<p>Hi guys, i was admitted to BU fall 2014 and will most likely be attending there…or at least i really want to… however, i am an international student and received zero aid, so my parents will have to pay full tuition every year… it’s $60,000+/year. my question is, is it worth paying this much for a college education?
Also, if anyone knows any international student loan or scholarships website please let me know.!</p>
<p>It all depends. It is like an investment. All good private universities are typically around $60,000 per year including dorming. If you choose the more expensive option, you’ll have a higher chance of finding a better job and being successful. If you decide to go to your nearby state college and pay $10,000 per year, you probably won’t make nearly as much as going to a good private university. I see many people opting for the cheaper choice though. I am a student who is going to be attending college this coming fall and I am also paying $60,000 per year because my family makes too much for financial aid. I support going with the better university while paying extra because you will be working for a while. You will definitely pay off the debt. The better job is the better choice in the long run. You also get the benefit of having more respect from friends and family by attending a big, known university :D.</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree with @TheWorriedOne - Boston University, while an excellent school, is not an ivy league or similar caliber school - I do not think there is tremendous difference between BU and higher ranked public universities - someone coming out of the UMAmherst CHC would have the same job prospects of someone coming out of BU - but with 1/4 the debt/money; BU isn’t respected as an academic powerhouse the same way Tufts or Harvard is - its prestige wanes the farther you move from Boston - so to be blunt; do I think BU is worth almost a quarter of a million dollars? No, not really. If you can afford it, by all means go for it - it’s in a beautiful part of Boston proper and you’ll find wonderful, intelligent people from all over the world - just be mindful that it’s a big chunk of change for a whole lot of romanticized experience and not a ton of return on the investment. </p>
<p>I am many years out from college so I would like to provide a perspective of someone who attended a less prestigious LAC and where it did/did not get me. Granted, when I graduated, the job scene was different. I am a firm believer that it is not just the reputation of the college that will get you a job but how well you did wherever you went, what contributions you have made and how you researched the company to which you are applying. In my positions over the years, I have interviewed and hired many, many recent college graduates and welcome the opportunity to provide advice to hundreds more. I am in my alumni network and have been a formal mentor for several people. </p>
<p>I work in the bio- pharmaceutical industry so securing a position is very competitive- in part, because the salaries can be very high. What I don’t need to see are the laundry list of courses and grades; internships and practical application of knowledge stand out much more than the courses. I also look for someone who actually writes a good cover letter and knows proper grammar. Something that seems to be lacking in many recent graduates. When I see a prestigious school, I assume the person is smart, but that tells me nothing of his work ethic, curiosity, ability to work in teams, analytical abilities, etc. That comes across initially in the resume, then in the cover letter, then in the interview. </p>
<p>While the college name MAY put you in a favorable position ( but really only for the top, top schools) for your first job out of college, after that, where you went matters less than what you did in your previous work position. There are also many lesser known schools that have good alumni networks. Find someone in the industry of your choice and ask them to help.</p>
<p>I opted to attend this less prestigious small college over an extremely competitive school (ranked in the top 20 currently and considered one of the best schools in the country for my intended major ) because of the financial aid difference. I ended up having under 10K in loans for my entire time in school and paying it off was relatively painless. Within 10 years of graduating (and while working on my MBA part time at a local university), I was in the top 2% of salaries. </p>
<p>If money is an issue, you don’t really know if this is an “investment” that will pay off. Meanwhile the loan payments keep coming. Saying you go to a highly rated school is nice only if you don’t need to spend most of your money paying off the loans. If money is not an issue, then yes, by all means go to BU (my daughter was also accepted at BU and my sister graduated from there) but if this will cause financial hardship, think of what you are willing to give up. Good luck!</p>
<p>I disagree with preamble1776 - BU’s reputation is better away from Boston than it is in Boston. The international rankings are very strong for BU. BU will have better name recognition internationally than Tufts also. Its hard to say if it is worth it though, it kinda depends on your other options…</p>
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<p>While I’m not acutely familiar with international recognition - I know that nationally, BU doesn’t hold a candle to Tufts academically and the two really cannot be compared. I know that BU attracts a lot of international applicants - but they aren’t really top performing international students - most of them are just very wealthy. </p>
<p>Thank you all for your detailed replies!!! I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>I will be majoring in International Relations and my ultimate dream is to work for NGOs/non-profit organizations. BU has a great International Relations program, and most of the other schools I got in only have International Studies major, not International Relations. Do you guys think I can find a better job if I graduate with International Relations major or an International Studies major? </p>
<p>Also, I’ve hearing a lot about grade deflation or something at BU… is it really that hard to get a decent grade there? </p>
