<p>Since you know you are headed for a not particularly high paying career and one in which undergrad institution won't much matter, limiting debt would be smart.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance, sdskyle! Nobody can tell you what's right for you, but I think it's very practical to think about repaying large loans until you are in your 30's. Is the $85K debt just for undergrad?!? I guess the other question is whether Oberlin would get you into a selective college like Stanford much more easily that Texas Tech. Good luck with your decision! (It's nice that TT was so fast in processing your application!)</p>
<p>Going to CC to talk about this is like going to a Mercedes/BMW showroom to discuss whether paying the extra money is worth it for the smoother ride. Everyone at CC is pretty deep into the prestige equals success equation. For a PhD, only the Stanford part would matter. Nobody will ever care where you got your undergraduate.</p>
<p>Being pratical aside, you also don't always have to make a decision based on saving money. I understand it is important, but everyone on these boards are so worried about going into debt....you need to find out where you will be the happiest and figure out if you will regret not attending Oberlin later on down the road. Look, you can't aviod debt, no matter how old you get. Sometimes in life, you need to make decisons based on what will make you happy, NOT trying to save a buck.</p>
<p>Where you go to college doesn't have that much effect on your life. I understand how people in high school become focused on where they are going to college, but you don't pass the goal line at 18 years old and are set for life. Believe it or not, when you are 30 years old, you are measured on what you have done recently and not where you went to college. The old boy network and all the connections that will make you a "made man" for the rest of your life provided you got into the door at 18 are a myth. People do get a bump for their first job since the top companies recruit at the top colleges. However, grad schools would look favorably on TT. It does bother me when someone says "Since you know you are headed for a not particularly high paying career and one in which undergrad institution won't much matter, limiting debt would be smart.". First, you plan on getting a doctorate. Second, the statement is elitist and has an incorrect premise. You dont have to have a most prestigious degree to be in the club of people running the world. The whole idea sounds like a conspiracy theory. The adcoms are selecting the future leaders of the world and if you arent selected you are doomed to a low paying job with no authority. You should look at the first chapter of Harvard Schmarvard by Jay Mathews where he presents statistical evidence on lifetime income and anecdotal evidence concerning what people are running the companies and newspapers.</p>
<p>From what you have said, you would prefer to go to Oberlin. Oberlin and Texas Tech are pretty much totally different environments, and so I suspect you would be happier at Oberlin except for the debt hanging over you. Spending money on college is the same as spending money on anything. You cant buy anything without giving up something else. The question is just whether Oberlin is worth the extra money to you in terms of greater enjoyment for the next four years.</p>
<p>Any slight bump you would get applying to Stanford from Oberlin instead of TT is offset by the greater debt you would have when it was time to go to grad school.</p>
<p>sdskyle - Since at this point you have strong intentions of pursuing a Phd., I recommend that you contact the Texas Tech departments (political science or others) that you are interested in and talk to faculty or administrators who may have recent information about graduating Tech seniors who have been accepted at graduate schools such as Stanford (see specific contact ideas at Tech below). You may also get similar information from Tech's Honors College. I would start with e-mails or phone calls to the particular departments asking who (specific names of persons) at Tech who might have this information and then go from there. Since it's summer, it may be hit or miss about who may be around, but I bet you will get solid information. A person who was very responsive to my son's questions about the Honors College (and may be a starting point with your Graduate School questions) was Associate Dean Kambra Bolch. She may not be able to answer your questions specifically, but may point you in the right direction. Her e-mail address is <a href="mailto:Kambra.Bolch@ttu.edu">Kambra.Bolch@ttu.edu</a><a href="Ms.%20Bolch%20quickly%20answered%20an%20e-mail%20I%20since%20last%20week%20so%20that%20is%20one%20individual%20who%20may%20be%20of%20some%20assistance">/email</a>. Don't just take mine or anyone else's word for it, do some digging via Tech sources and then see what comes up.</p>
<p>One more thought as to Tech sources, go to the Tech website at TTU.edu and at the bottom of the first page is a "Search Tech" via google. Put in "graduate school advisor" and up will pop the Arts & Sciences Graduate School advisors. I know you are going to ask about Graduate School other than Tech, but perhaps these folks (the Graduate Advisors) can provide a name or two for you to call. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. </p>
<p>Lonestardad, I just sent a few emails out today. Hopefully I'll hear back soon.</p>
<p>I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but you could also save money by going to Texas Tech for your first two years, and then transferring to a more expensive school for your last two years if you felt it was necessary for whatever reason. I actually think that is not all that bad an idea because interests and major plans often change. </p>
<p>I do not think there is anything wrong with a last minute change of plans if your doubts are sincere. Colleges know this happens, in fact, they plan for it. Follow what feels best for you, and go for it. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Carolyn - These threads get so long that bits and pieces of advice do get lost in the sea. I echoed your advice about considering transferring earlier in the thread with these remarks:</p>
<p>"One other possibility is to go to Tech and then transfer in a year or two to Oberlin having saved some big bucks. Last year I recall reading on CC where a student transferred from Tech's Honors College to Penn. </p>
<p>On the other hand, as with lots of students who go to a college/university that initially was not their first choice, you may enjoy your experience so much at Tech that you wouldn't think of transferring."</p>
<p>Certainly, debt vs. Oberlin is a really personal choice and no one (let alone me) looking in from the outside can tell you what you should do. Debt is frightening, and if you'd spend time at Oberlin worried about your future finances or the strain on your family or whatever--well, no school is worth that added stress when there's a viable alternative. And you have one, in TT. That said, though, it sounds like you'd really like Oberlin, and there is <em>so much more</em> to the undergrad experience than grad school acceptance. Sure, where you go to undergrad may not "matter" in the cosmic scheme of things, but it does matter in terms of your happiness. I'm not saying you'll LOVE Oberlin (who knows?), and it could be that TT turns out to be great--certainly, you can do a lot to make that the case--but being at a college where you feel like you "fit", where it's easy to meet people you click with, is so important. My vote, then, is for Oberlin. </p>
<p>That said, it seems <em>extrodinarily</em> unlikely that TT would ever hold you back in the long run in terms of grad school admissions, job opportunities, or alumni connections. I'm sure you'll flourish at whichever school you choose.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>