I am have been accepted to PITT in the College of Business Administration! However, PITT is the most expensive schools I am considering and I have no scholarships and do not qualify for any aid. Although my parents (and I) love PITT, it would be hard I guess. Since I am out of state it would cost about 43,000 a year for me.
I wanted some advice as to whether PITT is one of those schools worth the cost.
You are using a term"worth" that varies widely in meaning. Is is worth it if your parents have that amount and more set aside for you and you like the school the best, and they are fully in agreement that you go there. Yes, especially if your parents are in financially sound shape and responsible about these things. If they are in trouble financially already, and are looking to borrow to send you there with difficult in paying back those loans, and retirement money is scarce, maybe not. You need to talk to your parents on affordability.
I have talked to my parents about that and they tell me just to be happy. They did say it could affect how they spend money in the future such as taking some money out for retirement, not going on vacations, however if I went to a school less than that they wouldn’t have some of those burdens. Basically I am wondering if PITT business and what PITT has to offer is worth $43,000, or to go to a small private school that’s more affordable.
And I’m telling you that it depends on what the price your parents will pay if they spend the money. The vacaitons, not a big deal, but the retirement could be. What are the damages? What are the numbers? Where are they with retirement and where they should be?
We told our kids we could pay $X a year and let them choose where ever they wanted as long as they could make it work with our contributiong $X. we came up with the amount by taking into account retirement and other financial issues. How much can your parents afford? Not how much are they willing to scrape up for you. You need to have a serious talk with them about that. Also, what are your alternatives and costs?
thanks
sounds like you should go for the a schoool that will cost less. i agree wiht cpt you should talk tehse issues over with your parents, as it sounds like you already have as these truly are decisions that vary by each family. REgardign is pitt worth it, no, it’s not. Pitt is a great school. that is not the issue. but it is not worth teh extra financial strain it will put on your family, esp at 43K a year. i speak from experience. i went to a top notch grad program eons ago and was able to do so comfortably but i had very little money when i got out and the market for my field was horrible at that time. looking back, the big name school was not worth the price tag. We just went through a similar scenario with my kid. Although the final decision was his, i had quietly realized it made more sense to go for teh less costly school and potentially be able to help him more, if needed, when he graduates. i asked similar questions to yours above and everyone consistently said, don’t go for the pricier school. Yes, it’s a great school but not if teh price tag is uncomfortably above your budget.
I am a huge fan of Pitt, but for your particular circumstances I would consider a lesser expensive alternative, particularly if the education you would receive is roughly on a par with Pitt.
It’s really depends on what you’re willing to risk honestly. I am a junior in high school currently and Pitt is one of my top choices and I’m planning to apply for the College of Business of Administration also and I’ve fallen in love with everything about it. I’m also out of state (Kansas so just underneath Nebraska!) but I can apply for in-state due to my dad living there. Regardless, it’s still expensive for an in-stater as well. For $43 K a year is pretty hefty but if you know for a fact (no doubts) that Pitt is the right school for you and you’re going to be happy, then I’d say it’s worth it. It’s going to be 4 years that you won’t get back. But if you’re not sure and $43 K is going to be a burden and if you’re constantly thinking about the strain it will put on you and your family, I’d say it’s not. For me, it’s really based off happiness.
What are you planning to major in? Research the job market and internship available for the job. In a city like Pittsburgh, you’re going have numerous amounts of access to job opportunities. Even though Pitt is expensive, they are pretty generous when giving out scholarships for students who display the need for it. For your out of state circumstances, you can apply for out of state tuition scholarships and that can help reduce your costs of attendance. There are numerous ways to save a ton of money in college, you just have to work a little harder to achieve it. Also I know transportation is completely free if you use your Pitt Panther card and that also goes for other places like restaurants, movie theaters, museums, etc.
If you’re still unsure of your final decision, I would suggest maybe even going to community college there first and then transferring. I had consider that as an option and one college CCAC has a parallel program with Pitt where you are guaranteed admission to their Business Program once you finish your 2 years there with the right credits. It will transfer smoothly and you will save at least $20,000 from that alone. I would suggest researching the CCAC/CBA parallel program if you are interested and you can still go to the Pitt games and events they hold too!
Good luck and I’m probably going to be in the same you are in now next year.