Princeton
43% is an outdated US News figure. Over half of Duke’s students receive some form of financial assistance.
Thank you @JenniferClint. I used US News & their data is about a year old when published.
Great to see that Duke has increased financial aid budget. I suspect that many wealthy universities are doing so, at least in part, to avoid the endowment tax.
@CupCakeMuffins explain, what is “not the same?”
ME from Princeton- 100K starting salary, ME from UT - you saved 180K, we’ll start you with 80K salary?
Until someone brings some facts and numbers, yes, it’s same! ME are same here and there.
Good Luck,
Attending UT would save the OP $150,000-$200,000. For Engineering, UT is also arguably the best of the bunch. Only 15% of UT students join Greek Life. As far as I am concerned, unless the OP’s parents are wealthy, UT is the way to go. IF the parents can easily afford the difference, then Princeton is the way to go.
The Original Poster has not expressed any interest in attending UT. The poster is trying to decide between three private schools which apparently are affordable for the family. They already have one kid attending Rice. Telling the OP to go to UT is beside the point.
“Attending UT would save the OP $150,000-$200,000. For Engineering, UT is also arguably the best of the bunch.”
Sound advice.
I’ll join in for a reality check re the "elitist conversation. S attends a highly selective private that is 60% full pay. He was actually concerned about that as we are public school folk.
His experience, after two years, has been:
- There are some really wealthy kids there form 8 figure income families. True
- There are lots of kids whose parents are Drs and lawyers and Bankers, etc.
- The kids are kids. They're just regular kids. His range of friends is from need based full COA paid for though 9 figure net worth who could pay for everyone. The kids don't care. They get along great because they like each other, are excited about their college and what they are doing.
That’s reality.
One thing you might explore, if you care…
Do you actually want to be an engineer?
Are there differences in the engineering programs and requirements?
What are the destinations of most of the mechanical engineering department grads, in each case?
Do most of them, or very few of them, actually become engineers?
Or rather do they tend to become wall street number crunchers?
Or do they tend to go on to “bioengineering” to become doctors and dentists?
Are they heavily recruited for mechanical engineering?
To what extent are their engineering departments physically separated from the rest of the university, and does this impact social life?
@texaggie There is more to college education than 2+2=4. ME degree is only a small part of this whole journey.
Regardless of this debate, OP asked about three schools, UT isn’t one of those. If he was struggling to find cheapest degree possible, he is more than qualified to get many free rides just from Texas.
“If he was struggling to find cheapest degree possible, he is more than qualified to get many free rides just from Texas.”
Except that the cheapest degree at an outstanding public school sometimes represents the smarter choice. We are talking about engineering here, not investment banking. The OP certainly can decide to attend any school he chooses, but it’s certainly not a bad thought to remind him of the cost differences.
Do factor in weather, travel, proximity to friends or family. NE can feel extremely lonely specially when you get sick or during cold and dark months. Travel adds up extra few thousands per year. Make sure you are going eyes open wide. Driving home whenever you have a long weekend isn’t going to be an option for 4-5 years.
@Publisher -
Here is the data on family income:
…Prince…Rice…Duke
Average income…$186,100…$160,800…$186,700
Top 0.1%…3.1%…<1%…3.8%
Top 1%…17%…9.8%…19%
Bottom 20%…2.2%…4.9%…3.9%
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/rice-university
For Mechanical Engineering, your best education and outcomes will probably be Princeton>Duke>Rice, although the three are close! In terms of elitism, you will find a bit of that at each college but it definitely won’t define your experience at any of them if you don’t want it to. I would say to narrow it down, you can decide by fit and vibe. Princeton and Rice are more close-knit and have a more intellectual vibe, Duke also has droves of very intelligent kids but will have a different sense of community revolving around sports and a more fun student body. In terms of weather, Rice>Duke>Princeton if you like warmth and sun. In terms of overall happiness, probably Rice>Duke>Princeton as well. If you want to try something new, I would consider Princeton or Duke because you’ll be in a newer area and a chance to try new things out for 4 years. The ability to have great opportunities from these schools are also quite comparable, although I would say Princeton and Duke probably open doors to the most exclusive opportunities that you might get overlooked for from Rice.
