Hi! HS senior here, soon-to-be neuroscience major. I was extremely fortunate to find out on March 30th that I’d been accepted into Yale (my dream school since forever) - it was a huge shock, and I’m still reeling, to be honest. I had to send in additional financial aid documents, so we haven’t gotten our final EFC yet, and I’m still hopeful…but the reality I’m preparing myself for is that, while my family’s income isn’t so much that we can pay off sticker price tuition without a second thought, we look good enough on paper that we probably won’t qualify for much.
I was also lucky enough to be accepted into the honors program at Fordham (Lincoln Center Campus) with a full-tuition National Merit scholarship. I visited the Fordham campus the other day and loved it - one day I hope to live in NYC, if possible. I know that getting to live in Manhattan during college for $20k a year (still a lot, yes, but significantly less than the full cost of tuition + room and board at Yale OR Fordham without aid) is an incredible opportunity, but I can’t shake off the fact that getting into Yale was, for me, basically like winning the lottery, and would open up a lot of opportunities just from brand name alone. It also offers a more “traditional college experience” in terms of the campus (at Fordham, I’d have to take a lot of classes at the Rose Hill campus, meaning lots of time spent commuting), and isn’t more than a train ride away from the city (and home - I live in the suburbs near NYC). I’m visiting Yale this upcoming weekend, so if I don’t fall in love with the campus then, obviously my choice becomes a lot simpler, but I figured I’d make this post in case “worst comes to worst” and I truly can’t decide.
My parents are willing to pay for my undergrad education, and we wouldn’t have to take out loans or dip into savings to do it, but is it worth it to make them pay that much more? Obviously, either way I’ll be working hard to keep my grades up (if I do go to Yale, I’m basically treating my parents’ gift as a scholarship, so no slacking off), I’m hardcore applying for as many outside scholarships as possible, and I’m planning on working over the summer/doing work study in school. I know I’m incredibly lucky to have parents so generous that they’d offer to put me through Yale debt-free (I’m also lucky to be an only child, so they aren’t saving money for any siblings). I also feel like a degree from Yale would afford me a better shot at getting a higher salary right off the bat, making the investment worth it (a sentiment they’ve echoed many times). But my parents have spent their entire lives working, and they are honestly the most selfless people I know. I want to make sure I’m doing right by them, whichever choice I make.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to your advice!
Did you fill out the NPC to get an idea of what kind of aid you would get? If not, you may want to do that now.
I’m curious just what scholarships you are applying for. Most, if not all, of the big outside scholarships for seniors had applications due months ago.
Congrats on winning multiple lotteries, not the least of which is having parents wealthy enough to afford to send you anywhere you want to go with no debt.
My advice: if your parents are willing and able to pay your college costs at any school that you have been accepted to without taking loans or dipping into savings, you should make your choice of school based on what will be the best overall fit for you. And say “thank you” to your parents.
As a parent I agree with BelknapPoint. Talk to your parents and if Yale isn’t a financial hardship I’d go there in a heartbeat over Fordham-LC. Yale’s need-based aid is pretty good - I’d say 3rd best in the country behind Harvard and Princeton so you might be surprised at how much you’ll get if you haven’t done the NPCs to get an idea.
My D was accepted to Fordham-LC as well with the NMF scholarship and planned on majoring in Integrated Neuroscience as well. I don’t know why you think you have to travel to Rose Hill for that. It’s a good choice and with the honors program interesting but she’ll going to end up at with Princeton or Columbia.
Ok just thought - are you planning on Medical School after undergrad or PhD/Research? If you plan to go to Med School then probably best to save as much as possible for Medical School - go to Fordham and make a 4.0 and ace the MCAT and then go to Yale Medical School.