I don’t believe this is at all true. Is there any evidence at all to support this statement @Wje9164be ?
I agree with all the other posters; going to Vanderbilt is by far the smart choice. Congratulations!
Have you tried appealing to P’ton for FA, using your Vandy package as bait? Might be worth a try–Princeton is remarkable, after all, even in comparison to as fantastic a school as Vanderbilt.
That said, if Princeton won’t give you $, Vandy all the way an don’t look back–it’s a tremendous school! Congrats!
I don’t think Princeton will give any more to a student whose income is high enough not to get any of their very generous aid, since they don’t provide merit money.
Congrats on Vandy! This is a great deal for such an excellent school.
Congrats on a job well done. Vandy is a great school in an interesting city.
Financially speaking, I would say go to Vandy as housing only is not bad. HOWEVER, if you’re trying to get into Law School, you’re gonna need all the help you’re going to get trying to get in and man does Princeton pack a punch!!
Have you read about the declining law school application numbers? Not as brutally difficult to get in as it was 20 yrs ago. Still not easy to gain admittance at top law schools, but Vandy will serve you just fine.
Law school admissions is heavily numbers based. GPA and LSAT matter more than the name of the college/university.
Unless you get a similar or better offer from Claremont or Duke, go to Vandy. Congrats!
Agree with @happymomof1 on importance of GPA and LSAT over name of college. Vandy is a great school in an awesome city. The top law schools have kids from MANY schools, including obscure ones that many people have never heard of. I think where undergrad helps is (1) the law school lacks students from that school or that area of the country, and (2) the law school is an up-and-coming school that wants to attract students from top undergrads. Though Princeton might be of some assistance on the latter issue, your GPA at Princeton might be < than your GPA at Vandy, which might make it harder for you to get into a top law school from Princeton. Plus Vandy is a top school in its own right. A full-price Princeton undergrad degree may be worth it vs. great $ deal you have at Vandy for some people, but for someone going to law school I think Vandy is a better fit.
It truly is a personal decision and one you need to map out as carefully as you did your college search / college list process. Don’t let people influence how you feel - because it truly is what is best for you in the long run. Choosing one school isn’t a slam dunk, and another foolish. It’s about what is important to you, where do you fit in, and where do your parents feel comfortable sending their check. Maybe you select a final four(?) and do a victory lap before selecting the champion.
Update: Princeton ended up giving me 25K per year, but I think that I will still attend Vanderbilt for the social scene/no loans. Thank you for the help!
To be able to attend Pton for only $20k in loans vs. Vanderbilt is very compelling. To turn that down, the fit preference for Vandy needs to be incredibly strong!
@am61517 where do you compute $20k in loans for Princeton?
Princeton COA = $63,390
Loan Est. = $30,000
Parents Contribution = $33,390 (Original amount based on student loans of $30K)
Revised Loans ($30K - $25K) = $5K/yr
Princeton COA = $63,390
Princeton Merit Aid = $25,000
Net = $38,390
Parents Contribution = $33,390
Revised Loans ($30K-$25K) = $5K/yr (if parents stick to the original family contribution)
Vanderbilt University R&B is ~$14,670. Net parent contribution between Vanderbilt and Princeton is: $18,720.
@Clarinetdad16: The $20K is the total over four years, not per year!
@Jamrock411, Princeton does not award merit. From Princeton’s website, admissions FAQs:
Do you give scholarships for academic merit, special talents or athletic ability?
No. All financial aid awards are based solely on need. Learn more about how aid is assigned in the Undergraduate Financial Aid Information and Application Instructions.
I suspect that Princeton offered the OP loans. By the way, OP, congratulations on having great choices. I think you can’t go wrong with any of them, but from here it looks like Vandy is your best price/quality option.
Best,
Titmice
I have an EFC for Princeton of about 39K per year I believe.
Were you at the Princeton preview? How much did you enjoy it? Wouldn’t pick a school based off name only and in your case I’d recommend Vanderbilt!
Just remember this time on the last year, I was at the position to choose my school. Too bad I could not recover my previous account. Otherwise, I would appreciate all comments I got last year to help me clear my mind. I am studying happily at Princeton, so you should know what I will recommend. I would suggest you contact school for financial aids if you have not done so and also check online for various scholarships which many of them are not school related. I would not miss the opportunity to study in Princeton just because of the tuition.
titmice
I can’t figure out how much the OP would have to pay at either school, but while Princeton only gives need-based aid, all of its aid is in grants, not loans.
Totally agree !