@thumper1 I’ve sent my deposit to MSU, but I’m still able to go to RHIT.
@mom2collegekids I appreciate everything you’ve said, except for maybe the attitude that came with all of it.
How are you still able to go to Rose if you have sent a deposit into Mississippi. You have committed to another college.
I wasn’t really asking questions about whether or not I was still able to attend a college, but anyways, thanks for the concern. There is not a formal commitment you make at MSU. The only deposit you make is for room and board, and their way of having a student commit is by signing up for classes during orientation.
Rose-Hulman has a good rep. Compare the course catalogs. Do you have an aid package. 50k is a lot per year.
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@mom2collegekids I appreciate everything you’ve said, except for maybe the attitude that came with all of it.
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I’m trying to imagine the right attitude for telling a young person that borrowing $200k for an undergrad is insane. Ok…I’ll try again…It would be really really really bad for you to borrow $200k. Your life would be ruined and no one wants you to have a ruined life. Better?
I frequently recommend UAH, but in this case their physics dept is pretty weak.
Regardless of that, $200K of undergrad debt would be ridiculous.
^^^
So, MSU would be the better choice…or take a gap year and reapply this fall.
Were these the only schools to which you were accepted? Did you get accepted to any other more affordable schools?
@thumper1 I was accepted to other more affordable schools, but the net cost of each would be around that of MSU.
@mom2collegekids Thank you for trying, and I am sorry that you find it hard to discuss such things while showing some respect.
What were the other schools which would cost the same as MSU?
LSU would cost around 14k per year.
Millsaps and Auburn would cost around 18k per year.
Ole Miss would cost around 5k per year.
Ole Miss is almost three times less expensive than those other options. And Rose is about 40 times more expensive.
What can your family pay? If you are looking at $200,000 in loans, Rose is not affordable by my stretch of the imagination. It’s just not affordable.
I’ve already decided against the other colleges including Ole Miss, and thank you for the insight.
Forget about RHIT. You won’t be able to get the loans by yourself and your parents would be crazy to take on that kind of debt (even with, or despite, that 20% agreement).
This is one of those rare times that I do recommend taking a gap year. Work at a restaurant, or volunteer work, or whatever, but don’t attend any college. Then…
Reapply to U.Alabama this fall, plus other good schools with excellent merit aid. Take a look at Ohio State. It gives excellent merit aid to out of state students. Maybe also explore the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University in Athens (notice the missing “State” – this is a different college). The tutorial method is outstanding preparation for grad school.
https://www.ohio.edu/honors/future-students/index.cfm
https://www.ohio.edu/honors/future-students/programs/physics.cfm
Taking a gap year will save you money, and give you more options. It will be hard to explain to your parents, so make a plan and sell it to them. Also explain to them that this is about missing scholarship deadlines, not about avoiding going to college.
Sorry, had Miisissippi State mixed up,with Ole Miss.
Why did you choose Mississippi State?
Even though this might be true, I still think it smart to apply to UAH – now! – because you automatically get free tuition with that 32 ACT. Also, visit UAH and see if you like it.
For what it is worth, you can get into any graduate program from any undergraduate college. Even the Harvard graduate school does not care whether you got your degree from UAH, or MSU, or RHIT, or… U.Southern Mississippi. GRE and GPA are what they look at.
Plus, how much you learn in college is more dependent on your own efforts than on the college or the professors. True, occasionally a great professor can make a big difference, but such professors are just as likely to be at UAH or MSU as at RHIT.
Finally, the students at UAH have slightly higher ACT and SAT scores than students at MSU.
@thumper1 I chose Mississippi state even though I missed some scholarship deadlines because it was still one of the cheapest options while being the second best for engineering of the cheapest options . I would say the
auburn is slightly better but not by much.
@NROTCgrad Really? I had always hearad that it is much easier to get into a top grad school, especially for physics, if you come from a top undergrad school.
UAH students might have a higher ACT on average, because of the proportion of engineering students at each school. 25% of UAH students are in engineering compared to MSU’s 11%, and I think I remember reading somewhere that the average engineering student’s ACT score is higher than other majors (atleast at MSU, where average engineering ACT=28 compared to the 24 overall average).
I already am receiving a couple thousand more than tuition at MSU. Does UAH have scholarships this late in the year that would cover more than tuition, or would they offer free housing for a certain number of semesters?
One of the biggest myths our there. Simply not true. At least not most of the time. GRE and GPA trump prestige and “strong” programs.
To the extent that top undergrad programs are over-represented at top graduate programs, that is simply because students where smart enough to get into a great undergraduate program. No college is good enough to make an ordinary student into an outstanding graduate. It’s about the student, not the college.
UAH, to the best of my knowledge still is offering scholarships until June1st. Unfortunately, no, you need to get a 34 ACT in order to get free housing. Well, maybe your SAT could qualify you. Look at this web page:
http://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/merit-tuition-scholarships
I don’t doubt what you say about engineers and ACT scores. I just wanted to make the point that UAH students are at least as smart as MSU students.
If MSU is basically free for you, then that is hard to beat, unless you do not want to stay at home. In which case, consider a “gap year” or UAH.
Yes! UAH will award merit as long as you apply before June 1st. Get that app in!
OP $200,000 in UG debt does not make financial sense. Pull up the financial calculators at what your monthly payments would be (it is like a super nice house payment - and in your home town area, or maybe even your parents’ home may be worth less than $200,000). That is a big thing between no or low debt.
Think of how many expensive cars could be bought with $200,000 to put it in perspective. Most families don’t spend more than $40,000 on a car like a super nice, new, loaded Toyota Highlander - so you would be foregoing having 5 of these for the $200,000. H and I are almost 60 and we have not over the years paid for 5 new vehicles like this (paid new for two; new on one at $30,000 - and all others were gently used and lower priced). Homes tend to appreciate, while cars depreciate. Most people pay off a home mortgage in 15 years or longer. Do you want to be paying on the student loan like a huge house payment?
I will give you an example. We refinanced and have a 10 year mortgage on $100,000 for our home. We got a 2.5% interest rate. Our house payment includes some escrow (taxes and insurance) runs $950 every other week.
You are looking at double that loan amount and higher interest. And of course your parents would have to sign on the loans because a student has a low limit for Fr/so/jr/sr year of UG (each year has different amount you can borrow, but low to what you are having to borrow).
Graduating from one UG school is not going to mean a difference in starting pay in your degree field. If you go to graduate school, the interest on the loans will keep climbing.
Student loans are not bankrupt-able, so it will be with you until you pay it off. Same for your parents - they would be responsible if they co-sign and you don’t pay. The interest, if you drag it out, will make it even more expensive.
IMHO you should compare your very good viable options (MSU or UAH if you get your application in as others have said).
Very few students want to take a gap year. You have thought through the schools you were thinking about.
I do know a very smart gal going to UAH in Physics. Her older sis is at AU. If the Physics Dept wasn’t good at UAH, we would have heard about it from this student or her parents. Parents are both STEM degreed and employed.
Maybe your dream was Rose Hulman, but make your dream the school that is affordable. You will get a great education if you apply yourself.
Maybe you need to read up on the Memphis student that passed up the debt of all 8 Ivy’s he was accepted to (and other high cost schools), accepting merit with low out of pocket at UA. Some of the reason was he was accepted into the Fellows Honor program, but the main thing was to not have the debt with UG.
Good luck.