<p>How do you make the final decision when you are comparing S/D's #1 ultimate Dream school (think: HYP/MIT/etc)--that has no merit money, and EFC is ridiculously high..... with Good school w/ instate tuition, and merit scholarships that make the cost even lower? (think: UNC-Chapel Hill)?</p>
<p>In the long run, with a chunk taken out of money we'd planned to use for retirement and/or using student loans, technically we could probably swing the #1 choice. It sure is hard to figure out a cost-justification that makes sense, though. </p>
<p>Mom, If you've gotten this far without a frank conversation with your child about family finances then you need more help than a bunch of anonymous posters on a bulletin board. </p>
<p>Hopefully you have said something like, "You can apply anywhere you like but this is how much we can afford." With us, that amount did not mean dipping into our retirement fund or taking out a second mortgage. And if you didn't have that conversation, I would do so before the acceptances come in.</p>
<p>This depends on a lot of variables: other children in the family, elderly parents, parental health. It also depends on the kid and the college in question. </p>
<p>I don't think the prestige is the best barometer, as it doesn't translate into either fit for the child or the excellence of a particular department or college as a whole.</p>
<p>For us the decision to go the prestige/expensive route was based on S's intended post-college plans. He intends to go to law school and my husband and I, both being attorneys, know that the one field where prestige of schooling counts more than just about anything is the law. If he were going into, say, engineering, I would have strongly urged the UC route or another school with merit money.</p>
<p>As a California who had a variety of top-rate state schools as options, I find it hard not to look at the option of UNC and think it would be crazy to pass up that opportunity. I've never been to CH, but UNC's one of those genuinely superlative state schools. I would go there and not look back.</p>
<p>We can "afford" MIT, but would certainly rather spend that extra $140K+ elsewhere (or let it stay unspent for the next 20 years or so). It's hard to put a value on the prestige and quality of education.</p>
A very wise person once told me, in response to a question about the worth of something I had bought, said, "Its worth is what people are willing to pay for it. Beyond that the question cannot be answered."</p>
<p>BUT, people are willing to pay the MSRP of $65,455 for a base Lexus SC430, so it is definitely worth that much. Unfortunately, while I could go into enormous debt (or use retirement money to pay for it), I really cannot afford it. So it's not even a decision for me.</p>
<p>My family decided that MIT was worth it for us, even given that we had to pay a good chunk of change for me to attend. And it was absolutely, positively worth every dollar -- I was happy and fulfilled and surrounded by other awesome kids in a way that I don't think I would have been at my state school.</p>
<p>It was worth it for me. I understand that it's not worth it for every family.</p>
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And if you didn't have that conversation, I would do so before the acceptances come in.
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<p>This sticks out a lot. As a student, I've made it clear with my parents (and they with I) that I am not applying to the best schools, spending hours on essays and worrying, unless I will also be able to attend these places. You should let your son/daughter know if finances are going to keep them out because if they are accepted and you burst their huge bubble, it will really hurt them and could hurt your relationship with them.</p>
<p>I was thinking of starting a new thread for this, but I might as well drop it here. I don't think it's been discussed on CC before.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, a bunch of big-name economists from Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and Chicago presented a statistical analysis they had done of [most of] the economics grad students at their schools during the 1990s. One of their strongest conclusions was that undergraduate education at a "top 15" university or a "top 5" liberal arts college had no predictive value for first-year grades, but had quite a significant effect on the quality of post-graduate job placement. People who had both high-prestige PhDs (everyone in the study who completed the degree, obviously) and high-prestige BAs/BSs did 15%+ better than average in obtaining tenure track positions at "top 20" universities.</p>
<p>Here is a link to Steven Levitt's blog about it (he was one of the co-authors), which in turn links to the paper itself and stories about it:</p>
<p>This isn't exactly earth-shattering, but it is interesting evidence of the ongoing value of a prestige undergraduate degree, even after getting a top graduate degree. Not night and day, but definite positive value.</p>
