Carnegie Mellon computer science is ranked very highly and it’s somewhere that I see myself but the tuition is sooooo high (70k a year!!) I don’t know if I will get a lot of fin aid either so I’ll be deep in student loans. Regardless, do you think it’s worth the money? Maybe the perks outweigh the cost?? thanks in advance.
What are your alternatives at what costs?
Of course, CMU CS is a reach for everyone; it is likely that you will not be admitted in the first place, so you will not have the choice to attend at all, regardless of cost.
@ucbalumnus I have pretty good stats and also this is in case I ED so I can increase chances. I know I can get a lot of fin aid for places like Rutgers or umd which are also rlly good for comp sci. I want to save time writing essays and increase my chances cause I really liked cmu
Apply and see, but if you can get good aid from Rutgers/UMD, likely not worth it. UMD, in particular, is known for its CS research.
How do you expect to get good aid from both Rutgers and Maryland, since you will be out-of-state for at least one of them?
I believe the highly-competitive privates like CMU offer a life-changing experience for undergraduates. It will likely be the 4 most invigorating, rewarding years of your life. Yes it comes at a high cost and you need to have a long talk with your parents to see if it is really affordable for your family. If so, go for it. If not, there are lots of other good options that are less expensive.
CMU does give reasonable financial aid (run the estimator).
(my son is rising sophomore at CMU and having a wonderful experience there. For our family, it is totally worth the cost.)
CMU is exceptional. If you can afford it, it is worth every penny. But if you have to take out a large loan to attend, it is not worth it…no university is.
I might pay a premium of $20K a year to attend CMU over most other schools, but you can come out of places like Maryland and Rutgers with the same education and just as much knowledge as if you’d gone to CMU. For CS, the reason you go to places like CMU and Stanford is because it’s easier to meet people that can help you with career opportunities later on. At schools other than the top CS schools, you have to work a little harder at networking to find those opportunities.
@PengsPhils but ED is binding so I would have no chance to apply to other colleges. Assume that I get a full ride to Rutgers and possibly a full ride to umd. Would you suggest not EDing?
@pickpocket that’s very helpful thank you
@alexandre thank you very much for the advice 
@simba9 thank you!! I really appreciate it
However, a life-changing experience that may be the 4 most invigorating, rewarding years of one’s life is not necessarily exclusively found at highly-competitive privates like CMU.
The full ride merit scholarships at those schools should be considered as reaches.
In general, if you can attend a school like CMU at an affordable price it woudl be great – but not at the cost of weighing yourself down with a ton of loans for the next decade or two. Especially if you can solid debt-free options. A few things to consider:
–As a student you are very limited in the amount of loans you can take out. Are your parents willing to co-sign loans for you?
–Have you run the net price calculator for CMU?
–What is the extent of loans you would have to take out? A small amount of loans can be manageable but if you will be “deep” in loans as you indicated in your fist post, then the loan payments you will have will influence your choices and options for years and years after graduation.
–If money is an issue you may want to look into other schools that are good for CS and give solid merit aid.
Yes, life changing experiences and great educations can be found at many places. My H went to CMU for engineering. His parents thought privates were superior and that is all their kids looked at. He thinks he probably would have enjoyed a place like Penn State more! Take into consideration cost and fit when considering CMU. I doubt large debt is worth it for you or your parents in this case. There are lots of good computer science programs these days.
You should not apply to a place you (or more accurately) your parents cannot afford. If you do well at CMU in CS and you are interested in working for a well established firm (i.e. not a start up), it’s likely you willl be able to afford to pay off a bit more than I would recommend say an English or Poli Sci major taking on.
FWI, I thought CMU was pretty life changing for my son. Because CS is a stand alone school within the larger university, and because they are playing second fiddle to MIT and Stanford there’s a bit of a “We try harder” atmosphere there. My son ended up with good friends and the CMU network helped tremendously with internships including when his first internship was cancelled at the last minute by the financial crisis of 2008.
@sevmom very true. Thank you for the advice
@mathmom yes thank you for the personal experience example. I’m starting to think CMU is the right place because I like that kind of atmosphere and although the school is more expensive than others, I think it’ll be worth it in the long run. Thank you so much
@imakoolkid Absolutely, CMU is a wonderful school with many opportunities. Perfect for some kids if the fit is there and the costs work out! Just be careful if you and/or your parents have to go into significant debt for ANY school.We swing through campus about once a year when we visit Pittsburgh. Husband lived in Donner. It was an ugly building in the 70’s and still is ! But great place ! Good luck!