<p>I appealed my financial aid for American University, and I thought I’d get more because my mom is recently unemployed. But, alas, they didn’t give me ANY more money. </p>
<p>I’m left questioning if American is really worth all the money they’re asking me to pay: $40,000. I plan on majoring in International Studies at SIS. I appreciate ANY opinions. Thanks!</p>
<p>Forty thousand dollars, or $40,000 per year?</p>
<p>Worth is relative to what you can afford, and what your other options would be.</p>
<p>Unless your family’s financial situation is uncertain, in which case $40,000/year for American–as much as I like American–should be completely off the table.</p>
<p>$40,000 a year. My other option is Howard University costing about $12,000 a year but they don’t have an international studies major…</p>
<p>Wow, I just looked at Howard’s web site. I see that Howard really doesn’t have anything like international studies.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, a B.A. from AU is categorically not worth $150,000 or more in educational debt.</p>
<p>How long have you been interested in international studies? And where do you picture yourself 5 years after you finish college?</p>
<p>If something along the lines of SIS really is your thing, it seems, unfortunately, you can’t afford to begin your undergraduate studies in SIS, but maybe you can transfer to SIS or someplace like it in a year or two.</p>
<p>I wonder how you ended up with a short list of AU and Howard. I assume geography has a lot to do with it. If you’re in the area, another option that might be less expensive than AU is Maryland. As for AU, they’re working on transfer agreements with community colleges. They don’t have very many guaranteed transfer agreements yet, but they do have one with Montgomery College in MoCo, and one with Howard Community College in HoCo. I don’t know where you live, but MC might be close. For more information, see: [Guaranteed</a> Admission Agreements | American University](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/admissions/transfer/GAA.cfm]Guaranteed”>American University Washington D.C.).</p>
<p>I’ve pointed this out before, but the Dean of SIS didn’t major in international studies.</p>
<p>DeskPotato - International relations as a major and as a means of academic inquiry has only gained widespread recognition in recent years. Most faculty in ANY school of international relations did not major in IR.</p>
<p>Anyways, in response to the OP… short answer no AU is not worth $40k per year IN MY OPINION. However, Howard doesn’t seem like a good alternative either.</p>
<p>True, but the recently-linked list of top undergraduate IR schools includes Harvard, which doesn’t offer an IR major. Still.</p>
<p>It’s possible to major in the study of a particular area of the world at many different universities, or to major in government, political science, economics, or other relevant social science without emphasizing specifically American perspectives. These undergraduate degrees would be relevant to various internationally-oriented careers.</p>
<p>FWIW, a friend of mine who recently retired from a position in operations at CIA (i.e., he was a spy) said that when he interviewed and hired analysts, he looked for people with strong liberal arts educations and strong analytic thinking and writing skills. Typically, a major in history or in, say, Middle Eastern Studies or other area-focused study, was the type of thing he looked for. </p>
<p>I’m sure that a focused IR or IS major can be helpful and interesting, but it’s not the only option.</p>
<p>wow, we have been saving since she was born to allow our D to go to the college of her choice and she chose AU. We are full pay (no FA/no merit aid) but it is very much a stretch for us. I certainly would agree that taking on significant debt is not a good idea but every family’s idea of educational value is different. Make the best informed decision that you can but in the end, do what feels right for you and your family.</p>
<p>AU is a top-10 IR school, and the in-term internship opportunities (many of them paid) are amazing.</p>
<p>And, no, it isn’t worth $112,000 more than Howard University if it means significant debt and you don’t have the money. As far as I’m concerned, anything more than $23k in loans (to you - parents are different) is highly questionable - for anywhere.</p>
<p>If your family has the money and can work out the financing, yes, it is. We budgeted $35K a year for our son’s college, and we would have had no problem for him to come up through loans and work, to pay the additional $5K. But if the cost were $40K more than what we could pay, no way. It would be a terrible financial move for us to borrow that much to pay for any school, not just American. I agree with Mini that the Stafford loans are just about the max to borrow for most students.</p>
<p>You stated that your mother is unemployed. If so, I would not commit to 40K/year for any school in that situation. You are only eligible for 5,500 in a stafford loan this year, correct? How would you get the other 35K or so? I live a few miles from AU and it’s a good school. I work with many AU graduates but there isn’t any way that I would pay that much to go there. </p>
<p>By the way, did you see this program at Howard? I would call them and ask more question. </p>
<p>[Charles</a> B. Rangel International Affairs Program](<a href=“http://www.rangelprogram.org/index.cfm?areaid=2&contentid=669&mcontent=y]Charles”>http://www.rangelprogram.org/index.cfm?areaid=2&contentid=669&mcontent=y)</p>
<p>I sincerely thank all of you for giving your opinions. You’ve given me a lot to think about. American is literally everything I want in a school, minus the price and I don’t know if I’ll willing to give it up because of money. Thanks again</p>
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<p>Not giving it up because of the money would be a calamitous error. That kind of educational debt would leave you financially crippled for twenty years after you graduate.</p>
<p>I am often a snarky person, given to exaggeration for rhetorical effect. But when I use fancy words like calamitous, I’m never kidding. Really.</p>
<p>We did the appeal too…we too have been saving since my d was born but at 56k a Year she would have tremendous loans. American is off the table for us.</p>
<p>I have to agree with the others - that is too much debt. My D did not go to her first choice school because of the high tuition and no aid. I felt guilty that she could not go and she was miserable. I played the lottery until the last day hoping to make her dream a reality! However, life goes on and there is not one perfect place for anyone. It really is true that most people are happy where they end up. There are plenty of people who do go to their first choice school but end of transferring because they were not happy after all. Go someplace your family can afford and you will be happier in the long run. I wish you the best of luck and hope you have a wonderful 4 years.</p>
<p>Also food for thought, when we were on campus, one of the admissions reps told us that it was not worth it to full pay! My daughter is second guessing her decision not to attend but hopefully like the posts above said, it will work out…especially in 4 years when she will be debt free. Good luck to everyone!</p>
<p>I would say it is. Hence why I’m at AU.</p>
<p>I am sure you think so casey, but surprisingly the admissions people don’t agree…as other threads have mentioned they are the front lines for the school, and their opinion , of who they work for and represent, and try to convince people to come, says a lot. I posted this , not to sway people away from au, as if the situation was different, we would be there, I just want others to know that lots of us are making the same choice.</p>