<p>Basically I've been accepted to Illinois State, Marquette, and Indiana University in Bloomington. Obviously, out of the 3, Indiana has a better reputation followed by Marquette and Illinois State.</p>
<p>I'm torn on whether to take on an extra $40,000 in debt to go to Indiana or Marquette vs. Illinois State</p>
<p>All 3 schools have my program, again over 4 years, Indiana and Marquette would cost an extra $40,000</p>
<p>If I played with my numbers right, student loans after going to Indiana or Marquette would be ~$1,000/month for 10 years, Illinois State would be ~$500-600/month for 10 years</p>
<p>This is for my undergraduate in Information Technology, which is a growing industry. I just can't decide whether putting down a Big 10 school or good private school on my resume for undergrad (im intending to get a masters at a more prestigious later) is worth $40,000.</p>
<p>if you’re planning on attending grad school, then don’t go into debt just to go to a more prestigious undergrad school. i’m a student so i can’t say for sure, but from what i’ve heard the prestige of your grad school matters a LOT more than undergrad, so it makes the most sense to go to a cheaper undergrad school as long as you think you’d be happy there. good luck with your choice! :)</p>
<p>No. It is not worth the difference. 40k is too much debt to take on for an undergraduate degree. $500/month of loan payments for 10 years is bad enough. $1000/month would absolutely strangle you. That is the equivalent of three car payments.</p>
<p>Ask your parents to help you draw up an estimated post-college budget. It should include figures for rent, utilities, phone/cable, car payment, car maintenance, gas, groceries, entertainment, wardrobe, personal care, etc. Then add on another third of that number as an estimate in what you would have to pay in taxes. Will you be able to make that much starting out? If you have evidence that you will make more than that, use the budget estimate to see how much could be left over to pay off your college debts.</p>
<p>As an individual from California, these universities all look the same to me. This may be useful for keeping in mind when selecting your college based on “prestige”. -.-</p>
<p>^Same here. Unless you plan to stay in that area, any perceived difference in prestige is most likely negligible. Especially if you plan on grad school, where you get your undergrad doesn’t really matter. When you throw in the $40,000, I’d say go with Illinois State, assuming you like it decently well.</p>
<p>Yes, just like all the UC’s beyond Berkeley and UCLA look the same to me. In the midwest, there definitely are “prestige” differences between the 3. Frankly, Illinois State isn’t in the same ballpark as either Marquette or Indiana.</p>