Is it worth it?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So I live in WI. I'm looking at all these colleges like UChicago, Amherst, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence, etc. I'm basically in love with UChicago (I haven't written any poems yet, don't worry). But then, looming not so far from me, is this large school called UW-Madison. I would pay them roughly 15K a year to sit in their classes, all said and done, while all of the other schools would demand 40+K a year to sit in theirs. (I don't expect financial aid.)</p>

<p>I'd like all sorts of imput regarding value. Is it worth it to attend the more expensive schools? Obviously, they will have smaller class sizes, more contact with proffs, less TA's. But beyond that, how much different is the education quality? Future grad school/career prospects? Is it worth the 25K difference?</p>

2

<p>I think it all depends on you. Wisconsin is a good enough university that if you take advantage of your resources you can be very successful. However, at a school like U of Chicago the opportunities are easier to come by. The reason I personally want to go to a more prestigious college is because I am sick of people like the ones found at my high school. Going to a school like U of Wisconsin would probably be very similar to high school except with more partying. So I think it depends on how mature you are when it comes to doing work and what you are looking for in your peers.</p>

3

<p>Yeah, that's a concern of mine. I don't party, and I don't drink. And I'm quite familiar with the stereotype of Madison as the keg party capital of the solar system. The U of Chicago - where fun goes to die - is definitely more of my kind of place. Right now, I'm practically dying for someone with whom to discuss religion/politics/philosophy instead of gossip/next saturday's party/how to come by the beer (anyone have an older brother? anyone??), and Chicago seems like more of a place for the first type of conversation than the second. However, 25K is a lot of money. I guess we'll see... anyone else?</p>

4

<p>Plus in the end it comes out to about 100K (for 4 years) of a difference. It just depends what you value...are you eligible for financial aid or merit aid? I'm sure Vassar and Sarah Lawrence have some merit aid available. Apply to all you are interested in and see how you feel in the spring about it.</p>

5

<p>jerzak525 - First off, I am a Chicago grad and I love UC. Second, you are right that $25,000 a year difference between UC and an in-state school like UW-Madison is substantial, especially if you/your family believe that you will get negligible (or no) financial aid. Now to the "rest of the story", since (without knowing your stats) you seem to be a competitive candidate for Chicago admission, then UW's honors programs might be right up your alley.</p>

<p>Here's a "cut and paste" from UW's website - </p>

<p>Start of quote:</p>

<p>"Honors</p>

<p>High-ability students seeking more intensive academic opportunities and greater depth, scope, and originality in their studies will want to consider pursuing an honors program. Honors programs at UW-Madison offer students special opportunities for individual research, access to top faculty, and more intimate classroom experiences through four distinct tracks--research, integrated curriculum through programs such as Biology Core Curriculum, individualized programs, or accelerated study. </p>

<p>The following schools and colleges offer undergraduate honors programs and opportunities, many of which are open to new freshmen: College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, School of Business, School of Education, College of Engineering, School of Human Ecology, College of Letters and Science, and School of Nursing.</p>

<p>To learn more about honors programs at UW-Madison, follow the links below.</p>

<p>College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Honors Program</p>

<p>School of Business
Business Honors in the Liberal Arts (BHLA) Program
Business Scholars Program</p>

<p>School of Education
Education Fellows Program
Senior Honors Research Awards</p>

<p>College of Engineering
Engineering Honors in Liberal Arts (EHLA) Program
Honors in Research Program</p>

<p>College of Letters and Science
Honors Program "</p>

<p>End of quote</p>

<p>You may indeed find a very satisfying niche in an honors program at UW where you are among a very motivated, interesting, and intellectually stimulating group of students (and faculty) like yourself. And you would probably draw several of your new friends from this motivated bunch. ("High School buddies at UW...it's been good to know 'ya but I'm pushing on".</p>

<p>My own son is in an honors college in a state university in Texas and he loves it for some of the reasons noted above. If/when he sees some of the old high school crowd on campus, it's "Hi, how'ya doin?" and moving on.</p>

6

<p>Jerzak, you have a very one-dimensional perception of Wisconsin-Madison. Although Madison is a party school in many ways, it is also a highly intellectual place. If you want to sit down in a cafe and discuss any number of intellectual topics, you can do it at Wisconsin. </p>

<p>The question to you is simple, assuming you get no aid, it is worth spending an additional $100,000+ over 4 years? I guess only you can answer that question.</p>

