<p>I got into MIT EA and Rice ID. MIT is definitely my top choice (I was up there for a month this summer at a program). But I just found out today that not only did I get into Rice, my 2nd choice, but I received 3 scholarships (distinguished trustee, century scholar, and walsh engineering) totalling $78,000. My parents make too much for me to get any substantial amount of financial aid...so, let's do some math (yay! math):</p>
<p>4 years at MIT at about $42 grand a year (ouch) : $168,000
4 years at Rice: $50,000
For a difference of $118,000!</p>
<p>I can't see myself every saying no to MIT. I love the Boston area (but hate the cold) and I guess in this post I'm trying to justify my decision to decline $78,000 in scholarships. I know that the money saved by going to Rice would help pay for grad school...but going to undergrad at MIT will probably get me into any grad school I want. What do you think?</p>
<p>"My parents make too much for me to get any substantial amount of financial aid...so, let's do some math"
this might sound crude and toooo direct...but are you rich enough that the costs aren't as major a factor for your family? because then MIT it its :)
p.s. my suggestion: sit down and have a talk with your parent and draw up a chart of what you would miss out on by going to rice and how major an impact will it have on your future life. then take a look at how significant the issue is and if it is worth it, keeping in mind your financial situation.
hope that helps, good luck and GOOD JOB!!!</p>
<p>MIT. I think you will find that that makes the most economic sense if you consider work opportunities after graduation. College cost differences last four years, but salary differences last four decades. That's math too.</p>
<p>This is absolutely crazy. I got into MIT EA and Rice ID, too. MIT is definitely MY top choice. But I got into Rice and got two scholarships totalling 40,000. But that is where it stops. I am dirt poor and would receive plenty of financial aid from both. But I will have probably a 20,000 dollar loan debt after mit, and nothing to 5000 after rice. I am going with MIT if that helps you any. Nothing replaces an MIT education.</p>
<p>I'd like to mention that you have to remember, it's not just the education you get out of mit, but what you do in college as well. You can't sit around thinking that an MIT education is your free ticket anywhere.</p>
<p>heck no! i'm planning on laying back in my dorm room and waiting for the faculty to realize i'm too smart to waste my time actually going to class and taking tests and stuff so then they'll just give me my degree after a while. </p>
<p>then i will take my degree to nasa so they can crown me king of astrophysics.</p>
<p>actually, I completely agree. Especially after IAP, I have no urge to do any work at all.
It's hard dragging yourself out of bed for that 10 am class.</p>
<p>
[quote]
College cost differences last four years, but salary differences last four decades.
[/quote]
Just a relevant aside: my husband has a BSEE and MSEE from Rice, where he attended with scholarships, and it has in no way hindered his career or his salary, ever. The quote above is conjecture in the context of MIT vs Rice, and may be true for some, but is not universal.</p>
<p>I agree with NSM: if you feel MIT is what you want, arrange the loans.</p>
<p>I agree. The name on your undergraduate degree has some impact in consideration for your first job or two, and maybe in admission to graduate school. After that job performance and work experience quickly overwhelm. Bear in mind that $118,000 may then be available for graduate school, house downpayment, etc. </p>
<p>Also consider the nature of the undergraduate experience you desire: MIT is clearly atypical. My colleagues who are MIT alums universally recommend against it for undergrad: better to "geek out" for 2 yrs of grad school than 4 yrs of undergrad.</p>
<p>Also consider the nature of the undergraduate experience you desire: MIT is clearly atypical. My colleagues who are MIT alums universally recommend against it for undergrad: better to "geek out" for 2 yrs of grad school than 4 yrs of undergrad.</p>
<br>
<p>I would say this in a slightly more neutral way ... I would definitely visit MIT because it has a VERY unique culture ... and most people LOVE it or HATE it ... not a lot of folks on the fence.</p>
<p>Congrats on the two great options ... and good luck on your decision!</p>
<p>visit, visit, visit. I know too many people who chose colleges because of some scholarship and then hated it there. Is 110k worth 4 years of pure pain? (not saying that rice is pure pain.) The point of the matter is, if you go to ____, will you regret not going to the other one. As much as we can sit here and argue about the quality of each school, if you're unhappy there, then who cares?</p>
<p>I don't like the idea that some proposed that if your parents make enough money so that a school considers that they dont need help, that means they can magically arrange it all. In fact, I guarantee this will fail for me.</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations! You cannot go wrong either way! </p>
<p>If you want to do engineering ( which i assume you do b/c of walsh scholarship) then MIT definitely holds a significant edge over Rice. Rice is an awesome school; however, its engineering is no match for MITs. </p>
<p>Still, the financial difference in your case is huge. Keep in mind that a Rice degree won't in any way hold you back from future success, and that there is no garauntee your salary later will make up the difference if you go to MIT.</p>
<p>My last advice: Vist the schools. MIT is very unique, and you might not like it. Rice, on the other hand, is more normal.</p>
<p>personally, I think rice is probably worth it for an extra $118,000! I go to MIT so my opinion, if anything, would be slanted towards MIT. However, I think it comes down to your personal financial situation. As someone else suggested, have a talk with your parents and discuss how important money really is.</p>
<p>In the end though, it's not WHERE you go to college, it's WHAT you do in that college!</p>
<p>good luck.</p>
<p>"for pete's sake, i already filled out the app and got accepted - they actually expect me to do MORE work when I get there?!"</p>
<p>lol hikki, trust me I'm sure ur a smart person but when you come to MIT, you'll get your ego obliterated every day by the thousands of people smarter than you.</p>
<p>Go where you want! I know it sounds obvious but go where you really want to go. Go somewhere that suits you, somewhere you could see yourself having a great time learning and living for four years. Weigh the Pros and Cons of Going to Rice vs MIT including all the factors that are important to you. If you should decide that MIT is the place for you, go for it! And if Rice seems like a better FIT then there ya go. But don't let the cost of tuition prevent you from going to MIT if that's where you really want to go. I come from a truly middle class household: we don't make enough to be able to afford MIT and we might make too much to get a lot of financial aid. But MIT was where I wanted to go for years. I would take out a $160,000 student loan over the next four years if I had to, to go to MIT. To me it's worth that much and more, but that may or may not be the case for you. No one in this forum can decide if Rice is a better fit for you than MIT, so although this may be an extremely difficult decision for you to make (lucky for me it wasn't difficult at all!), you're going to have to do it on your own.</p>