirement payments, and saving for my children's college fund!</p>
<p>Look for a PM from me. Definitely apply for the scholarship, and unless Chicago responds with a merit scholarship, I am less enthusiastic than other posters about its viability. If you do decide that it's your best option, than of course I'm all for it :-)</p>
<p>Okay, I'm bumping this thread because things changed a little.</p>
<p>Princeton is looking good. I just recently had an interview, and he said it didn't really matter much, but it did go really well. Additionally, according to their little charts, I'm in a good position for financial aid at Princeton. My mom is adamantly opposed to my going there, but we can work it out later.</p>
<p>I CANNOT compete for the Maximus scholarship, which definitely complicates things. I have extremely important events on all three of the days they offer, and I can't miss those. Since I really don't want to go to OSU, I'm thinking I should just let it go. I can look for other merit scholarships they might have, but this is the nice thing about having so many options. If one of them doesn't work out, I still have others to choose.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any more insight? I'm trying my best here, but neither my mom nor my dad went to college, and they really don't know about the admissions process. I've learned everything I know from CC.</p>
<p>While I'm glad you had a good interview, which you are correct means nothing, I would be planning not counting on Princeton which is just a super long shot for anyone without a hook.</p>
<p>You have not addressed whether your parents will cover any of the $20K or whether all the loans would be yours.</p>
<p>While I understand the majority on CC will always say go with the free ride, I think in some cases that can be penny wise and pound foolish. The kind of jobs open to Chicago econ grads can make $80K look like chump change in short order. Going into business you would command a higher salary from day one and access to a set of jobs you won't have from the others. You would have a better chance at top MBA programs. And if you want to get a PhD, teach at the college level or do research, the Chicago degree will get you jobs the others won't also.</p>
<p>So I'd think through career goals.</p>
<p>Some things are worth paying for and there's a huge gap between the Ohio schools and Chicago.</p>
<p>The reason I don't think I should pursue Maximus is because all the days conflict with music opportunities I have here at home. I've been looking forward to doing this for my whole high school career, and I really don't want to give up the opportunities to compete for a scholarship I probably won't get, and probably won't use.</p>
<p>I want to not only study abroad, but I want to live and work abroad for a while. I plan on doing the big city thing. This would be for the five to ten years after I graduate. I don't really know after that.</p>
<p>Then Chicago is the way to go, it will be hard to get the sort of jobs you want from the Ohio schools. Not sure where else you've applied, certainly many top schools would serve you well that have better aid than Chicago.</p>
<p>I'm going to play devil's advocate here (which is ironic, because hmom5 doesn't seem to have a particular affinity for Chicago while I'm pretty much a Chicago booster) because I don't see other people up for the task.</p>
<p>1) Study abroad and international experiences don't have to be hosted through the school. One of my friends says that applying for fellowships (Peace Corps, Fulbright, etc.) can be a bit like dominoes-- once you get one, it's easier to establish your street cred and get others. This piece of advice coming from a friend who is currently a graduate student at Chicago who came from a college I promise 95% of CC members have not heard of.</p>
<p>2) If the $80,000 is a monkey on JB's back, then it's really two monkeys is JB feels that that debt will drive him into a high-paying job he doesn't love. That's like four years of paradise for ten years of hell. There are many, many, many ways that JB can experience the "big city" and "the world" and it doesn't have to be working for Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong.</p>
<p>3) People win things based on what they DO, not where they GO. One thing that people don't talk about much is how a lot of the headliner scholarships-- Trumans, Marshalls, Rhodes-- go to kids who attend schools you haven't heard of. The selection committees could EASILY fill ALL the ranks with the Ivies and friends, and they don't. That's because you don't have to go to an elite school to do significant, important, interesting things. There are opportunities at schools like Birmingham-Southern and Xavier. The aspiring student just has to find them.</p>
