It is true that some people say it doesn't matter where you go to college, but it matters what you s

It is true that some people say it doesn’t matter where you go to college, but it matters what you study in college? They think job employers won’t care where you finished your degree. Now, I have two choices, go to a cheap college that financial covers everything, go there without paying for anything, and graduate debt-free. Or, take a loan to go to a better college, graduate with the debt. Which one do you think more worthy?

You definitely want to pick a major that you will be happy in, but also something that will help you secure income. No one wants to be miserable, but getting a degree that will enable you to get a job is important. As for the college, it really doesn’t matter. Wherever you are going to be happy at is what matters. I would choose the college that is more affordable.

How much debt? That makes a big difference. Generally speaking, I’m a big fan of graduating with no debt. My son just did it and it’s a great feeling.

I agree with @pugmadkate‌, I am also a big fan of graduating with no debt. Yes, a lot of people say it doesn’t matter where you go to school. I agree with that as well. I think the smarter or worthy move will be to attend the school that covers everything. Good luck in your decision!

There are lots of “it depends” to consider, such as your academic and professional interests and how much the cost and debt difference is. It is also possible that, for some academic and professional interests, the usually assumed to be “better” school may not be.

Some professional interests are much more school-prestige-conscious than others.

I signed up for this site because my son is reaching that age. I also happen to be an engineering executive in San Francisco. I see resumes all day long. I look first at resumes from people I trust. I then look at work experience. If I am hiring for a junior engineering position, I may consider people who are fresh out of school. In this case, I look at where the applicant comes from. I am much more likely to look closely at a resume from Stanford CS or Berkeley EECS. Yes school matters, but it only matters when I don’t have other information. I interviewed a person for a senior engineering position who had no college and was home schooled because of a little intriguing work experience. When he came into the interview, he revealed an astounding depth of knowledge and a phenomenally fast mind. It turns out he was home schooled because no school would go fast enough, and our silly school system is reluctant to allow aggressive grade skipping. To this date, he has been one of my best hires. If you cannot get into a top tier school then I suggest working hard to get good internships, because that is where you will meet people who can recommend you. If you are in CS then work on open source projects. Some of the best people work on open source projects and nothing will open doors like a recommendation from the head of a notable open source project.

If you want to hold open the door to doing research or becoming a professor then I would suggest going to the best school you can. The best researchers gravitate to the best institutions. Most professors publish meaningless research, but look at the CS and EECS professors at Stanford and Berkeley. Many of them are members of the National Academies of Engineering or Science. Some hold Turing Awards, Fields Medals, or the Steele Prize. Many of those professors also happen to be millionaires and at least in the case of David Cheriton, a billionaire. I think that reveals that some of their ideas or their students’ ideas translate to real value.

How much debt? Is there something you like about the more expensive college over the other school? A study has shown that students who were accepted to Ivies but attended other schools instead had as good careers as those who attended the Ivies, implying it’s mainly the student who determines the outcome.

If you are a top student, then if you went to the lower cost school you would have a chance to be a superstar and doo research and get recommendations to internships, etc.

But it also depends on the schools and how much each costs.

I agree with the others…it depends on how much debt and how likely you are to pay off that debt when you graduate. For example, taking on some debt for a top engineering school is probably a safer bet than taking on huge debt for acting school.

And what makes the other school “better?”. Did you really explore or are you just basing this on rep or some ranking report?

Yeah, more information is needed. There’s a difference between choosing between Harvard and Podunk State and choosing between Grinnell and Kenyon. There’s also a difference between going into $30,000 of debt and going into $75,000 in debt. Generally, I would say that undergrads should go no more than about $30-40K in debt for undergrad (no matter how good the college is). So if you have some aid at the better college and would only have to borrow like $10K a year, then I would say - go ahead and go (only, of course, if your parents are willing to cosign loans - because YOU can only borrow $5500 in your first year).

But if the better college is going to put you more than $40K in debt, then I’d say go to the cheaper college. There’s of course some flex (like an engineering major who is choosing between, let’s say, $0 at his regional public and $50K at MIT).

Also, the adage is generally “It doesn’t matter where you go; what matters is what you do there.” It’s less about the major you choose and more about the things that you do in college. A political science major with 2 summer internships on Wall Street may have a better shot at employment than a CS major who does nothing.