<p>The issue:
Child applying to some LACs that range up to $50,000 a year tuition. One to two of these appear on the 'best of' lists. Assume acceptance. Parents will not be eligible for any financial aid but have saved for college. Top LACs indicating not offering any merit aid.</p>
<p>Would it be better to attend a 'notable' LAC (major basically undecided) at $50,000 a year and deplete parents' college savings or attend school that does not appear on any 'best of' lists when it if offering much merit aid, thereby leaving $ left over for parents to contribute to graduate school?</p>
<p>If the parents can completely afford either undergrad at a top school, or undergrad at a pretty good school, then some grad school, it would depend on the desires of the student. If the student wanted to go to grad school, the financial difference was significant, and still really liked the school that offers merit aid, that’s a good option. But if the student isn’t really interested in the other schools and wants the top one, and the parents can afford it, maybe that’s worth it.</p>
<p>My opinion is contrary to many you’ll get here.</p>
<p>If the kid wants to be an MD or an engineer, undergrad school won’t matter as much.</p>
<p>For many other careers it will IMO. Top Business and law schools are filled with kids from top undergrad programs. The network you make at elite schools can be priceless. The peer group will bring many to new heights.</p>
<p>There’s also an assumption when folks say to wait for a top grad school that everyone will get into one which we all know is untrue.</p>
<p>We had that choice to make, and went for the prestigious undergrad school. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that to everyone, but after one year, my son feels the world is full of possibilities he never imagined. He feels surrounded by brilliant, energetic, confident people and is taught by brilliant teachers who spend a lot of time with the students. So in this very personal, very individual case, I think the investment mattered and I’m happy we’re doing it this way. However, I think it really comes down to a lot of different factors.</p>
<p>There is a difference in jobs a grad from a top engineering school or top college would have access to, but in general, to many companies an engineer is an engineer. In medicine, grads of a top school will have more choice of specialities and research and teaching positions, but you’re still a doctor no matter where you go to school.</p>
<p>I recommend child applies to LAC-ish undergraduate universities which have larger endowments and which therefore can be more generous to child’s family regardless of income. E.G., Princeton.</p>
<p>Parents should not have to pay for graduate school. Child should excel at undergraduate level and ultimately obtain fellowships to best graduate schools. If child intends to pursue law or medicine, loans will be taken out. If child intends to pursue business school, child will have already had several years of work experience and thus several years worth of income.</p>
<p>no undergraduate degree is worth substantial debt.
no undergraduate degree is worth substantial debt.
no undergraduate degree is worth substantial debt. </p>
<p>save money on undergraduate education,
take out loans for grad. that is where the debt should come from.</p>
<p>a BA is just a requirement for jobs/grad school applications, interviewers/admissions look that you HAVE it then move on.
what matters (and ultimately what determines if you get the job or not) is WHAT you do with that BA. your work is far more important than where you got your degree.</p>
<p>he went to serve in the military.
when he got back, he went to get is degree from an online reputable school (university of x but not arizona, phoenix, strayer, devry, etc.) while working on base.
got his grad degree from a top 10 school (with applying with his online BA background) now he works in d.c. for the government.</p>
<p>it really does not matter where you got your degree, as long as you got it.</p>
<p>Kwu, you miss that many families with income of $200K plus are the ones having this debate. This is not most making $80k even consider. Princeton is not giving these folks aid.</p>
<p>I apologize for being insensitive. As a member of the lower middle class, I simply lack the perspective to appreciate the struggles of the upper middle class.</p>
<p>Schools like Princeton need to start instituting affirmative action policies to reach out to students from disadvantaged families making 200k+ a year. Moreover, they need to revamp their financial aid programs to offer competitive full-tuition need-based scholarships to these students.</p>
<p>I refuse to stand idly by as Pell Grant recipients flood our classrooms and squander precious resources while offering little to no diversity.</p>
<p>I don’t think the debt is worth it. Furthermore, consider where you/your child live or are planning to live, even after school. Often, those schools can carry a certain amount of prestige in the area, especially if it is a more isolated area. It will look good to employers who see it as the pinnacle of education.</p>
<p>No one is suggesting these families should get aid. But they are the folks facing this debate.</p>
<p>In the end the top colleges are reaching out with aid to kids whose family’s make as much as $180k. They want the perspective of these upper middle class kids on campus as much as they want that of the low income and the wealthy. The want representation from all walks. Makes sense to me.</p>
<p>IT’S NOT DEBT. Yes, DEBT can be crippling, but if you’ve got the money saved, what else is it THERE for but to provide you with an experience you couldn’t get without that money? Yes, there are other options (immediately investing in retirement, saving for grad school, etc.), but to say that the college you go isn’t equally as important, as it’s the first taste you’ll have as an adult, the first real independence you’ll have, the place where many of your political, social and educational skills will be gained or refined, seems strange. And better-educated people (and yes, in some cases you can get a better education from a state school… but LACs can be helpful too) generally will have better future life experiences, because they’ll have more options to do what they most want to do, and where they can make a bigger difference.</p>
<p>you can have your first taste of being an adult, independence, political/social/educational refining at a cheaper school. while saving for grad school. </p>
<p>you can have all of these experiences at a cheaper college. i think you’re missing the point…she’s debating whether or not saving money for grad school by going to a school which gave her kid more $$$$ is a smarter choice being it is a lesser known school, not whether or not the experience is going to be altered because of the name of the school.</p>
<p>^But the kid might not go to grad school, and the grad schools one CAN attend (dictated by grad school acceptances) may change depending on UG. Yes, the latter statement is hotly contested, which is why I said “may.”</p>
<p>To OP: what kind of LACs are you talking about? What “best of” lists? Can you give us an approximate USNWR rank? There’s a big difference between Amherst and Roanoke, if you’re paying full price at both.</p>
<p>No education (especially undergraduate) is worth over $200,000 of debt if you cannot or will have trouble paying it off later. Especially in this economy, where a BA degree alone in most professions won’t get you employed anywhere. Most students nowadays are looking at even more debt as an extensive education is needed to secure employment. Think about those people who are looking to go to graduate school, medical school, and universities to acquire their PhDs.</p>
<p>Go to a community college for two years and transfer out afterwards. It’s affordable and a lot cheaper than caving into debt before you’re even out of college!</p>