My son had an interview today with Rice University. Anyone else applying there RD? He loves it with reservations about the weather! He is not sure about the heat coming from the Northeast. We couldn’t visit but in paper it sounds like a wonderful fit for him.
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You described my CS twin feelings about Rice, loves the school not a big fan of the location and haven’t had a chance to visit. He is trying to schedule interview, just waited for confirmation. Also from the Northeast, not a huge fan of the heat or 14 lane highways, but would love to attend if admitted.
Over the summer he strongly considered EDing Rice, but we couldn’t fit in a visit. He also dug deeper into the school he REA and fell hard and was deferred.
Same here deferred from his REA. If accepted to Rice we definitely will schedule a visit. The Size and collaborative environment really sparked his interest. Houston definitely looks like a different world from our neck of the woods!
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My D really liked Rice, as did I when we visited. It is beautiful, with oaks draping all over the place. I loved the residential system. Rice Village is an easy walk, and filled with restaurants and shops, including multiple independent book stores. There is a gorgeous botanical garden right next door to campus, and of course all the hospitals and medical research centers are right there.
Reservations - the transit system (stops right outside campus) did not strike me as entirely safe, but I don’t know for sure. And there definitely are some not so nice areas fairly near. Most definitely there is weather there, of pretty much every kind.
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Yes my DD loved what she learned about Rice in her interview and interviewer told her she was a perfect fit for Rice. He prob shouldn’t have said that to her though.
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I typed about 3 version of a vent/rant about D23 dragging her feet on last apps due today…yet again right up to the deadline. But deleted them, will simply say: I’m still very proud of her, and thank god this part is over (in 8 more hours…)
ugh. We’re all ready to be done with this process, for different reasons. Unlike what seems like a lot of people, our schedule doesn’t have any decisions coming in until late next week for a couple, but have to wait till March for almost everything. So just now the season of waiting – but it’s gotta be better than the season of deadlines…
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Rice: We have family in Houston, and they all told us the worst weather is over the summer when you are not on campus. My D23 really really liked what she read about the school so I sent her there for a visit in early September. She came back totally in love with the school.
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So, We are in this predicament. DS’23 got into well known college EA ($321K for the BA or BS) vs State Flagship with a very generous merit scholarship (our out-of-pocket $48K for the BA or BS).
That is a $271K difference!
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I need to find the study, but basically the gist was, it’s less important to go to a “top school” than it is to be the kind of student who can go to a “top school”.
It is so hard to figure out what’s “worth it”. There are brilliant students at “average” state flagships, so they can network with brilliant students, get a great education and not spend as much. However, at the “top” schools, the likelihood is greater, and they tend to have amazing alumni networks, and so on.
That being said, outside of something like Standford or MIT, I’m not sure I’d spend $271K more for any school (and even Stanford/MIT might not be worth it to me over Virginia Tech).
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A lot depends on the major and industry. In Engg for instance, prestige may not be important. However, in Management Consulting and Investment Banking, prestige is very important. $271k difference is a lot of money.
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What major? Are we talking econ, with an interest in the Manhattan big banks, or something else? That’s a HUGE price difference.
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What’s the predicament ? Can u afford the more expensive or do you want to afford it ? Don’t forget annual tuition increases etc.
I’m sure the state flagship is well known and besides, students moreso than the school will ultimately determine their success. Many a student from a state flagship does very well.
If you can afford and want to afford the one school, then great.
But if that near $300k will ease your life financially, that should be a consideration too.
Should be a relatively easy call either way…
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@glido Congratulations to your son.
A very wise person once said… Aiming too High - #50 by glido
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As others have said, if budget is indeed an issue, there are very few degrees or universities where this price difference is worth it. If money is no object… that’s a different conversation.
And I totally agree with @DadBodThor and luckily my kid is the same way. The fact that you’re good enough to get admitted someplace is the victory 
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The first question is what would you do with the $271K? If you are able to offer him the money then he should decide whether he wants the more prestigious school or the money. If you can’t afford to do that then the answer should be obvious.
My D18 is able to spend the next 2-3 years as a ballet dancer because she took the full ride and now has all the money in her 529 to cover her living expenses.
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That is a VERY large difference.
Personally, I’m not sure any undergraduate degree is worth that, CS, engineering, business or whatever.
As DadBodThor said, "It’s less important to go to a “top school” than it is to be the kind of student who can go to a “top school”.
Lots to consider with that cost. Are they going to need to or want to pursue additional schooling beyond the undergraduate?
In some states, that is the price of a starter home (not mine but someplace. Even a great down payment!)
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This really depends on what your financial situation is, what the two schools are, etc… Will you not qualify for need based aide? Would this decision result in debt? We may be faced with a similar predicament. S23 is already admitted to a safety with a full ride, but what if he gets into the dream school that’s 80k a year? Will he have options in between? No idea yet. Can we afford the dream school? Technically, yes. But, money is not unlimited. We would have difficult decisions to make.
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Hopefully the “we” in the first sentence is not the same “we” in the last sentence.
I don’t understand why this is a decision for the parents unless the costs don’t match the EFC calculated beforehand: if the school wasn’t expected to be affordable, it would have been better not to apply.
Certainly the parents have a duty to explain what the difference in cost could provide, whether that’s “you will have money for grad school, a downpayment, etc” or (hopefully not) “if we spend this much we may be impoverished/financially dependent on you in retirement”. But if the kid isn’t incentivized financially to choose the cheaper school then why would they do so?
Wow! $48k all in for 4 years is phenomenal. Does your student want to go to graduate school? That could help swing things, perhaps?
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The “we” in both sentences is my husband and I. Our son will follow our lead. It may be an entirely moot point. He may not get into his last early action school. They may offer some merit if he does get in. He may end up with UCs he really likes. There are a lot of variables at play. When we sat down at the beginning of this process I asked my husband what private schools he’d be willing to pay full price for. Of that list my son applied to one because it met his criteria. My son will be coming into college with his associates degree. If he gets into this school, will they take his dual credit? We don’t know. We know from our friends’s kids, the UCs will. That alone may make the decision for him. We’ve put two kids through college debt free so far and we’ll do the same with the last two. We’d help with house down payments and grad school regardless. We live simply so we can invest in our kids. We’re fortunate to be in this position. If he gets into his one private school and falls in love on the tour would we pay for it? Yes. I should add, we qualify for no financial aide, so EFC is not an issue.
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