<p>Of course I'd be thrilled if OP chose Chicago, but I want the OP to choose Chicago only after a very intense thinking period and I want the OP to come to Chicago without any regrets about other college options.</p>
The Fulbright in particular looks very closely at where applicants are applying to study/work and what they plan to do there. Countries like the UK get hundreds of applications for only a dozen grants, whereas others like Albania have more grants available than applications.</p>
<p>Unalove, would you like to trade places with the OP come recruitment time if he's at OSU or OWU looking for the typical international/big city job sought by a top econ student?</p>
<p>Are you considering additinal education beyond a bachelor's degree?</p>
<p>If so, I'd give very serious thought to Ohio Wesleyan. If you were to decide to go on to professional school, there's a high chance you'll need to take some serious debt there as well. There's a big difference between graduating from law school (for example) with $100,000 in debt, and graduating from law school with $180,000 in debt.</p>
<p>Having just read OW's Wikipedia entry, I have to say that it sounds like a delightful place. 12% of its students are internationals; if you're interested in working oversees, those contacts could prove to be invaluable.</p>
<p>A couple of weeks after I graduated from college, I flew to Asia with a return plane ticket (with a return date twelve months later) and $600 in traveler's checks and $6,000 in students loans. (Multiply these figures by 2.2 to adjust for inflation.) I didn't have a job, but I had friends with oversees connections, and had learned from them what the job market was like for young Americans in the country where I was headed. I flew back a year later with $3,000 in travelers checks in my pocket, and some amazing memories, and started law school.</p>
<p>I suspect I would have taken a much more cautious path had I been loaded down with a lot more debt.</p>
<p>
[quote]
3) People win things based on what they DO, not where they GO. One thing that people don't talk about much is how a lot of the headliner scholarships-- Trumans, Marshalls, Rhodes-- go to kids who attend schools you haven't heard of.
[/quote]
At least for the Rhodes, this is not quite true.</p>
<p>Take the group selected in November 07, Here are the non-ivy institutions from which winners came:</p>
<ul>
<li> Stanford</li>
<li> U Chicago (3!)</li>
<li> U. Georgia</li>
<li> Florida State</li>
<li> St. Olaf (2)</li>
<li> Georgetown</li>
<li> West Point</li>
<li> Swarthmore</li>
<li> MIT</li>
<li> U Texas Austin</li>
<li> Ohio State</li>
<li> Air Force Academy</li>
<li> U. Oklahoma</li>
<li> USC</li>
<li> Naval Academy</li>
<li> Cal Tech</li>
</ul>
<p>This is hardly a group of 2nd or 3rd tier institutions. Keep in mind, too, that 9 winners DID come from Ivies (and it was a down year for them). If you add in MIT, Stanford, Cal Tech and Chicago, half the winners came from elite institutions.</p>
<p>It is true that some national scholarships, such as the Goldwater, are spread about a bit more, but that's because (1) there are far more (about 10x) and the Goldwater folks are required to disperse by geography by where one is attending. The Rhodes is awarded by district (16 in total), but one can apply either in your home state district or your college district.</p>
<p>Do these numbers mean the selection committees are biased toward elites? Can't say from the data, but it is something to think about for national scholarships and honors.</p>
I think it's more a function of varying levels of preparedness. My university has an entire office devoted to post-graduation fellowships and funding, and they start prepping people for the major scholarships sophomore year. At many universities, a Rhodes applicant would be on his/her own.</p>
<p>Since everyone in the CC community has been so helpful to me, I wanted to update this story.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago sent me an awesome aid package, which was MUCH better than the estimate they originally sent. I visited and loved it. They also gave me a merit scholarship. So UChicago will cost me only about $9,000 per year. For some perspective, that’s only $1,000 per year more than Ohio Wesleyan, where I got a full tuition scholarship.</p>
<p>So I’m off to UChicago in September. Thanks to all who consoled me in my time of panic. It’s amazing how everything just works out in the end.</p>