Unless the price is $160,000 more than you have.
We went through the same thing with our son. Although we could afford to pay for his $75k per year school, we felt it was important for him to be willing to pay for a significant portion of the tuition. So we sat him down and told him we would front the entire cost, but he would have to pay us back half the amount. It was a stressful time for everyone, but he eventually decided that it was worth it to him to shoulder some of the cost of his top ten school.
My husband and I both know that we will not be collecting anywhere near the amount he agreed to pay back. We just needed to see the willingness on his part.
LOL middle class parents aren’t buying their kids a condo!
I would agree that for pure CS/engineering jobs the school name doesn’t matter much. The only scenario that I see the Brown option would make sense is that OP wants to get recruited for Wall Street jobs out of college, make a killing and then go to business school.
The top ten elite MBA programs all cost at least $200,000. Stanford COA for a full time 2 year MBA is about $230,000.
OP: For CS, consider UMass-Amherst. There are some safe blue chip stocks which pay about a 4% dividend. Wisely invested, you could afford any full time MBA program or put a significant down payment on a home.
Its not like you show Stanford GSB $230K they are going to take you. Stanford MBA is far more difficult to get into than Brown or UMass.
OP mentioned MBA school. I realize that Stanford has the lowest acceptance rate among the M-7 & among the top 10 or 12 MBA programs with a 6% admit rate. Many top 10 MBA programs admit 20 % to 22%.
Stanford was mentioned because it is the most expensive full time MBA program for total COA. And about 9 or 10 others exceed $200,000. Used to show how important that lump sum is according to OP"s plans.
If OP’s career plan involves an MBA then job opportunities in finance and consulting cannot be ruled out. Its a typical career path for an Ivy STEM major to be recruited for such jobs which pay over $200k/yr for a few years or even for a top MBA. Such path would be easier with Brown than with UMass.
Undergraduate in Umass, MBA in Brown or any Ivy University.No debt.
@Publisher, IMO, an M7 MBA is worth the investment. More so than an Ivy/equivalent undergrad at full-pay (which costs more).
In any case, both Brown and UCSD are top tier schools in CS. UMass a little behind, but IMO, not worth a $200K difference.
BTW, Brown doesn’t offer a “real” MBA.
UCSD should only be considered for CS by students with direct admission to CS. Entering undeclared means that it will be difficult to get into the CS major.
Of course, whether it makes sense depends on the OP’s parents’ offer of funding for UCSD. We know that the OP’s parents are being manipulative and playing favorites with college selection by offering different amounts of money ($100k to pay for UMass + $200k extra = $300k, versus $160k to pay for Brown, effectively vetoing Brown due to the shortfall), and the OP has not mentioned what his/her parents financial offer for UCSD is.
Yes, this looks like a case of the parents forcing the student to choose the parents’ preferred college, but at least the parent-forced choice is a good one for the student, unlike some other threads where the parent-forced choice is a poor one (or, even worse, burdens the student with heavy debt as well).
Hi everyone. Thanks for all of the input thus far, as this decision has been excruciatingly difficult for me. I need to commit by May first, so all additional input would be greatly appreciated.
I really am stuck. For almost all of my life, I’ve been told to go to a good school, but now it seems that the school I want to go to is out of my reach financially, leaving me with UMass Amherst or Northeastern (Why can’t I have my cake and eat it too?). This situation especially hurts because my parents do have the financial capability to pay, but for whatever reason it just isn’t in their interest to do so (I have two younger sisters, so it is understandable). Their financial capability prohibits me from receiving any sort of financial aid, and Brown obviously doesn’t award merit aid.
Please help.
I again really don’t see the downside of UMass here. It’s a great CS program with AI strength and will give you plenty of money for your MBA (and maybe more). It sounds like the state school label is getting in the way here.
I go to Northeastern for CS. I love it and have had amazing experiences and opportunities here. There are truly few schools of any rank I would pick over it. I love Boston and cities generally. If you offered me 200K to go to UMass instead, I would be all over it after maybe 5 minutes of grieving.
I think you’re highly undervaluing that lump sum of money at this point in your life. Invested with a 5% return for 5 years already grows that amount by 50K. With MBA cost being staggered, even after paying for an expensive MBA you can have 50-100K to start off your life, plus any money you can make on internships in undergrad in CS, which isn’t insignificant.
I’m 23. This isn’t coming from some overbearing parent.
OP wrote : “For almost all of my life, I’ve been told to go to a good school…”. And that is still accurate as UMass-Amherst and UC-SD are good schools for your major.
@OP - you’d still be going to a good school! Look, the college admissions landscape had changed drastically since your parents went to college. The cost of undergrad is really out of control. Don’t fault your parents for that. It’s been disappointing for a lot of us to be smacked with the reality that the cost of a 4 year degree at a lot of “good” schools has exceeded $1/4 million. That’s a heck of a lot of money and a huge sacrifice. I don’t blame your parents for having a lot of reservations and preferring to see that money go towards giving you a start in business or providing you a cushion. I’m having the same exact thoughts about my own kid.
What are your parents’ financial offers for UCSD and Northeastern?
Nevertheless, UMass is still a good school for CS, and $200k extra beyond the cost of college is far more than what most college students will end up with.
However, the parents should have had this conversation with the OP before the OP made the application list, so that the OP could avoid wasting time applying to schools that the parents would not allow him/her to attend.
It’s very difficult to see this as a problem. Your folks seem pretty clear. Is it really so horrible that you can go to a fantastic school, graduate without debt and 200k in the bank?
Your parents probably see that it isn’t necessary to spend all that extra money on an “elite” school for you to thrive and succeed. I’d say you are in a very enviable position.
@PengsPhils great post, spot on.
@iamnotaaron As someone with an undergraduate Ivy degree and an MBA from a top 5 Business school, here is what I would do:
- Take the $200k and go to Umass.
- Congratulate myself for making $200k just for writing an application to Brown:)
- Kick myself for not applying to another Ivy also, so I could have $400k :-)
- In a few years, if you decide to apply for an MBA, write your essay about the fantastic business decision you made when you chose a college at age 18.
Good luck!
I would go with UMass-underrated school and should be higher ranked relative to its current position.
If Northeastern is relatively affordable that’s another good choice with the co-op opportunities.