Merit Scholar Dilemma.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I've recently discovered that I am eligible for national merit scholarships based on my PSAT scores. It's really exciting, but it seems like this recognition has actually made my college decisions much tougher. </p>

<p>I'm basically faced with the choice of prestige vs practicality. </p>

<p>If I were to cave to certain "prestigious" colleges, I would basically be going on loans and facing tons and tons of debt in my future. However, I do plan on going into engineering, which is a pretty remunerative field. I also feel like it's expected of me, because I have a reputation at my school as being an overachiever, and my friend group consists largely of kids that plan on going to places like Duke, Rice, Northwestern, etc. At the same time, I just feel selfish for just wanting to go for prestige to seem impressive to employers and to feel good about myself and feel comfortable with my choice around my peers. I'm also kind of concerned about fitting in at some top schools, as they sometimes come off as pretentious and don't display the same kind of fun-loving, level headed modesty I see at my other option. </p>

<p>If I choose a practical option, this one being Texas A&M, I would still be getting a GREAT education (Top 20 publics, Top 20 in almost every engineering program both public and private) and only have to pay for room and board. I know that I would be happy there. I've toured engineering facilities and talked to faculty. I also did an overnight visit, and I was really impressed with the caliber of the students in the Honors housing, and they were also really cool in a quirky kind of way. I felt like I could embrace my inner nerd there, so I truly felt like I would fit in. But i feel like later on in the future, I might regret my choice to go there, even without any debt. </p>

<p>Basically what I am trying to get across to any readers is this: How should I weigh my decision here? I feel like both scenarios are impeccably matched with eachother, but as a first generation college student I have no reliable/experienced opinions from anyone. </p>

<p>I would really appreciate any input here, because one option is certainly starting to seem more attractive than the other, but I'd really like an experienced opinion.</p>

<p>Thanks again guys!</p>

2

<p>Can you talk to some alumni from Texas? Might help you with the later regrets concern. I would go with what you think now… not worrying about regret in the future… and I think you might regret tons of loans. I think you should limit yourself to no more than 30K or so total UG loans… More than that and no matter what career you want it may not feel worth it. Good luck.</p>

3

<p>You should for sure pick a school where you can embrace your inner nerd, if that’s the part of you that you want to nurture! And it’s great that you already know you could be happy at A&M. It appears that they offer significant incentives for National Merit Finalists, which is terrific. So put that in the category of “safety I would be thrilled to attend.” </p>

<p>To create the rest of your list, I encourage you to explore other fine schools that offer incentives for National Merit Finalists. Do you for sure want to go somewhere with a large student body? Well, before you decide, take a look at some smaller schools and some medium-sized schools. I believe that USC, with just over 17K undergrads, is one top school that has significant scholarships available for students with NMF status; there are undoubtedly others. In other words, you may or may not have to take on large amounts of debt to finance your education at many top schools if you advance to National Merit Finalist status. I would poke around on CC to find threads that discuss NMF opportunities overall as well as threads discussing top schools that offer good scholarships for aspiring engineering students. </p>

<p>You may find, in the end, that A&M is where you belong!</p>

4

<p>Remember that the “best” schools for engineering are not necessarily the same as the “best” schools in “general” prestige.</p>

<p>In general, engineering is much less school-prestige-conscious than investment banking or consulting, although the prestige of your school in engineering will make a difference in which non-local companies will come visit your school’s career center when you are looking for internships or your first job at graduation (large size also helps in this respect; local companies will visit anyway because it is convenient). Note that Texas A&M actually is a very well regarded school in engineering, so it will likely attract a lot of employers to its career center.</p>

<p>You may want to see if the career centers at each school can tell you which companies come visiting to recruit engineering students.</p>

<p>If there is a large amount of debt involved in some of your choices but not others, that is a huge factor against the schools which will require large amounts of debt.</p>

<p>Try the “net price calculator” on each school’s web site.</p>

5

<p>There is NO need to choose a more “prestigious” college that will cost you thousands of dollars in future earnings, which are NOT guaranteed by the way. Almost any top Engineering school is going to have plenty of really smart students and if you have the opportunity to go to one and be in the Honors program without paying any TUITION, you should grab it and never look back. </p>

<p>That said, you may also want to look at USC,[ Southern Calif] which offers NMF’s automatic 1/2 Tuition scholarship, and has the most generous FA program of any private college in the US, and also awards 150 full tuition scholarships each year to tip top Ivy caliber students who apply before the Dec 1 deadline. USC has more NMFs than any other college in the US, except U of Chicago. </p>

<p>My DS applied to and was accepted at many tip top colleges, including 2 Ivys, Chicago, Wash U, Pomona and USC , where he decided to go, and was awarded a Trustee full tuition scholarship. He is now at CalTech starting his PHD. His former roommates and best friends at USC are at MIT and at Oxford.
You will have lots of great options that need not cost you a fortune. Take one and dont look back.</p>

