<p>So my parents have told me that they're willing to pay a maximum of 40K/year for my college education. Frankly, that's a huge amount of money and I don't hold it against them at all that they can't fully pay for my education at Michigan (I'm from California). The University of Washington only costs about 38K/year total COA for OOS. I truly think that Michigan is the best place for me, but the reality is that I'd be about 45-55K in debt upon graduating from Michigan. I didn't get in at Berkeley and UCLA, so I don't have the option of a truly prestigious public education in California; my next best option is the University of Washington, in Seattle. I'm interested in studying business or Informatics, the latter of which is such a new major that there aren't rankings of undergrad informatics programs, but both schools have the major; Michigan's seems to have a little more flexibility in terms of what your emphasis in. Michigan is obviously vastly better for undergrad business, (Ross is ranked 7th, Foster 40th), but it's not a sure thing that I'd get into Ross, even though I think if I put my mind to it and got A's first semester I could make it happen. Do you guys think that the debt is worth it for my dream school, or do you think it's foolish to go into debt and work both summers and during the school year when I can get a quality education fully funded by my family? I'd love to hear people's thoughts.</p>
<p>Honestly I think the best thing for you to do is suck up your pride and go to a community college or lower UC for a year or two and then try to transfer into UCLA or Berkeley. Since you got into umich you must have pretty good high school stats, so you should be able to get into at least UCLA as a transfer if you keep your grades up (I’m surprised you didn’t get into UCLA as a freshman actually). The amount of money you would save by doing this is ridiculous. </p>
<p>Alternatively, why not just go to another UC and stick with it? I don’t think say UCSD is less prestigious than the University of Washington.</p>
<p>UCSD, UCD, and UCSB should be about the same as UW. I agree that you are better off going instate UC than UW. However, U Mich is different. I would not mind some debt for a UM degree.</p>
<p>^yeah, however 45-55k seems to be above the limit of debt that’s usually recommended.</p>
<p>I think it would be a little absurd to go to a city college with a 3.8 GPA and a 2190, though I understand your point. The reason I’m choosing Washington over places like Davis, UCSB, and Santa Cruz is really the vibe of the school, location (and it’s not like a UCSB degree is worth MORE than one from Michigan). How much debt do you guys think is acceptable for someone who (not to be conceited) is planning on entering a high-income profession? Especially coming out of Ross, that seems very doable.</p>
<p>If your goal is Ross, than debt above mentioned is not a problem. I am a parent of UM student who is from California. I am willing to pay for OOS tuition in exchange for a UM degree for my child. I would think your parent will too.</p>
<p>SHS, that’s pretty rude IMO. $160k from the OP’s parents is extremely generous. Just because you’re willing and able to shell out $200k for a degree doesn’t mean everyone can.</p>
<p>OP, have you considered deferring admission for a year, working full time and reducing some of those loans or are you committed to going next year?</p>
<p>$45-$55 in debt seems like a lot but not out of the ordinary and it is something you should be able to absorb over a career especially if you go the Ross route or a high income profession. It is probably worth it if it is a choice between a “dream” school and one that you are more ambivalent towards. 20 years from now the debt will not seem as large as it seems today. I agree with Romani that your parents contribution is generous.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Washington, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara or Davis to help yo there.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, the difference between UM and UW would be 45-55K but neither would be a good choice here compared to UCSD, which is an excellent research university, like hotdogseller said. The disparity between UCSD and UMich will easily be 150K+ which is enormous and should not warrant picking one large state school over another.</p>
<p>“The disparity between UCSD and UMich will easily be 150K+ which is enormous and should not warrant picking one large state school over another.”</p>
<p>It also is an enormous amount to spend extra for a private school. For example, I certainly wouldn’t chose Duke over Washington for 150K more as well.</p>
<p>Actually, the difference in the cost of attendance between UCSD and Michigan is less than $100k over 4 years. According to the UCSD website, the estimated CoA for students attending UCSD is $30k/year, while Michigan is $50k/year.</p>
<p>Ordinarily, I would agree that Michigan is not $80-$100k better than UCSD. If the OP wished to study Engineering or were pre-med, I would have certainly recommended UCSD, unless one comes from a wealthy family, in which case, the difference is status may be worth the money. However, if one is interested in a high-paying career, I think the Ross career office is worth paying the extra $80-$100k, should the OP be driven and make the most of the opportunity.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t the OP have to be admitted first to attend UCSD? Even then, he would have to pick a different major, wouldn’t he?</p>
<p>
