Hello all and thanks for taking the time to read this,
I know that there are many questions like this, but I have yet to read one similar to my situation. Like with all OOS students, the price to attend UCLA is quite high upwards of 62k~ a year. In contrast, our instate public schools have a much cheaper rate at about 25-30k~ a year. I have read many thread advising that the appeal of a UC school is not worth the debt that many OOS students graduate with. However, I am incredibly fortunate enough to have parents who can easily afford the tuition and are willing to let me go and pay for all of it. Additionally, the in-state programs for my prospective major are great, but not quite the tier that UCLA is. Another thing is my ego, I feel like I worked so hard so that I wouldn’t have to attend an in-state school and be able to go to this school. I guess during all that my idiot self never bothered to look at the cost.
I guess what I’m trying to ask is that should I allow my parents to pay for this simply because they can, this is my dream, and I know I’ll be happier (or at least very strongly believe so). Or should I attend in-state because it is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper and still a great program.
Again, I’m sorry if this is a common question. And if I come off as arrogant or spoiled during any of this, I don’t mean to and I’m fully cognizant of how fortunate I am.
Thanks!
It would be your parent’s decision. It’s wonderful that you are considering the costs but from my perspective, I don’t want my child to miss a potentially better opportunity if the cost is not an issue for me. If my child chose an inferior college due to the cost I would have to pay, I would feel guilty. I’m sure other parents might have a different opinion. None of that matters, only your parent’s opinion does.
How about letting them lend you the difference amount? It costs them about 30k more a year than if you go for in state. So just think that you are borrowing your parents 30k a year with no interest, tell them you will pay them back when you get a job. Hows that? Its actually nothing different, but it makes you responsible for the “debt” so you have to work hard in UCLA and find a good job after that, by that I think it will make you feel less “guilty”. Go for UCLA, my friend.
@Syellow My kid was in a similar situation (sort of) as you in that he got into Stanford REA and two other OOS Honors Colleges at top 150 ranked schools which offered near full-pay merit scholarship due to the fact that our kid is a NMF. [Somehow our kid got rejected by UCLA but that’s another story.] I sort of wanted our kid to attend way cheaper Honors College, but since my kid really wanted to attend Stanford and more importantly we could afford to pay, we are giving him our full financial and emotion support after hearing why he wanted to attend Stanford, for which our kid is very grateful. The difference in the money for us is $60K per year. In your case, it seems to be $30K per year. I think that’s substantially less burden for your parents for you to attend UCLA which is a higher ranked school. Now, if your state school is Univ of Michigan, Univ of Wisconsin or Univ of Virginia, I would say stay at your state school because to me, they are just as good as UCLA, so without knowing your state school and major, it’s hard to say. But I do understand your desire to experience another state, especially CA.
As CA residents who talked to many students and families whose kids are attending UCLA and UC Berkeley, we heard they are over-crowded and very, very competitive. So there are some bad things about them you should be aware of.
Anyway, you are a good, responsible kid. Our kid is also super grateful that we are fully behind him, financially and emotionally. We figure he’s got one life to live, and he should experience his high school dream/goal for which he worked very hard for IF we can afford it. I realize we can do something practical with the Stanford tuition money but then I also realize we can waste the money, but we don’t feel that paying his Stanford tuition money will be a waste even if he ends up not getting a good job. After all, life is more than getting a good job; it should be an experience you enjoy hopefully.
What instate schools have been admitted to? I agree that if it’s UMichigan, UNC, W&M, UVA, it’s not worth going to UCLA.
Also, did you get into the honors college at your instate school?
second consideration, what major did you get into ?
I guess my answer is: Ask and explain to your parents honestly why you want to attend UCLA and express your gratefulness if they do support you financially.