I have less than a week to decide and I’m very conflicted financially. Where should I go?
Please don’t just say “these are are all great schools” because I really need to know if the financial burden is worth the educational experiences and outcomes I can expect to receive from each school.
I’m planning on majoring in economics. If I go to Notre Dame, I’ll probably also major in “science-business.” Politics/sustainability issues sound interesting to me, and being a member of Congress is a high goal. I want to get a high GPA/take advantage of opportunities as I am gunning for the Rhodes scholarship and/or other comparable fellowships (here ND and Vandy have the advantage bc of their “region”). Ease of access to funding for traveling to conferences, internships, summer experiences, and research is extremely important.
Here are my concerns for each:
Hopkins: Grade deflation is a huge concern. Was told by current students that this is a an urban legend floating around from the 70’s, but also seemed like there were deep issues with the administration caring about students, race relations within the school and to Baltimore, and student group involvement (seems like to stay afloat academically, you have to be in the library 24/7). Though the campus was beautiful, it felt wrong. A bit intimidated by the academic atmosphere. Tempted bc of prestige but a few current students and researcher have told me it’s not worth it for what the university invests in you (especially with ~$50,000 in debt).
Notre Dame: Expected ~80k in debt. I absolutely loved everything about ND except its location, and would go if they had matched Hopkins. I’m not sure that the debt is worth it. My gut feeling says Notre Dame, and I might commit if I got into their honors program.
Vanderbilt: Best financial aid package of the better schools that I got into and would have ~40k in loans. Never been on campus, but have been in Centennial Park/Nashville. I don’t feel particularly drawn to it, but the campus is beautiful and it has a strong Catholic student group. Also a bit intimidated by the academic atmosphere. I almost feel that I should go here just because of the price point.
UMD College Park: Got a full ride (Banneker/Key) in the honors college. Can go for only 2 years if I wish because I will have a CC degree in the spring (contains tons of gen-ed and pre-med reqs). Seemed really big/impersonable and felt wrong. I don’t want to go here and regret my decision within the first week for not going to a more prestigious school. Highly preferred by parents for obvious reasons.
@711openallday To be cheesy, my head says UMD but my heart says Notre Dame. I also think I got into their honors program (top 100 out of every class) bc of a promising email I got today. ND and Vandy have the regional advantage for the Rhodes as well. Also, getting a close to perfect GPA in UMD honors, Vandy, or Hopkins means a 24/7 library residence. I perceived the workload at Notre Dame to be pretty excellent and balanced. If I got my unsubsidized loan debt at Notre Dame down to $10,000 (4 yrs), would it be worth it based on fit and the toll it would take on my political prospects?
@XCjunior2016 I can get a lot of these schools down to little or no debt after 4 years (Notre Dame being the highest at $10,000 in debt), if I convince my parents to give a larger portion of our yearly charitable donations to my college fund. The only university they are probably willing to do this for, however, is Notre Dame.
40k is too much debt, 50k is way too much debt, and 80k is waaaaaaaaaaayyy too much debt. Also, if you are interested in law (I don’t think you mentioned it in the OP, but since lots of politicians start out in law I’ll mention it), minimizing debt is even more important.
@usualhopeful See my latest comment. What do you think about $10,000 in debt for Notre Dame? One of my economics teachers thought that getting even below $100,000 in debt for ND was a great deal bc of their “international/national footprint.” Unsure if this was good advice.
My daughter is a freshman at ND and no way would I recommend anything near $80K debt to go there. Banneker Key at Maryland is a fantastic honor, and should open many doors for you. If you were my kid, I’d recommend that for sure.
@usualhopeful Yes, JHU 50k (actually closer to 55 now that I look at it again), ND 80k, and Vandy 40k based on my parents giving a certain amount. The confusion is that my parents give a portion of their income away to charity, and they are more willing to give this money for my college tuition to ND than any other school (bc ND is Catholic). Therefore, for ND, it could go as low as $10k but my parents would not be happy. They prefer UMD. Sorry for confusing you.
@suzy100 To me, it seemed like opportunities were relatively less plentiful at UMD than ND. Many are telling me that I shouldn’t even be considering UMD bc I got into Hopkins, Vandy, and ND. Like I said, I don’t want to go there and regret my decision within the first week for not going to a more prestigious school.
None of them leave you with an affordable level of debt, except for UMD. As suzy100 pointed out, Banneker Key will have its own benefits, besides the excellent financial deal.
@usualhopeful Thanks for your input, I appreciate it. A lot of my insecurity with Banneker/Key stemmed from financial aid officers scoffing at a full ride from a state school.
I think Vandy would be an ok deal if you were drawn to it, but since you are not you may as well save the $$ and go to UMD and plan to go to grad school/law school at Notre Dame.
If your parents are willing to redirect their charitable donations to Notre Dame then go there. I’m guessing its money they would have given to some other religious organization anyway. So, their money still goes to a religious organization and you get to go to a prestigious school that you love for a debt amount that is on the high side but within reason. They will miss out on their tax deduction, but this might be made up somewhat by the tuition tax credit.
UMD is an excellent school, a top state school, and the competition for a full ride at UMD is certainly nothing to scoff at.
70% of UMD students were in the top 10% of their HS class. I compared that to some schools I applied to - it’s a higher percentage than Colby, URochester, Oberlin, and Tulane.
@nw2this I think I need to research Vandy more than I already have…I’ve been busy falling in love with ND on forums and blogs. I like ND, but not to the point that I would go to grad school/law school there in favor of better programs. Can anyone give some Vandy plugs? Only con to Vandy right now is intense academic difficulty and atmosphere thus far.
Don’t look for reasons to take out more debt. If you are planning grad/law school it will just accrue interest while you are there. At least at ND you have a clear reason.