<p>Grade Deflation is more of a STEM problem where lots of classes are graded on a curve. No idea on the difference between the two degrees.</p>
<p>I diagree with preamble1776’s assertion that BU “cannot hold a candle academically to Tufts.” BU is currently ranked #41 on the U.S. News and World Report list. Tufts is ranked #28. That’s close enough for comparison, certainly – considering the thousands of colleges and universities in the United States. On a side-by-side comparison, several of BU’s programs outrank Tufts, including engineering, communications and the medical school, to name a few. Making a blanket statement that BU and Tufts “really cannot be compared” is incorrect. </p>
<p>Although to answer the OP’s original question, I personally don’t think ANY college is worth paying $60,000 per year. </p>
<p>I agree that it definitely depends on what degree you’re going for. For example, this ranking: <a href=“Economics rankings: Economics Departments | IDEAS/RePEc”>http://ideas.repec.org/top/top.econdept.html</a> holds BU far above Tufts in economics.</p>
<p>But yes, nothing could be worth having to pay off $240,000 + interest right out of college. Unless you’re somehow not paying it yourself, that’s pretty crippling.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in IR, this list covers undergraduate programs along with PhD and grad programs.</p>
<p>Tufts is ranked #5. BU isn’t in this top 20 list.</p>
<p><a href=“http://internationalrelationsonline.com/education/international-relations-program-rankings/”>http://internationalrelationsonline.com/education/international-relations-program-rankings/</a></p>
<p>^ Oh thanks…but that’s for the master’s degree (graduate). I’ll be going there for undergrad so I don’t know if the list would remain the same…</p>
<p>While there are people who are successful coming from public colleges, the number is a lot lower than those that come from higher end private universities. Of course there will always be exceptions with very rich and successful people who attended public universities, but the numbers are low and the endowments show it. Again there are exceptions (University of Michigan Ann Arbor) but for the most part, there is a reason why people choose to go to private schools still. You cannot assume you’ll just make it big while giving little. Life is not a lottery. Sometimes giving up a little now for a lot later is valued. This is why people study and get good grades, it’s to be successful in the future. You give up the fun and games as a kid for a brighter future. I still stand by my opinion that paying extra for a good school is better than paying less for a not as good school with no intention of offending people. </p>
<p>@TheWorriedOne
You are in pre-medicine - whatever prestige you attach to attending a private undergraduate institution means virtually nothing in medical school admissions and your future career. There is actually a very significant benefit in attending a state school in your specific case because it would mean potentially saving tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars that could be put towards medical school. </p>
<p>Yes, I realize that. I was referring to other majors in general and the ability for them to find good jobs. It all depends on the different cases in my opinion. Generally people who work hard will be successful, different colleges just give you the resources.</p>
<p>@TheWorriedOne - There are very few jobs that are prestige driven enough to justify enormous costs of private undergrads like BU if being financed largely (or entirely) by loans - the primary one being Finance on Wall Street, in which case, employers are looking for UPenn, not BU. </p>
<p>Ultimately you have to decide what is worth what to you. I decided to go to BU over other schools because I am in the College of Communication and there are resources and opportunities there that were not available at schools like UMass. I believed (and still do) that I would get better skills, training, and experience from going to BU. BUT if I were an English major I don’t think BU would teach me that so much better than UMass that I would pay extra money for it. </p>
<p>OP - be careful with the advice you are getting from fellow 18-21 year-olds posting on here. While I don’t doubt they are very intelligent people, they lack the life experience and financial acumen that some of the older folks on here have. Young people tend to be overly optimistic (and optimism is one of the nice things about being young!) about the ability to pay for college,and tend to grossly underestimate the burden of paying for that education. Moreover, echoing other posters, many people overestimate the effect of a degree from a prestigious undergraduate degree, and especially younger people because they simply do not have the life experience to judge what effect that degree will really have. If $60,000 or MORE (tuition will go up every year) will put a strain on you or your parents, there are literally thousands of other U.S. colleges, public and private, that can give you a wonderful education. There are many horror stories in the news right now about students who have gotten way in over their heads funding their education. Don’t add yourself to the list.</p>
<p>@blprof - Very well said. Thank you for the insight. (Not OP but still found the advice helpful.) </p>
<p>@preamble1776 You seem to get a kick out of bashing Boston University for whatever reason. I look around random threads on this site and whenever I see your posts, they are looking down at BU. You also seem to believe that any students who attend top tier schools are “godly”. For your information, I do attend a fairly prestigious high school and do know many people who are going to Harvard, already go to Harvard and etc. They aren’t gods. They simply work harder, some have connections, and things along those lines. Look up average pay of colleges. They are almost all along the same annual income. There are billions of jobs around the world and only a couple thousand kids graduate a year from the top tier schools. So yes, I believe 100% that someone from BU can get a very high paying job. You’ve been nothing but offensive without real reason and you seem to be in love with the top tier colleges. Maybe you should’ve worked harder in high school.</p>