<p>If I choose to attend Wellesley, I will take on loans of $80,000 and my parents will be paying $120,000. For all you current students and alums, do you think it is worth the investment? Is the W Network as strong and advantageous as it appears? Does Wellesley work hard to help students find internships and jobs? Thanks to anyone who can reply.</p>
<p>Do you have other acceptances with financial aid packages that will not put you in so much debt?</p>
<p>Yes, I have a full tuition award to a school in my state that is well-ranked for business. However, I am not sure a full business degree is exactly what I want. I am interested in pursuing an economics or psychology degree at Wellesley and taking marketing classes at MIT/Babson. But then, I could still learn the same subjects at my state school.</p>
<p>You might want to try playing with this calculator to give you some sense of what it would mean to pay back such a loan:</p>
<p>[Student</a> Loan Calculator - Calculate Your Student Loan Repayments](<a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp]Student”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp)</p>
<p>You are smart to think carefully before taking on debt.</p>
<p>I understand that it will be financially straining when I graduate. The calculator reflected that. Thanks for the link. Did you attend Wellesley?</p>
<p>@ eg0411: I’m just curious but how come you did not get any grants or anything? That’s just too huge a loan for a graduate :-s</p>
<p>My parents’ combined income is $200,000+ so I didn’t qualify for grants. I received about $5,400 in self-help aid.</p>
<p>I did not attend Wellesley, but we know many graduates and my daughter will be a freshman in the fall.</p>
<p>If you are smart and hardworking, you will do fine where ever you attend college - so I vote for the school which will not put you into debt. It will enable you to have more choices in your future.</p>
<p>I will keep that in mind. It’s such a heart-wrenching decision, since Wellesley is my top choice and I’ve been dreaming about attending a great college since 2nd grade. But it is a bad idea to put myself into such great debt.</p>
<p>Though I really really love Wellesley and may be a freshman there this fall, in this case, I still have to agree with fendrock.</p>
<p>Maybe you can go visit the other school with an eye to falling in love with it?</p>
<p>Maybe Wellesley wouldn’t be as you had imagined it if you attended – and maybe you could meet the man of your dreams at the other school…(just trying to make lemonade out of lemons here…)</p>
<p>I transferred after my freshman year in college and my daughter did also, so sometimes schools aren’t what you imagine they will be.</p>
<p>Wellesley would offer me the education of my dreams, which is why I want to attend so badly. I’m not pursuing my MRS degree, I assure you.</p>
<p>But I appreciate the support ; )</p>
<p>It would be redundant to make a new thread, since I have a similar situation. How much debt IS Wellesley worth? I have a 22k EFC, with my parents willing and able to pay about 10-12k. I’m going to try to negotiate for more aid and ask my grandparents and my uncle (As an MIT grad he’s been pushing me towards Wellesley for years) but ultimately going to Wellesley would probably result in me taking out more loans than the ~12k my package already included. So what sort of debt is Wellesley worth? 30k? 50k? </p>
<p>I too have a full tuition scholarship, at a liberal arts college in the Northwest (So my parents would be paying the targeted 12k, without me taking on loans), but my goal is to get out of the NW. My safety is a respected school around here, but I don’t know if it would get me out of here. And I don’t think it has the strength in science that I want.</p>
<p>Hi ego,</p>
<p>First of all, I commend you for taking the time to really think carefully about schools, student debt, and future choices. </p>
<p>I graduated from Wellesley some years ago with total debt ~$30k. I received financial aid, but these were loans that I took out because my parents couldn’t quite afford the full parental contribution that Wellesley had calculated. It was a personal choice that I made because I really wanted to attend Wellesley.</p>
<p>Do I have regrets that I went and graduated with that amount of debt? No. I feel that my experience - academic, social, personal - was all worth it. I went to grad school after graduation (in the sciences with a fellowship, so no loans there) which allowed me to defer my loan payments for a bit, and now I’m in current repayment. It is a few hundred dollars a month, but nothing that I can’t afford in my current situation.</p>
<p>I will be honest, $80k debt would be really high for an undergraduate education and I would be hesitant to advise someone to attend a school if that was what it would require. I agree with fendrock that college is what you make of it. I’m sure there are Wellesley students who aren’t really taking advantage of all that the institution has to offer, and there are plenty of other students at other schools who are maxing out their experiences there. You were accepted into Wellesley - that mean’s you’re smart, ambitious, motivated, passionate. I’m sure that you would be amazing at whatever institution you decide to enroll.</p>