7

<p>This is the age old question and has been talked about endlessly on this site so check the archieves. The only answer is that it's worth it if it's something you value. Many choose to spend the money and many do not. It's about what you personally value.</p>

8

<p>i agree with jerzak525.</p>

<p>I'm looking for maturity. Those examples of yours (gossip, next saturday's party, etc.) are exactly what I've been around. I mean, that stuff was fun and all for a while in high school, but I am more than ready to get to some maturity!
Most of them went to party schools like Texas A&M or other state schools. I'm getting myself off to Rice as soon as possible to find people who do have a good time, but are also mature/responsible/intelligent.</p>

9

<p>First of all, Texas A&M is no Wisconsin. Wisconsin is one of the top 5 state universities in the country, Texas A&M isn't even one of the top 20 state universities in the nation. Secondly, cliques and immaturity are just as prominent in small private schools as they are in large state universities. In fact, since you will probably know most of the 2,000 undergraduate students at Rice, chances are, you are more likely to be the subject of gossips and rumors at Rice than you are at Texas A&M.</p>

<p>Finally, since when are students more responsible and mature are private universities? that has to be one of the worst misconceptions/generalizations I have read on this forum.</p>

10

<p>I don't know why you're comparing A&M to Wisconsin in rankings.... I'm only looking at it terms of a place where there's a lot of partying (similar to what was said about Wisconsin). Also, there are closer to 3,000 undergrads at Rice.
My point was that after living in College Station my whole life and witnessing A&M first hand, (Both parents also teach there) I have seen a huge gap in OVERALL level of maturity between A&M and Rice. That's all I'm saying.</p>

11

<p>Misterme, experience has shown me that you are going to have a similar level of maturity and gossip on campus, no matter how good or selective the university happens to be. Admitedly, I am not very familiar with A&M. However, I have obeserved all the schools of the CIC (Big 10 + Chicago) very closely for the last 10+ years and I can tell you that all 12 schools are equally gossip-prone. I grant you that students at Chicago are a tad bit more intellectual than the students at Michigan, Northwestern and Wisconsin, but then again, they are more intellectual than students at Cornell, Duke or Penn as well. That's just Chicago. But even then, it does not make the students at Chicago any more mature or responsible...and it certainly does not mean that gossip does not exist on campus. I simply fail to see how you can correlate intellect with responsibility, maturity and discretion.</p>

12

<p>Gossip will of course exist. And I'm not correlating those traits. I have simply come to that conclusion for myself, through my own definitions of those traits, that there is a difference to me.</p>

<p>could I personalize it any further??</p>

13

<p>That works. Your initial statement was not quite as personalized.</p>

14

<p>Haha I apologize then.</p>

15

<p>lonestardad,
Thank you for you suggestion; the honors program is something that I had never really thought of. I'm definitely looking into that now - it seems like an ideal solution. I'll check it out in greater detail. </p>

<p>misterme,
I know what you mean. You just want to get away from it all after a point.</p>

<p>Alexandre,
You make a good point. While the overall stereotype of madison is that it's a drinking/party school, with 40,000 students there's no such thing as a universal stereotype. I'm sure that if I go there, I could find my type of people, I'll just have to do a lot more searching than at someplace like the U of C. Maybe the honors program lonestardad mentioned could be a happy compromise. I'll do some more research.</p>

16

<p>Apologies not required misterme. And congratulations on Rice. It is an amazing university. I always compare it to a mini Stanford. You are in for a great experience.</p>

17

<p>haha thanks.</p>

18

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<p>Alexandre, why would you take the overall reputation of a school and jump to such a generalization, even taking it to degrees of intellectualism? I guarantee you there are a good number of kids at any decent school who are as intellectual or moreso than plenty of Chicago students. I don't think you can or should categorize entire student bodies. I know lots of business, engineering, computer science people who are extremely intellectual...you can find them in nearly any good school.</p>

19

<p>That's like me and University of Virginia. But in my perspective I believe it's worth it to go out-of-state. Not only do you learn independence but also public universities lack the support system and opportunities. Places like Chicago are keen on what you need considering it's smaller than Wisconsin and also if you were to go graduate with a Business major - your chances of attending places such as Wharton for grad would be much higher than if you were to attend to Wisconsin... Or that's what it says on the Wallstreet Journal ranking.</p>

20

<p>I agree 2331. I even said it above. One cannot assume anything about a student body (including how intellectual, responsible, mature, cliquish or gossipy it is) simply by looking at the size, perceived quality and selectivity of the university or college.</p>