Mid-sized private institutions like Duke offer a different college experience than large state schools like UDub, UCSD, and UMich rjk and this may appeal to different kinds of people. For instance, if my daughter wanted to go to Wellesley for a 200K premium over UCLA, then I would gladly pay for it if I could afford it since the former offers a very unique experience that UCLA can’t replicate.</p>
<p>The OP would be rolling the dice to spend $100K more for Michigan over UCSD given he/she hasn’t been preadmitted to Ross. It may or may not be worth it given the drive of the OP and the parent’s financial situation.</p>
<p>Wellesley is a LAC. Duke is a research university. Duke has much more in common with UCLA than it does with Wellesley. Duke is not worth 100K over Michigan either. That was my point. If one can afford it, then that is another matter altogether.</p>
<p>Goldenboy, comparing UCSD to Michigan is ridiculous, even for an obvious Michigan hater such as yourself. If one has the means to attend both, Michigan is far and away the better choice, far more so if one wishes to major in Business, in which Michigan is significantly superior to UCSD. </p>
<p>Undergraduate experience is not dictated by the size of the university but by the size of its endowment and other sources of income. UCSD, with an endowment of $600 million is cash-strapped and cannot come close to providing the same experience Michigan, with its $8 billion endowment, can. UDub, with an endowment of $3 billion comes a lot closer, but it still falls short. Michigan has the recources of schools such as Cornell and Penn and therefore offers similar individualized attention, facult interaction, advising etc… as those schools.</p>
<p>LACs offer very different experiences, but research universities, private or public, small or larger, operate according to their endowment and other sources of income. Michigan’s endowment and $300 million of state funding, makes it one of the 10 or 15 wealthiest research universities on a per capita basis. It is not surprising that Michigan provides one of the most personalized experiences offered anywhere. Only schools with endowments per capita in the $1 million range can truly do a better job than Michigan, and among research universities, only 6 or 7 institutions (Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT and perhaps Caltech) can manage that.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback, everybody. As much as I hate to kill a spirited debate, I didn’t even apply to UC San Diego! I applied to five UC campuses and was admitted to Davis, Santa Cruz, and Santa Barbara. I think, however, that my question isn’t whether Michigan is worth 80K more than a UC over four years, but whether it is worth 50K in debt over a school like UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, or Washington (which from my perspective I would attend for free). To me, any cost of attendance up to 40K a year makes no difference, so it’s a question of debt for Michigan or no debt for another school. I’ve been told that if you can pull something like a 3.8 freshman year and write a good essay, you have very good chances when it comes to Ross admission. Would you guys choose Washington with zero debt and a less valuable degree, or Michigan with debt? Bear in mind that Michigan is my dream school and I think the experience there is truly special. I think it’s worth it.</p>
<p>I think the debt is worth it for Michigan if you really want to attend Ross. You can always transfer out after freshman year if things don’t work out and you feel it’s too big of a financial burden.</p>
<p>I would agree, since Michigan is your dream school and is far stronger for business, the debt is worth it in this case.</p>
<p>
I agree, I retract my earlier statement unless the OP is aiming to acquire an Accounting job in Southern California in which case UCSD will suffice.</p>
<p>
I was referring more to the environment of a college rather than financial strength but even if we were to move in that direction, Michigan doesn’t have the financial resources that Cornell or Penn have. A simple litmus test of this is Financial aid where Michigan doesn’t even meet OOS need while Cornell and Penn have among the most generous financial aid policies in the nation. Research opportunities will be easier acquired at Cornell and Penn in addition to advising being stronger.</p>
<p>
This is absolutely false; I can only compare it with Duke since its the only school I truly know inside out. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Duke offers 4 years guaranteed housing in the dorms as well as a 3 year mandatory on-campus living policy while Michigan only provides housing guaranteed to freshman and doesn’t make an on-campus residential experience mandatory.</p></li>
<li><p>Michigan shamelessly charges students to pay for football, basketball, and hockey tickets while football, basketball, and lacrosse games can be attended for free by Duke students.</p></li>
<li><p>Duke requires that all freshman take a Writing 20 class as well as a seminar which are both capped at 15 students that allow students to adjust to college and have their first taste of a small-group learning experience while adjusting to the rigors of college. Also, freshmen can take part in a unique learning program called FOCUS, which are interdisciplinary clusters that allow Duke students to nurture their intellectual interests across the social sciences and humanities with some of the leading researchers in their field. All students who are part of a given FOCUS cluster can live together to have a shared residential experience and they dine with their faculty once a week.