6

<p>@ Kathieh1: I have talked to alums and profs, and all only have good things to say about the school. I also learned that some departments have phenominal acceptance to med school (for Chem. Engineering its in the 90%'s. Though it is one of the smallest engineering departments, thus less applicants.). It seems like I would be crazy to want to go anywhere else. Luckily I have time on my side. Plus I would also likely take on much more than 30k loans. I’m unfortunately in that awkward income bracket that is certainly not wealthy, but doesn’t qualify for much need-based aid. Case in point: my brother is a sophomore and has already taken out roughly 40k in loans at his private university. It’s ridiculous, but it comes with our lack of experience in college planning. Thank you so much for your response though! </p>

<p>@absweetmarie: Thanks for the reponse! A&M is, in every sense of the phrase, the “safety I would be thrilled to attend.” especially considering its only like 3 hours from home. I’ve looked at the composite list of all the schools offering major aid to Merit Scholars, and you’re certainly right about USC being the top school to offer aid. It’s definitely on my shortlist as well, as I’m originally from California and we have tons of family there for support. Other than these 2 schools I’m not particularly interested in any of the other offers, as these both trump almost any of the other schools in engineering and/or hard sciences. It’s really an exciting time, and as I said earlier, I’m blessed to have time to make my decision and way my options. I haven’t yet been to the USC campus and I can see myself doing an overnight visit there in the near future to find out whether or not it’s worth the price increase! Thanks again for your response and encouragement!</p>

7

<p>@UCBalumnus: Thanks for the input! Asking about actual companies sounds like it would be a really useful thing to look in to. I haven’t really thought of that! That’s certainly something I’ll look into very soon!</p>

<p>@MenloParkMom: Thank you for the response! USC is also an incredible program. Viterbi is really well regarded even here in Texas. The only concern I have about USC lies in whether or not half-tuition is enough (I’d still be paying $21,000), and whether or not I would even qualify for a full tuition scholarship. That is really awesome to hear about your son though! It also sounds like top grad-schools really like the USC program!</p>

8

<p>OP -Just be SURE you COMPLETE your application to USC no later than Dec 1! that way you could be eligible for the Full tuition scholarship. mark your calender!</p>

9

<p>Other than wanting to go into engineering, my daughter was in a nearly identical situation to yours three years ago. She is a NMS and was a top high school student who was admitted to both Chicago and Georgetown, where we would have been a full- pay family. We told her that we would pay year one, but then we would want her to apply for a couple of gov’t sponsored scholarships once she deicided her major or take out some loans. She decided to take a full tuition scholarship at Pitt (not NM related). She has been sufficiently challenged and enjoys nearly everything about what turned in to her first choice school.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision. You will find many fine, like-minded students at A&M.</p>

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<p>@MenloParkMom: Thank you, I will make sure to keep the deadline in mind! I should be visiting sometime soon, as we have family out there and then I will truly know if it’s for me or not. </p>

<p>@MD Mom: It’s great to hear that your daughter loves her choice! Pitt is a great school, and from the pictures of their campus I have seen, It’s beatiful. I’ve found that nearly everyone who has opted for a full-ride and honors experience has loved it! Everyone at A&M was raving about their experience while I was visiting the Honors dorms. It really seems like a great choice to have! It’s honestly sounding better and better by the day. </p>

<p>Thanks so much everyone.</p>

11

<p>If you brother is a sophomore with $40,000 in debt already, he may end up with $80,000 in debt at graduation – not good. You would be well advised to avoid that level of debt.</p>

<p>Given Texas A&M’s good reputation in engineering, it does not seem like a good decision to choose a school requiring $80,000 in debt over Texas A&M with no debt. It does not really seem like a dilemma or hard decision to me, although applying to other schools with good engineering which may also offer similar levels of aid and/or scholarships is certainly worth doing if you like them.</p>

12

<p>atxnickg, have you talked to your parents about what your family is able and willing to pay for college? Have you used an online calculator to determine your “Expected Family Contribution”?</p>

<p>The most selective colleges often are the most generous with need-based aid. They also tend to have relatively low average debt at graduation. At Texas A&M, the average debt at graduation is about $22K. That’s not too bad, but the average for most of the Ivy League colleges is about the same or lower . At Princeton, it’s about $5,000. At Rice, it’s about $14,000. </p>

<p>So, depending on your family’s financial situation, choosing a more selective school would not necessarily mean tons of debt. Even if you don’t qualify for need-based aid, there are many more merit scholarships available than just National Merit. The very most selective schools (like the Ivies) usually don’t offer much merit aid, but schools a little less selective (like USC or Rice) usually do.</p>

<p>In other words, while Texas A&M may be a fine choice, you may have more alternatives than you think you do.</p>

