<p>My D has been invited to the Sunday on the Square at NYU. This seems to mean that she has been accepted. She applied to the Steinhardt School. She has already been accepted to some NJ state schools, one with a full ride, but of course she wants to be in the city. Is NYU really worth the money?</p>
<p>That is a good question and a hard decision! My S is attending the Stern School of business and likes it very much (however there was about a two month adjustment period) and hopefully he will come out making good money. Is your D wanting to be a school teacher or administrator? This is a very worthy profession and not always well paid. The best paid starting teachers here in CT (one of the highest in teachers salaries) get, I believe, $50,000 plus benefits. I would take a careful look at Steinhardt's placement upon graduation. Attend the breakfast and ask lots of questions of the students and the Dean, who should be in attendance and will be a speaker. This breakfast event was the clincher for my S. We found out a lot from the students and the Dean and my H and I were very impressed with the leadership of the school, esp. the President (very cool, down-to-earth guy who is a Yankees fan , so is my S). My S was pretty much set to go to UChicago (he's legacy - his B graduated in 2005 and is working in Finance area) but this breakfast plus the fact that he could play varsity volleyball for NYU sold him on it. Also, my S had a scholarship from the state school (UCONN) and the cost there would have been $7500 vs. $50,000 at NYU. We kindof gulped and grumble at the bill paying time but we think he likes it and it is the right choice for him. I do believe that he is amongst a student body that is more intellectually challenging than what he would have had at the state school. NYU is expensive - figure $50,000/yr. Stern school placements are excellent and being part of the NYU student body, he has opportunities for all kinds of things in NYC (openings and shows, etc.). My suggestion - go to the breakfast with a list of questions and have a heart to heart conversation with your D where you weigh the pros and cons on paper.</p>
<p>50 grand starting out? Your teachers are well paid. In FL teachers start at 28k a year.</p>
<p>I am rounding off here. Some communities pay $38,000 and some pay $55,000 with a Masters degree. Don't forget though, we live in one of the most expensive areas for living - Fairfield County, probably a lot more expensive than FL.</p>
<p>We live in NJ and the teachers coming out of school without a masters get $30,000. Any masters classes, the salary goes up. So it might be worth the money, but the thing is, she really wants to be in NYC!</p>
<p>I agree you really have to weigh out what constitutes worth.</p>
<p>If your daughter is going to be a teacher and will not be teaching in NYC, then her best bet would be to attend college locally because they would be better equipped to take her through the certification process in your state which is a different process from being certified in NYS. </p>
<p>while she may have a great exerience here in NYC, unless she could get a reciprocity agreement with NJ once she finishes, then she is going to have a lot of juggling to do. (This would be another question to ask at your breakfast).</p>
<p>I am a current grad student at steinhardt and I have a lot of friends in the MA program school counseling and the PhD in school psychology who are trying to maneuver fulfilling their requirements for NJ while being in NYC.To thier credit if she decides to come to grad school at NYU for school guidance, it is a small and supportive program (I have a lot of overlapping classes with them and most of them are pretty happy in the program). </p>
<p>The one thing I can say about NYU is if she decides to work in NYC she will get placements in some really good NYC school (as most of their students get placed in region 9, one of the better districts in the city, safer schools, etc.) and would open the door if for her if she were going to teach in NYC (as a lot of prinicpals are very amenable to hiring their interns if everything works out).</p>
<p>New teachers in NYC earn $43, 436</p>
<p>If she is looking to work in NYC in one of these areas, then it would be in her best interest to apply for graduate school here where she could then go to NYU, virtually free.</p>
<p>Whether a school is "worth" it to you is quite an individual decision. For me, the decision would have nothing at all to do with whether X school means a better chance at a better income upon graduation. I never looked at colleges that way. I think a student can make it and be a success no matter which college he/she went to. An education in itself is a ticket to opportunities in life but a specific college is not necesarily a ticket to a certain income. So, that would not be how I'd assess the value of X college. Rather, I'd decide if it was important to me that my child be at a school that he or she wanted to be at and really liked and that the school was a very good fit. X college might cost more than Y and one can get an education and eventual job after attending Y but would one be happier at Y or would one fit in at Y? Perhaps so, and the cheaper option might be best. But if a student doesn't like the level of challenge at Y or the location or feel of the school, that would be a consideration. I also think that if someone is not prepared to let their child attend a college due to cost, then it works best to not let them apply in the first place because then if the student gets in but is not allowed to attend, it is not a good feeling, UNLESS the parent was up front and said the application was contingent on the financial aid awarded. </p>
<p>I have a child attending NYU/Tisch. Is it worth it? To me it is! She LOVES it. She has always wanted to go there. The school really fits her needs, interests, and desires. I have no complaints so far. I didn't weigh the value of this school over another as far as which was worth the money. My D is on financial aid and won a scholarship at NYU but would have gone no matter what. She is very happy there and that is all I care about. I have another kid at an Ivy and she loves her school. She was offered a free ride at our state university but had no interest in attending and it was not a good fit for her college criteria (though is a fine place). Again, this an individual decision. I don't see the cost of an education being weighed with how much salary that education will get you. An education and the experiences that go with it are of value in themselves and not just as a ticket to something. Yes, it is part of building a future, but no matter what the future career pays, the college experience should have been worth it for its own sake. My D going to Tisch is entering an uncertain and low paying field, musical theater. However, she is getting great training, a great education, and a great experience. My own field is Education and it is low paying. I went to a selective college and an Ivy for graduate school. They were not cheap. I have always earned very low wages (for an educated person with a graduate degree). My education was worth it to me.</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>The question should be more about "fit," as Soozie said, than about "worth." If possible, go for the Sunday program and use it as your opportunity to ask every question you can think of, even the ones that seem stupid. DD was convinced she wanted to go to NYU when she applied, and was thrilled to be accepted. Then we went back into the city for the accepted student program, and she started asking questions about things that she hadn't really thought about during the application process. DH and I kept our mouths shut, hung back, and let DD seek out the people she needed to talk to in order to get her answers. By the end of the day, NYU had dropped from first place to 2nd or maybe 3rd in her mind. The application process is nerve- wracking but exciting, and the kids often get caught up in the 'idea' of a particular school or location. But when push comes to shove, if the school doesn't fit the kid, no one will be happy. DD ended up at a state school in a suburban setting, and has been happy as a clam. She realized that she needed trees and grass to be happy, and Washington Square Park just wasn't going to make it as a substitute. LOL, and with the money we saved on tuition, we were able to send her to New Zealand for a six-week study abroad program! If DD had chosen NYU we would have happily paid the price, but she graduates in May and we have no doubt that she'll be just as good a teacher with her degree from UD as she would have been with one from NYU. What matters is that, ultimately, she found a school that "felt like home" to her.</p>
<p>It sounds like you are fairly close to the city, mbe, but I'd add that attending college in NYC can be a major learning experience in itself. Does that justify NYU tuition? That's hard to say, and depends on lots of factors. College is always a life-altering experience, but nothing is quite as life-altering as college in NYC for a student not familiar with the city.</p>
<p>I agree that it would be a life experience. She has already spent the summer in Paris and loved it. That is why she wants an urban setting.</p>