Princeton or Vanderbilt full tuition scholarship

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Reposting this from the Vandy board:</p>

<p>I was lucky enough to get into Princeton (my reach school) and Vandy (Cornelius Vanderbilt scholarship), and this decision is much harder to make than I expected it to be.</p>

<p>Some background:
I'm from NJ, so I'd love to stay near my family and friends. I'm not sure what I want to study, possibly international relations, econ, creative writing, enviro studies. I want to be a journalist in the future or even a media lawyer if journalism doesn't work out. (Hence the undecided major, since one can major in anything and enter the journalism field). At Vandy, I will only have to pay $18 k in living expenses, but Princeton is nearly full price ($10 k fin aid). I don't know if I will go to grad school. </p>

<p>I've visited Princeton and fell in love with it, but I haven't visited Vandy. My parents really really really want me to go to Princeton so they see a campus visit to Vandy as a waste of time and money. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your help!</p>

2

<p>This is a no brainer - take the full ride at Vandy.</p>

3

<p>If your PARENTS are fine with THEM paying the extra costs of going to Princeton, then go to Princeton. If YOU are the one paying the extra costs, with loans or by other means, go to Vandy.</p>

4

<p>bump…</p>

5

<p>There must have been something that you liked about Vanderbilt. Ask your parents again to help you set up a visit. Have them run the numbers for both universities here: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) Then talk with them about just exactly where the money for Princeton would come from. Maybe they have four years worth of tuition and fees stashed away. Maybe they are willing to live on rice and beans so that you can attend Princeton. You need to know their logic before you can feel good about spending that kind of money.</p>

6

<p>so the difference in net cost/yr is</p>

<p>pay $42,000/yr - Princeton
pay $18,000/yr - Vanderbilt</p>

<p>$24,000/yr difference in net cost to the student and his family</p>

<p>which is about 10% of what the family approximately makes per year, gross, extrapolating from this:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/financialaid/how_it_works/who_qualifies/[/url]”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/financialaid/how_it_works/who_qualifies/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>Hello again, proviso. I assumed you had decided on Princeton by now; I know you posted that you had a great visit.</p>

<p>As I’ve said before, I like Vanderbilt and I think it is a great place for most people. But if you do go there, I hope you do so completely willingly and without any lurking regrets. It is so hard to get into a school and really get the most out of it if you keep thinking wistfully about the other place you passed up.</p>

<p>You can’t just ignore the 100K (or more) difference, though. I hope you stay realistic and practical about what it means.</p>

<p>Good luck coming to a decision.</p>

8

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12493865-post12.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12493865-post12.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;