[Duke</a> University | Trinity College of Arts & Sciences : About Focus](<a href=“http://trinity.duke.edu/focus-program/about-focus]Duke”>http://trinity.duke.edu/focus-program/about-focus)
[Duke</a> University | Trinity College of Arts & Sciences : First-Year Seminars Program](<a href=“http://trinity.duke.edu/first-year-seminars-program]Duke”>http://trinity.duke.edu/first-year-seminars-program)
[Duke</a> University | Trinity College of Arts & Sciences : Thompson Writing Program](<a href=“http://trinity.duke.edu/thompson-writing-program]Duke”>http://trinity.duke.edu/thompson-writing-program)</p></li>
<li><p>All Duke freshmen live together in one campus which begins the process of class bonding; they all eat in one dining hall and they have their own gym and library as well. Michigan freshmen are spread across Mary Markley, Bursley, South Quad, etc. etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Duke offers a paid civic engagement program over the summer called DukeEngage that was intitially funded by the endowment and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Over 1,400 Duke students have volunteered and have done field projects in over 50 nations worldwide.
[Duke</a> Engage : Home](<a href=“http://dukeengage.duke.edu/]Duke”>http://dukeengage.duke.edu/)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The list can go on and on and on but I will cut it short to exercise some brevity. I imagine Penn and Cornell have some similar initiatives for undergraduates. To say that Michigan offers a “personalized academic experience” is a gross misrepresentation of what the school is Alexandre and you know it.</p>
<p>"A simple litmus test of this is Financial aid where Michigan doesn’t even meet OOS need while Cornell and Penn have among the most generous financial aid policies in the nation. </p>
<p>Really? Could that have something to do with the fact that 60% of Michigan undergrads pay $10k in tuition, as opposed to 50% of Cornell and Penn undergrads who pay $40k in tuition? Heck, even many of the 40% who are OOS pay far less than the $37k tuition. Overall, the average Michigan student pays no more, if not less, than the average Cornell or Penn student. I see no reason why Michigan needs to provide additional FA. Why should Cornell and Penn force 50% of their students to pay $40k in tution and not Michigan? </p>
<p>“Research opportunities will be easier acquired at Cornell and Penn in addition to advising being stronger.”</p>
<p>Not so whatsoever. In fact, Michigan undergrads have greater research opportunities than Cornell undergrads. I should know, I attended both universities.</p>
<p>“To say that Michigan offers a “personalized academic experience” is a gross misrepresentation of what the school is Alexandre and you know it.”</p>
<p>Arrogant presumption. I know no such thing. Are you accusing me of lying? I stand by my initial statement. Michigan offers a highly personalized undergraduate experience. Only 6 or 7 universities in the nation can best Michigan on that front, while another dozen or so can match it. </p>
<p>As for your Duke vs Michigan comparison, I shall not drag your good school’s name through the mud just because one lying scumbucket such as yourself chooses to do so.</p>
<p>To the OP, ignore Goldenboy, he is jealous of Michigan because it is arguably the most well rounded university on the planner. Not many universities can make such a claim without stretching the realms of reality.</p>