I was recently accepted to WashU, but have been set on going to Butler University for a while now. Thanks to the generous scholarship money I received from Butler, I can attend for $20,000. That is over $40,000 less than WashU. I plan on majoring in secondary education with a concentration in mathematics and minoring in political science. After that, I plan on getting a masters in curriculum development and, eventually, a doctorate in education administration. I would love to be a high school administrator at either a college prep school or a smaller public school, but still live in a city. Would an undergraduate degree from WashU be worth spending $160,000 more? Thanks to my parents, I would be able to graduate from WashU with less than $80,000 in debt.
They didn’t give you any financial aid at all?
My son is a senior at Wash U and we believe it is a fabulous school. We were full pay but luckily neither my son or his parents incurred debt. The question of whether something is worth it is in the eye of the beholder. Is it ever worth it to buy a Lexus instead of a Ford? It depends on what you want to spend your money on. Frankly, considering your noble goal of working in schools I think $80,000 of loans and the extra expenditures of your parents may not be “worth it.” You seemed to have been happy to have being going to Butler. I hate to say it because I am such a fan of Wash U but I do think that is a lot of debt. Actually, I thought Wash only allowed $5,000 of debt a year (or gave enough aid based on that) (I don’t know that rule for sure), but perhaps you don’t qualify for the financial aid package but your parent’s contribution is still limited. I hope you make the decision that is right for you. Good luck!
It’s highly questionable financially for doing an undergrad major in education at Wash U. Even for their engineering/cs majors, there’re many state flagship colleges offering equivalent, if not better, programs.
How about Environmental Science/Biology as a Pathfinder? Will go on to PhD program…
Is it worth paying full tuition? No merit or financial aid…
My friend’s D, a senior and graduating this year, is an Env. Sci. major. She did a great internship last summer in the STL area. But she’s also an outstanding track athlete so didn’t pay the full ticket price. From talking to her well-to-do parents, I seriously doubt she would end up at Wash U without the scholarships.
Wash U is Division III so no athletic scholarships…did your friend’s daughter receive a merit scholarship?