I was accepted to UM-AA LSA but I’m probably going to try to transfer into engineering or Ross after freshman year. I am well aware of Ross’s new admissions policy, but if I do decide to go blue I’m going to try anyways. My AP credits will help out a lot with completing the prereqs for both schools. ANYWAYS my main issue is the cost. We’re OOS and didn’t qualify for any aid since we make over 200k but my parents were like “we’re saving up for grad school not undergrad so we’ll only contribute around 30k.” After whittling down my schools, my final options are:
UMich: visited and LOVED IT!! besides the price and the transfer hassle, it has everything - work hard play hard attitude, super well rounded, lots of connections(I have friends grades above me at UM and they love it there), nice college town but close to detroit, etc. Downside: 60k/year (aka I have to pay 30k/year)
Case Western: visited and didn’t feel like it was for me, although I’m not sure if that was just me feeling the bias towards Umich. But yeah CWRU definitely didn’t wow me like Umich did and if I were to ever decide against science or engineering, I would be kinda screwed. Admitted students day was fun but I don’t think I could spend 4 years there. however i got 27k in merit scholarships and i only have to pay 38k/year (8k/year for me alone)
penn state schreyer honors college: biggest thing is in state tuition and scholarships. visited and felt meh. I want to go out of state esp since like half my school is going to penn state and I want a fresh start with new people and new places. during the college application process, every single school I applied to was OOS except PSU (my safety). PSU is also in the middle of nowhere and I felt kinda suffocated there. however, 24k/year
if I were to choose michigan i would rack up over 120k in debt after 4 years which would be a pain to pay off. I originally was interested in molecular bio and foreign policy stuff, but to be more pragmatic i was thinking i should either 1)transfer to ross (hopefully) and dual major in CS and then minor in bio or 2)transfer to chemical engineering and dual major in CS and minor in ross (if i can get in) or bio or some mixture of those. I havent completely decided yet, of course. If I were to go after those lucrative degrees (and minor in something fun like bio or a language idk), would Umich be worth it? Perhaps I can talk to my parents and see if we can strike an agreement or something but with the info I have now, what should I do?
You personally can’t borrow more than $5,500 your freshman year. You CAN’T take out that kind of debt (and it would be beyond stupid to do so even if your parents would do so – and I have a Ross BBA, so trust me on this). Go where you can afford to go.
no school is worth going into 100k in debt for and you would still have to apply for ross and transfer to engineering. go to penn state for undergrad then umich for grad
Penn State Schreyer is a dang good opportunity with in-state tuition. Half my school goes here too and I basically never see them unless I specifically arrange it – I had to make a standing lunch date with my one friend from HS because we never ran into each other.
penn state is a big enough school that you will most likely not see any people from your high school. there will be plenty of new people to meet and new experiences to have at penn state.
How do the PSU engineering programs stack up against UM? I applied to PSU for bio or something so I would have to transfer over for both schools anyways. UM is more prestigious and of course i get that prestige isn’t everything, but in regards to a penn state degree, from what i’ve heard people are either “wooo penn state!!” because theyre huge football fans or theyre just kinda like “ah ok thats nice.” Does that attitude extend to the workplace as well? i guess basically I’m trying to compare the return on investment with the two schools…anyone have personal experience with that?
PSU engineering is good. And also massive, which means you have plenty of ready-made contacts in the workplace with whom you have your alma mater in common.
You’d just switch to DUS (easy) and apply to your engineering major the same as anyone else.
You will get the same starting salary either way. So do you want that with hundreds of thousands of debt over your head? Or less?
Plus, Schreyer. Scholarships, honors housing, priority registration, research opportunities, funding for study abroad…
penn state engineering is good. it’s ranked #18 in undergrad engineering and has some fields ranked in the top 10 in the country. It’s one of the best engineering schools in pennsylvania and has a really good price since you are in-state. you would still get a great education at penn state and rise to the top of your class. you can always go to umich to get your graduate degree. trust me, you do not want to be paying 120k off in debt.
Go to Penn State. Career-wise there will be no difference, and while as an alum of Michigan I am partial to Michigan, I grew up in Pennsylvania and my husband is a Penn State engineering grad and PSU is a great school. You will not want that debt, and you will spend your four years in college worried about making ends meet. Don’t do it.
Ahh I know the economical choice is penn state but my heart breaks every time I think about not going to Michigan. Any tips on moving on and getting over it?? Also I know psu is pretty good with engineering but not everything (whereas Michigan is strong and more well rounded) and if I were to ever change my mind and go into a major that’s not as strong at psu, would employers think differently?
Although I’m the biggest Michigan fan out there, I can’t, in good faith, say you should go into $100k personal debt vs. Penn State. Everyone’s advice was right on. Penn State is a great school and you will get a great education and have an excellent college experience!
I will say that you, and kids like you, are in tough spot. Most people don’t feel sorry for the upper middle class. (I do.) If your household income was less than $60k, you would probably be going to Michigan at a reasonable price. For top tier kids, you can go to the college of your choice if your parents are rich or poor. The upper middle class is at a disadvantage.
Not only did you get into Penn State but you got into Schreyer. That is yuge!
Ignore your old schoolmates and meet new people, but by all means go to Schreyer. This is a no brainer.
By the way, I tend to think borrowing money to invest in yourself can be a good thing. But in your case, Schreyer is probably the better option overall anyway because of the personal attention. Add in the cost differential, and as far as Michigan goes, just fugghedaboutit.
I agree that upper middle class is the worst position to be in for college because you are too rich to qualify for any financial aid but to poor to pay full cost of attendance. how can colleges expect families to spend 1/3 of their income on their child’s education?
Having grown up poor, and having experienced just about every station between poor and rich, I can assure you that being poor is much worse than being upper middle class. It really sucks. Most poor folks don’t make it to college.
I mean upper middle class is the worst position to be in for financial aid, not for getting into college. I agree it is very difficult for poor students to prepare for and get into and stay in college because of lack of resources, but if you do get in, the financial aid is very generous at elite colleges (QuestBridge places very low income students- average family income around 30k- into great colleges), and many students from poor families end up not having to pay anything or very little. I do agree that getting into and staying in college is much harder if you come from a poor family. @ClassicRockerDad