<p>My S recently was accepted EA to SFS at Georgetown. It is his first choice and is delighted and we are thrilled for him. Having said that, here comes my dilemma. Georgetown does not give merit awards and we do not qualify for any financial aid. We have saved up the money for him to attend, but I still find it hard to swallow. In light of the recent economy, is paying $200,000 for an education smart. Will there be a tangible benefit from graduating from Georgetown versas our in state option (UT) assuming he does well at both places. I would love to hear from anyone who has had a recent grad from Georgetown. Were the job prospects there? Were they happy with the end result? Thanks for letting me ramble on!</p>
<p>laser - I have very close friends whose two kids are there. One is on their way to a foreign land for the spring for linguistics. This person was hired by the “dept of defense” wink wink for these language skills. This person is now theoretically set for life and will have all loans paid off after graduation.</p>
<p>The other child just finished their first semester and absolutely loved it beyond expectations. This child was deferred from their ed last year and now is so thrilled it all worked out like this.</p>
<p>laserp. Why dont you wait and see whay UT is going to end up costing you. It may help you decide.</p>
<p>Thanks for your response. It sounds like your friend’s kids are enjoying it. My son is thrilled and of course not doubting it at all. It’s me. Not quite sure why I’m dragging my feet getting on the bandwagon! Maybe because he’s the last to leave!:)</p>
<p>UT is notoriously stingy so I imagine OP knows what UT will cost.</p>
<p>I know someone who got in EA and and decided it was too expensive. She also got into an is now attending Berkeley. UT Austin is a good school but I’ve been told grad school counts. If your son is only pursuing a bachelors going to Georgetown may be a good decision. If not, it may be smarter to stay in Texas</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. We are definitely waiting until we know all the costs before making a decision, but he does seem to have his heart set on Georgetown. xhopefulxx, do you mean that you think UT is better at the grad school level than the undergraduate?</p>
<p>Only $200,000? Surely more like $250,000. :)</p>
<p>We were full pay for 2 private college educations (neither at Georgetown, so I can’t speak to that school specifically) when much cheaper alternatives were available. I would certainly think long and hard about it if it meant taking out student and parent loans. I’d also think about it if your kid knows that they will be going to law school or med school. He may want to use the money for those schools to cut down future debt. My kids have been told that the Bank of Mom and Dad is closed after undergrad. Their choice…</p>
<p>My kids have had great experiences at college and have made lifelong friends. The one who has already graduated has a job and 401K. The other is a junior, so we’ll have to see.</p>
<p>Haven’t regretted spending the money…</p>
<p>Many students from Georgetown SFS get good jobs in government - there can be very generous student loan payment benefits for some of these positions. You should research that before making your final decision.</p>
<p>Only you can decide if Georgetown is worth the money when you have a viable instate choice. You are in a tough position if you did not have a discussion about finances with your son before he was allowed to apply to expensive schools. And ellemenope, my state school UVa grad also has made lifelong friends from college ,is very gainfully employed, with a 401K with matching funds from his employer. Very glad your child has had great success after a private school education but those results are certainly not exclusive to private school grads. Congratulations to your son,laserp, and good luck with the decision!</p>
<p>Congratulations! </p>
<p>Bear in mind that the decision you’re making is about spending the difference, not the total. It seems that you are going to pay for UT for sure, so that amount is effectively spent. It’s normal to get sticker shock when the reality of a bill that big hits you in the face. Give yourself a little time to adjust.</p>
<p>I think spending money you have for a first-choice private school CAN be worth it.
I don’t know what your other assets are or what you would spend this money on if S’s first choice were UT (among other considerations), so whether it’s worth it for your family is an impossible question.</p>
<p>You’re not going to get a concrete answer since it’s all subjective. Some people are obviously willing to pay a ton of money for an expensive private U even though it’d be difficult to say that the student will have significantly better job or grad school prospects as a result because as you know, plenty of people who attended UT have gone on to great things.</p>
<p>Speaking of grad school - don’t forget about how much that can cost depending on your S’s desires once he’s done with UG (whatever he’s planning right now could obviously change as he goes through the next 4 years of UG). That might factor into your equation.</p>
<p>Thanks all. ellemenope, what’s another 50K:)! For what it’s worth, I agree with you all. I said all of this to myself more than once. We do have the money set aside and there won’t be any loans, God willing. We’ve also had the discussion that grad school or law school, he’s on his own. I also know that even though we have the money that you can get a great education for less. So what I really want to hear is that Georgetown is so amazing, it’s worth the extra $$$ and that after graduation he’ll have his dream job ( or any job) waiting for him. Of course, we all want to hear that ! :)) There is something therapeutic in writing this all down</p>
<p>If his dream job is anything involving government or politics, he will have more opportunities at internships by attending Georgetown than he would by attending UT because he is not limited to doing them in the summer. This could enhance his chances of getting a job after graduation.</p>
<p>I know UT students who have political internships during the semester. Certainly, Austin is no DC, but being a state capital does mean there are lots of opportunities for internships.</p>
<p>My daughters best friend is a jr @ Georgetown. She has had amazing opportunities although I am surprised to hear they don’t offer merit. They must have preferential packaging for need based grants?</p>
<p>I think if it was my childs first choice & I had the money already, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend it for a great education.
Of course if I thought the money might be needed more for grad school…</p>
<p>If your son works hard, seizes and makes the best use of all the opportunities and resources Georgetown has to offer, then of course it’s worth it.
It is mostly dependent on the student himself.</p>
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<p>I know! Both my H and I graduated from that very cheap alternative the kids didn’t go to and we were able to afford to sent both kids to private colleges without debt…so if anyone knows that a person doesn’t need to spend gobs of money on college to have a successful life, it is our family.</p>
<p>Last year my D applied EA to Georgetown and was accepted much to her delight. It was so nice emotionally to have that acceptance in her back pocket so early. In the meantime she had applied to several other colleges so the spring was filled with comparing those packages and options. We, too, felt the same way that although Georgetown was a wonderful choice, their financial package was about the worst of any that she received and the financial aid people said we could expect it to be less generous in years to come based on expected changed in our income. Georgetown lost a lot of its luster when looking at the costs compared to some of her other options, especially since we have essentially “given” her the 529 money to spend as she sees fit. It is way easier to spend mom and dad’s money. When D looked at the money as hers she became a lot more frugal. D decided to aim for Georgetown for graduate school and took her best merit package for undergraduate.</p>
<p>The answer is simple, if you can afford it, do it… If attending a top school means you eat ramen noodles,look elsewhere</p>