<p>Is Wash U worth full price admission for an undergrad business or engineering degree? My daughter is a National Merit Finalist, top 2% of her class, but doesn't really know what she wants to do/major in. She excells in just about everything (including math/science--hence our thoughts about engineering), but she doesn't have a clear idea of where she wants to focus in college. She has been admitted to Wash U, but we'll have to pay close to full price (As a National Merit, she'd get a small amount of merit aid from Wash U--$2500/year for 4 years). We could probably pull it off but it would take a good chunk out of our retirement nestegg (we're in our mid-50s, upper middle class, but not wealthy) and there would be nothing left for grad school/study abroad. I'm just not sure it's worth the $250K+ for an undergrad degree, given her uncertainty. She wasn't really challenged in HS, so she wants a challenging environment full of very intelligent people--I'm sure she could get that at Wash U, but for $250 grand?? (BTW, She would probably fit in really well at Wash U and she likes the campus.) Unfortunately, her other remaining choices are limited (she should have applied to more mid-tier schools). She has scholarships at our in-state schools -- Arizona State and U of Arizona (admitted to the honors colleges at both) -- that would cover everything but housing (we would have to pay about $10 K per year) and a full-ride scholarship (tuition, housing, plus small stipends) from U of Alabama. She liked Alabama when we visited but is not crazy about the football/greek culture; as for the state schools, she's afraid it will just feel like a continuation of high school. She's considering going to a state school and then transferring after a year or two to a better school once she has a clearer picture of what she wants to do, but I'm not sure how good an option that is these days. Wash U seems like an opportunity that maybe we should not pass up, but I just can't get past that huge price tag. Any advice?</p>
<p>That’s a really personal decision. We’re paying full price for our son who is a junior (undergraduate business major) and we consider it worth the price we’ve paid. He’s currently doing a semester in London where they’ve placed him in a full-time internship with a large company that is giving him invaluable experience. Would he have thrived somewhere else? Perhaps. Would he have had the same opportunities somewhere else? Perhaps. But what’s certain is he has thrived at Wash U and has had amazing opportunities.</p>
<p>And as an aside, when he was accepted to Wash U he thought he wanted to be an anthropology major.</p>
<p>How are you going to support yourself in retirement? I love my son, but their is no way in hell that I will mortgage my retirement savings (for college) especially when you have 3 perfectly good options available.</p>
<p>^^ Agreed. Paying for college should not come from retirement money.</p>
<p>i’d just go to UA personally. WashU would probably offer a great experience but seems far too expensive. She can always transfer out of UA if she hates it. (She might even be able to transfer into WashU after two years saving you half the cost.)</p>