<p>Something to think about in terms of student debt: What do you think you’ll do after your undergraduate education? Med school? Law school? Graduate programs? There is less money available for grad school than undergraduate school. And I’m talking all types of money: need based aid (almost non existent at most institutions), merit based scholarships, fellowships. Certainly, there is more money available for graduate education in the sciences than in many other fields, but the competition is tough for that money. Having less undergraduate student debt means you have more options after graduation. And student debt is not something you can walk away from. Even if something should happen and you declare bankruptcy, you cannot erase student debt like you can with other types of debt.</p>
<p>It’s a difficult decision. I think the intangibles that you might be asking - Would going to a higher prestige school lead me to better opportunities? Is the education better at a higher prestige school? Would the networking opportunities for jobs be better at Wellesley? - are very difficult if not impossible to quantify in terms of what amount of debt is “worth it.” Too many variables for all those questions. Going to Wellesley, or any other “high prestige school” is no guarantee of economical success afterwards. I’m reminded of an article in the WC alum magazine about this topic. Very interesting and I thought well written. I believe they now have the magazine available online if you want to look at it.</p>
<p>I snooped around a bit and here’s the link: [Wellesley</a> College Alumnae Association - Read Online](<a href=“http://web.wellesley.edu/web/Alumnae/WellesleyMagazine/online.psml]Wellesley”>http://web.wellesley.edu/web/Alumnae/WellesleyMagazine/online.psml)</p>
<p>A long post, but just to sum up: Unfortunately, no one can really tell you how much debt a Wellesley education is “worth.” 80k seems high, but maybe you end up attending Wellesley and it’s an awesome experience and you have no regrets. Keep doing what you’re doing by asking questions and getting the opinion of people from different walks of life. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you very much, Jacinth. Your answer helped me a lot, as did the article. This is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. I believe I will be attending my state school, which will really open up my options for graduate school. Again, thanks.</p>
<p>eg0441,</p>
<p>Before you totally throw in the towel, have you tried writing to Wellesley to explain your predicament? Your passion for the school is obvious. </p>
<p>My suggestion is for you to appeal directly to the Financial Aid Office. Let them know how much you love the school and how disappointed you’ll be if you can’t afford to go there. Diplomatically explain what you’re being offered in terms of aid at your second choice school. Maybe they’d be willing to meet you half-way.</p>
<p>As they say in Spain, “El ‘no’ ya lo tienes.” Translation: You’ve already got ‘no’ for an answer, i.e. what have you got to lose?</p>
<p>Best wishes for a wonderful college experience no matter where you decide to go in the end. : )</p>
<p>Seems like a hard yet easy decision.
I would as myself…(in this case Im asking you) or you couls ask yourself lol…anyhow
- What do I want?
- Why did I choose x or y?
3.What benefit will x give me that y wont and vs? - Am I really trully aware of what a loan is?
5.Am I sure? - in this case x is giving you a full ride and y is giving you nothing (in terms of $$) so…What could y give me that is so so so special that x won’t give me?
- If I go to x, I would have this $$$amount left, what could I do with that amount?</p>
<p>Lol, honestly I would take the full ride, take the 120 000 that my parents are offering and invest them OR save them or whatever.</p>
<p>Thank you for the additional responses!
My parents are going to call the Admissions Office to see if they can make a more competitive FA offer and we’ll see what happens. I’ll post an update after that.</p>
<p>After much consideration, my parents and I have decided that Wellesley would offer me many resources and networking opportunities that I would not have at my state school. Although it is impossible to quantify to benefits, Wellesley is where I want to be. We have figured out a way to pay for it, despite the lack of additional aid.</p>
<p>I would like to point out that although Wellesley is a wonderful school and is very generous to low-income families, it does not exactly take finances “out of the equation” at it professes. If you are a prospective middle-class student, you should be aware of that when you apply so you don’t have unrealistic expectations. There are many other people on CC who have said the same thing. They are unable to attend because they simply can’t afford it, or can’t afford to turn down better FA offers at other schools.</p>