13

<p>I’ll agree with checking with companies you might like to work for. Engineering firms around here that I’m familiar with (southern PA) get the vast majority of their new hires from Virginia Tech and Penn State, not any of the “fancy” schools that cost more. The reason? Both schools produce great engineers.</p>

<p>I suspect it could be very similar in your area with TX A&M. See which schools the companies hire from - esp in this economy for engineers. They’re likely to have favorite schools.</p>

<p>There’s no way I’d ever encourage more than 20 - 30K in total debt for undergrad. Less is even better.</p>

14

<p>If you want prestige, wait for your Masters. Get your engineering degree at a reputable (like Texas A&M) school for very low cost, and take advantage of everything that it has to offer. Apply for grad schools, hopefully get help paying for it because you did well and can teach entry level engineering classes or labs, and pick a prestigious Masters or PhD school. Engineers can be practical AND frugal, which is a highly respected trait, so having a fancy degree doesn’t mean as much as how well you learned the material and how you did relative to your same-school peers in undergrad. Engineering is hard no matter where you go, and employers know that. Good luck!</p>

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<h2>However, I do plan on going into engineering, which is a pretty remunerative field. I also feel like it’s expected of me, because I have a reputation at my school as being an overachiever, and my friend group consists largely of kids that plan on going to places like Duke, Rice, Northwestern, etc</h2>

<p>Ok…I get it. My son felt the same way…Val of his class, high achiever, everyone expected him to do the MIT or whatever route. And, yes, many “talked” about themselves going to tippy top schools as well.</p>

<p>In the end, you’ll find that many of that talk is just “talk”…either these kids don’t get accepted or they’re families won’t pay for those schools when there are more acceptable and affordable options (like UT and TAMU in your state).</p>

<p>My son chose the big NMF scholarship at a flagship and now is in a PhD program at an elite school. In the end, that’s what will really matter. The school of your terminal degree is what counts. BTW…one of his PhD classmates went to really no-name unheard of school…and one went to a really low ranked regional public…the rest went to a variety of privates and flagships.</p>

16

<p>Two of my cousin’s kids have studied engineering at A&M. Cousin’s son graduated two years ago and walked straight into a well-paying job in his field. Cousin’s daughter graduates this year and will be doing the same thing.</p>

<p>To be perfectly honest, if you are an engineering major, and you are a Texan, studying at A&M is a no-brainer. It is cheap for you, and it is very, very, very good. </p>

<p>Now as to your brother and his loan situation: He has been borrowing more than the Stafford Loan limits so either your parents are taking on Parent Loans to help him out or they are co-signing his loans. If they are co-signing for him they may well learn the next time that they apply for that type of loan that they have reached the limit of what the banks will let them borrow. This would mean that a) they can’t help him borrow any more money and/or b) they can’t help you borrow any money. Before you head down the college-loan route yourself, find out more about that whole situation.</p>

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<p>@ Everyone!: So many replies! haha. But really thanks guys. It’s nice to have some support here, I really will consider the merit scholarship much more when weighing my options. I feel like this has tied up a lot of loose ends in my college search, and I’m feeling a lot more confident in my ability to choose among all of my possible choices. It’s really inspiring and reassuring that so many of your children have gone through such great successes in their PhD programs and jobs. That’s really pretty cool. </p>

<p>I also read today that A&M was ranked by the Wall Street Journal as the second most sought-after recruiting station for companies. </p>

<p>Any other input/stories are totally welcome. It’s really great to hear from you all.</p>

<p>Thanks again guys.</p>

18

<p>I’m actually a junior chemical engineering major at A&M and have been really impressed these past two and a half years. A&M was my safety school, but the course work has definitely been rigorous so far. It’s not cutthroat like some other top engineering schools; people in the same major tend to cooperate and help each other out. I’ve made several really good friends through my all-night study sessions on campus last year. The career center is EXTREMELY helpful (resume critiques etc.) and we had over 200 companies at our career fair, including big oil companies i.e: shell, exxon, valero, BP, Citgo etc.
Also plenty of research going on if that’s your thing:
[Research</a> Finds HIV-killing Compound | News | 2011 | 11 | 21 | Chemical Engineering | College of Engineering |](<a href=“Chemical Engineering | Texas A&M University Engineering”>Chemical Engineering | Texas A&M University Engineering)
-MY thermo professor (who’s heading this research) actually allowed some of us to help her out with this!
Get to know your profs by going to office hours/ supplemental instruction sessions, and SO many doors will open up for you.</p>

<p>PM me if you have any engineering specific questions!</p>

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<p>I agree with those that encourage you to look at A&M. It’s a fine engineering school. I do seem to recall reading on these boards that they may even go above and beyond what their website says they will give to NMFs (maybe something about matching other schools offers). Might be worth you while to do some searches under the NMFS section of the boards</p>

20

<p>At this point, I should probably change the name of the thread from “merit scholar dilemma” to “merit scholar blessing”. Thanks for all of the awesome support guys. I really appreciate any past/future input.</p>