<p>A business colleague of my husband's has a son on the Morehead at UNC. I bring this up because this colleague was very much a prestige oriented person, who went to an ivy league school himself, and the boy had a number of highly selective private options and chose this route. I have seen this a number of times in the last 10 years where families have weighed a full ride or generous merit award at a slightly less well known but still very good school against a top namebrand, and decided that the financial differential was not worth the designer label. Just two years ago, friends we know chose Penn State Honors over CMU, surprising since CMU was a goal for many years for one student. The cost was a major issue, and I know that Pitt's scholarships have won over a number of CMU wannabees.<br>
If the cost differntial had been half of what it was, or if the quality/name recognition factor differential was stronger, I think there may have been a different conclusion on many of these cases. I know here that families eschew the SUNYs regularly for a BU or GW which is a huge cost differential, and frankly, I am not sure if the education is that much better, but SUNY is pure NY just about, and not in cities that are "hot" and certainly they do not have the name recognition. But Virginia, Michigan and California residents have such outstanding flagship U's that many of their most talented kids are choosing to stay instate for the lower cost. And so it should be with the state schools. I would love to see the day, when each state's flagship were up to par with the 3 I named, and would give the Ivies and other expensive selective private schools trouble in the admissions game.</p>
<p>I agree that in law there is a definite value to prestige education, and a pretty clear hierarchy. But I think that applies to law schools much more than to undergraduate schools. Very few people seem to care where anyone went to college. There may be a relationship between going to a prestigious college and getting into a prestigious law school, but without a ton of data I couldn't assess that factor independent of being the kind of person who does well on the SAT CR portion and thus on the LSAT as well.</p>
<p>I have a different "take" on the value of prestigious law schools.</p>
<p>My H and I are also attorneys who did not go to "name" undergrad schools or law schools. Cost was the main factor, but ignorance played a significant role (our parents completed high school but nothing more, so they could offer no guidance).</p>
<p>I don't practice anymore, but my H does and he routinely kicks the butts of Harvard, Stanford, Michigan and Notre Dame law school grads, to name a few schools. Graduation from a "name" law school will get you your first job. It won't necessarily guarantee success. Smart people go to law school (and college) everywhere. About the only "track" it will put you on is for the U.S Supreme Court, where attending a "name" school seems to be part of the required pedigree.</p>
<p>But, if you can get in and your parents are willing to pay AND that's where you want to attend - go for it!!!</p>
<p>astrophysicsmom- The choice you describe is the one we had to make last spring. My D was admitted to UNC (honors program, Carolina Scholars) and HYSM. Even without a penny of scholarship $$ from UNC, UNC was by far cheaper than any of those others.</p>
<p>It really was a difficult choice, but I really didn't want her to feel that her choice was being made based on $$$ alone. I wanted her to figure out what was the best place for her, with some awareness of cost difference, but not to let that factor color the decision too much. I insisted that she give UNC a fair chance, so she did an overnight and attended a program that allowed her to explore the departments she was interested in. She visited the other schools too. In the end, she did not choose UNC, but not without a lot of soul searching and wondering whether she was being blinded by flashier name brands. It would be dishonest to say that the prestige of those four wasn't a factor, but I do think I can say that it was not the main factor. And I believe that she made the right choice for her. </p>
<p>I should add that had we not felt we could have afforded to send her to HYSM, we would have told her that before she applied, and I assume she wouldn't have bothered then with essays and interviews for schools she couldn't have attended. It was a luxury to be able to choose the right school regardless of cost. She knows that and is very appreciative of the opportunity she has had.</p>
<p>First of all, $140K of after tax money is a very large amount for probably 90% of the families. If it is my bare minimum survival or my kids’ PYH, I will pick my food. Otherwise, I would sell my own kidney to pay for my kids to go to PYH. </p>
<p>Going to an Ivy League school is not only a life time experience but a grand entrance into the high society. The network he/she build during the school years will benefit many generations to come. </p>
<p>Came to this country with two suitcases and $200 in the pockets, I am used to basic living conditions and don’t need much to live. I would rather ride bus and be satisfied that I give my kids the very best, than drive a Benz and could possibly regret the whole way</p>