OP is full pay at Yale for undergrad, so he’ll probably be full pay for law school as well. He needs to talk it over carefully with his parents. The figures in #18 should be helpful.
An undergraduate degree in social sciences or fine arts and this board is even having a discussion if Yale is worth attending for 130K more over four years? Unless your parents are very rich, go to Michigan.
boolaHI, Yale does not present the student with a brighter future. There isn’t a door that Yale can open that Michigan does not open as easily. A student capable of getting into Yale should be able to maintain the highest GPA at Michigan, and that will pretty much get the OP into any graduate school he desires. Yale provides a slightly better undergraduate academic experience and a stronger brand name, nothing more.
This needs to be a family decision driven primarily by financial consideration. If the parents are well off and can easily afford to difference, Yale is the way to go. Otherwise, Michigan will do very nicely as well.
“as easily”, if you are using that as the standard, I beg to differ–but as always, to each his own.
This is such a hard decision. On the one hand, in addition to a phenomenal education, Yale will also give you automatic respect and esteem for the rest of your life. Meaning for job interviews and among many social circles, you will ALWAYS be given the benefit of the doubt. I know this too because my own alma mater shares quite the same level of eliteness as Yale. On the other hand, A Michigan education is also fantastic and it’s hard to beat being able to free up money for graduate school.
My choice would be Yale since your career interest may change but by then you would have given up the rare opportunity for a Yale degree if you went to Michigan.
Jwest, one’s college degree isn’t going to open doors that require proven professional track records or that require graduate degrees.
For example, if the OP enters the corporate word right after college and never goes to graduate school, 2-3 years down the line, when a promotion opens up at work, it is his performance appraisals at work, not where he went to college, that will get him the job. There is no “benefit of the doubt”, there is only proven track record on the job.
Similarly, if the OP wishes to become a lawyer, whether he goes to Yale or Michigan for college will not matter. What will matter is where he went to law school.
Where we agree is that Yale offers a phenomenal education. There isn’t a better university anywhere. Harvard, MIT, Princeton and Stanford are Yale’s peers. Not other university can compare. But there are dozen or so others that are almost as good, and Michigan is one of them. If it makes much better financial sense to attend Michigan, going there will not be detrimental to his future.
Well, not every university opens the same doors. They may be more or less equivalent, and a lot depends on the student. There are some areas in which I would strongly advise a student to go to Yale over Michigan if he could afford to do so–but preparation for law school is probably not one of these.
Spending $130K more for Yale makes sense if (1) you have the money and (2) you like Yale a lot better. Note that many full pays at Yale and similar schools would have opportunities to go to very good state universities for much less money, and they still decide to go to Yale. So plenty of people see the value–if they have plenty of money.
OP’s situation seems to be at that difficult border where his family can afford Yale, but there would be some undesirable financial consequences. That’s why discussing it with the parents is key.
I would say money makes the decision here. Michigan.
@boolaHI, Yale may offer more/better options (maybe, and maybe slightly), but at a significantly increased cost as well (and I don’t see you offering to pay the difference).
To the OP: Put it this way: If I had the choice between Yale or UMich +140K (especially when I am considering a low income career), I know which I would take. I can do a lot with $140K.
" Note that many full pays at Yale and similar schools would have opportunities to go to very good state universities for much less money, and they still decide to go to Yale."
Michigan is simply not a very good state university, it is elite. Only Berkeley and perhaps UCLA offer the depth and breadth of quality provided by the U-M.
It’s always easy to tell other people how to spend–or save–their money. Some people wouldn’t pay one thin dime more to attend Yale over Michigan; others would (and do) spend large amounts more. It depends on your family’s financial position, and what they value.
rjkofnovi, I don’t disagree with your last point, except I’d add U.Va., Wisconsin, and maybe U.N.C. to that list.
“rjkofnovi, I don’t disagree with your last point, except I’d add U.Va., Wisconsin, and maybe U.N.C. to that list.”
UVA and UNC are not strong across all disciplines offered. Wisconsin would be the closest to the other three that I mentioned.
Like I said, I am not being pejorative, just different strokes…
I think the general trade-off here has been amply discussed, and I know which case I advocate for. FWIW, I made a somewhat similar decision back in my day, but I don’t necessarily support Michigan in this case based on my personal experience; I just think it affords the OP more leverage in his life. And Yale does offer the finest education, at a premium.
What I am waiting for is to hear back from the OP. And I am curious to know if his parents would be willing to contribute to other options or disciplines. I personally support both the fine arts and the social sciences. If he ends up wishing to pursue either, his demonstrated abilities and family background should prove sufficient to launch a successful career in those directions too.