<p>Macaulay Honors College is part of New York City's CUNY (City University of New York) system. It offers full tuition, free dorms, a $7500 study abroad stipend, and a variety of other opportunities to admitted students. The College is at 7 campuses, and I was accepted to its Hunter campus. Due to financial considerations, it has shot to the top of my list. However, I've received admittance to my top school (University of Chicago) and to similarly competitive schools like Columbia (likely letter).</p>
<p>So the question is this: do I go the Macaulay route for free, or do I pressure my parents into further stretching their already thin financial resources? If I can graduate from Columbia/UChicago without debt but by busting my butt to get the money for 4 years or graduate from Macaulay while living quite comfortably for 4 years, which is the better option?</p>
<p>You can only have one undergraduate experience. You can get multiple graduate degrees, you can quit one job and get another, you can step off one career path and begin a different one. But you’ll go through the rite of passage that’s undergrad college life once.</p>
<p>That said, it would never be a good idea to saddle yourself with a financial millstone that would have around your or your parents’ shoulders for years. But if you can make it work by taking extra jobs or tolerating reasonable debt, Columbia or Chicago are well worth consideration.</p>
<p>If your parents really loved you, they would be more than willing to make the sacrifice so that you could have a superior college experience in every respect.</p>
<p>@kwu: The very fact that I was able to overcome the obstacles I have faced in life is a testament to my parents’ love, because without their support I would not have made it thus far. The fact that their income does not permit them to spend above a certain amount of money for my post-secondary education does not denigrate this fact.</p>
<p>@gadad: I know I have only one undergraduate experience, and that’s what’s making this so hard. However, as I plan to pursue professional school post-undergrad, I don’t want to take on debt now and then some more for the ridiculously expensive professional schools out there. I don’t want to be working so hard to pay for an undergrad experience that I can’t enjoy it.</p>
<p>You may only have ‘one undergraduate experience’ but you can have multiple graduate ones and careerwise those will be more important than how you spent your first four years. To make it an impossibility to attend graduate school may not be the best decision. But then again, that’s yours to make.</p>
<p>“The fact that their income does not permit them to spend above a certain amount of money for my post-secondary education does not denigrate this fact.”</p>
<p>Their income does permit them to do it. Which is why you’re contemplating this question in the first place.</p>
<p>You giving up the opportunity to attend Columbia or Chicago–that denigrates their love and support.</p>
<p>I’m confused by your statement that you would have to “bust your butt” to get the aid required to graduate debt-free from Columbia or Chicago. I’m not sure about Chicago, but Columbia structures its financial aid so loans are not required. Am I missing something? Why don’t you wait to see what your Columbia financial aid package looks like before deciding?</p>
<p>@kwu: If it were last year, their income would permit them to do it. However, with the earthquake that recently occurred in Haiti, we now have 12 relatives completely dependent on us for support. What might have worked last year won’t work anymore. I’m contemplating loans more than asking my parents to stop help supporting their now destitute brothers, nephews, nieces, and sisters. They do want me to go to a top institution, but that’s ultimately not what we came to the U.S. for–they’d rather see me succeed at life debt-free than have a certificate from an elite institution that came at an extreme cost. Attending a school that costs $50,000+ even WITH aid isn’t looking realistic right now.</p>
<p>@pbr: When I say “bust my butt,” I meant working part-time in addition to what will undoubtedly be a demanding schedule with requisite ECs & volunteering. I’m not sure how difficult that will be or how much it will detract from an undergrad experience, hence my apprehensiveness in going to a school where I will be obliged to work to help pay for tuition.</p>
<p>My son, a first-year at Columbia, works part-time, eight to ten hours per week. He makes more than $100 per week, which covers his (substantial) party and social expenses. He also gets to enjoy several hours per week that are not focused on being a Columbia student. I believe he would say that the work experience is positive.</p>
<p>I suppose that to some extent you are worrying about to prestige of the Macaulay Honors College as compared to that of say Columbia or the University of Chicago. And to that, I say stop worrying about the name of your undergraduate school. If you work to be a top student, you will get where you want to be. Now, this is not to discredit Macaulay’s name because it is well known. i.e. - applications have tripled from last year to this year. Furthermore, as a small anecdote, I chose to forgo NYU when I was accepted and happily took a seat at Macaulay. Why? Because I wanted my undergraduate four years to have been memorable, pleasant, and debt-free when I am ready to continue my education at the graduate level.
If you attended any of the Macaulay new students’ events you should have heard from Macaulay students who are now in prestigious graduate programs (NYU Medical Center for one), and these students are on par if not surpassing their Ivy league counterparts! Let’s just take a look at the jump from high school to college. Right now, my friends and I, or any other college student for that matter, care not where anyone went to high school, whether it was Stuyvesant, Jamaica High School, or High School of Minneola. The point is that we all made it to the same place, and the road behind us did not factor in as much as our record of hard work and tenacity did.
So, let me assure you that you can attend Macaulay and be confident that your graduate opportunities will be the same as anywhere else, if not better. And to make the experience even more worthwhile, the ride is free and the your time in school will be stress-free from a financial standpoint.
I wish the best to you with whatever decision you make.</p>
<p>“@kwu: If it were last year, their income would permit them to do it. However, with the earthquake that recently occurred in Haiti, we now have 12 relatives completely dependent on us for support. What might have worked last year won’t work anymore. I’m contemplating loans more than asking my parents to stop help supporting their now destitute brothers, nephews, nieces, and sisters. They do want me to go to a top institution, but that’s ultimately not what we came to the U.S. for–they’d rather see me succeed at life debt-free than have a certificate from an elite institution that came at an extreme cost. Attending a school that costs $50,000+ even WITH aid isn’t looking realistic right now.”</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear that your family has suffered from the tragedy in Haiti.</p>
<p>Okay, then CUNY Hunter is the sensible choice.</p>
<p>What are your reservations about choosing it over Columbia or Chicago?</p>
<p>Well, my concerns are the lack of a cohesive campus culture (something I really wanted as an undergraduate) and a developed core like the ones found at Columbia and Chicago. There are 4 honors seminars, but I feel that this won’t really satisfy the true core curriculum experience I desire. UChicago is actually my top school for many reasons: the lovely architecture (something that Macaulay, sadly :(, lacks), the core curriculum, and the depth and breadth of the courses offered (I pore over their course catalog in my free time :)). I’d be willing to forgo the architecture for a free ride, but it’s just the fact that the courses I’d love to take aren’t there. I’ve been looking up a good deal of the courses, and they seem a little less interdisciplinary than I’d like. However, there is an additional honors program option in the Macaulay Honors program itself, so I’ll be looking further into this to see if I can satisfy my desires in that regard.</p>
<p>@amoney3: Thank you for providing an encouraging, if not overly enthusiastic, post. I’ll weigh it very carefully in my final consideration.</p>
<p>@kwu: I know that CUNY Hunter is the sensible choice. It’s just that I don’t know if it’s the best one for me. After a demoralizing visit, I doubt that it is. :(</p>