Hello, everyone! Just wanted to provide an update on my decision.
My visit to Princeton for Princeton Preview was nice. The people I met were friendly, the campus was absolutely stunning, and the performing arts groups were really fun to watch. It was definitely a positive experience.
My visit to Rice (immediately after Princeton) for Owl Days was also nice, if not even more nice. The students I met were incredibly outgoing and passionate about the school, the weather was great, and I even got to participate in some social activities with my older brother. I felt at home, and that I would fit in easily. Despite previously being very keen on Princeton, I came out of Owl Days nearly ready to commit to Rice.
The following week I flew up to NC for Blue Devil Days at Duke. Again, it was a nice visit. I hung out with some really fun students, saw a gorgeous campus, and got a glimpse of the amazing things happening at Duke. That being said, the visit didn’t wow me enough to justify going there (after all, Duke was the most expensive of the three!). After this visit I declined Duke and started deciding between Rice and Princeton.
Deciding was one of the hardest things I’ve done in a while. Over the course of several days, I flip flopped between Rice and Princeton extremely often. Sometimes my opinion even changed multiple times during the course of a day.
Basically, my decision came down to my consideration of the opportunities and social life at the two schools. While Rice felt like a better fit when I was on campus, I eventually deduced that this was likely a result of my familiarity with the campus, and the fact that I got to go around with my brother and check out a party. After talking to friends, teachers, and Princeton students, I felt confident that I would be able to find my people at Princeton through extracurriculars and my residential college, even if the environment wouldn’t be as laid back as Rice’s.
As far as opportunities, I decided that Princeton was more catered to what I want out of my college experience. While Rice has a decent non-major symphony orchestra, Princeton has multiple extremely involved and skilled music ensembles. While Rice would provide excellent outcomes to me post graduation, Princeton would provide even better ones when considering the alumni network (and that I want to end up on the east coast after I graduate). Lastly, Princeton is a new environment to me. While Rice would undoubtedly feel “new” in the transition to college life, Princeton would really broaden my horizons and expose me to a new area and the people and culture in that new area (seasons included!).
After careful deliberation, I decided to commit to Princeton. The decision really tore me apart. It was so difficult to turn down Rice after all of the positive experiences I’ve had with the school. Also, I’m the first person in my family to go somewhere other than Rice. To be honest, Rice felt very safe and homey. Going to Princeton is a risk, but I think it’s one that I’m going to be glad I took.
Having decided on Princeton, I’m trying not to think about Rice (it feels sorta like breaking up with a significant other!). Rather, I’m trying to enjoy the little bit of high school I have yet while also building up excitement to head to New Jersey in the fall.
Thank you all for your insight on my decision. I mean it when I say that your comments and research helped with my decision. While I usually think of college confidential as a pretty toxic place, you all have proved to me otherwise!
The only thing I have left to say is this: Go tigers!
Congrats, @ejc000! and well done. Stop and look back a year, and compare where you are now to where you were then. Then, at Thanksgiving, stop and look back to now. The changes are massive at this juncture in life, and pretty exciting.
One of the best things about all the thinking you put into your decision process is you own it: you know that you have made the best decision you can for where you are right now. On tough days (b/c obviously there will be some- whether a little homesick, bad weather, friend trouble, tough exam, etc.) you know that you made this choice for the totality of it (and you know that there are tough days everywhere), and you have a well considered list of positives that you can use on those tough days to bolster you!
Congrats! Great decision. Sounds like it will be an amazing adventure.
I love Rice. It’s the absolute friendliest and happiest school I’ve seen. Education is top rate.
To try to argue Princeton over Rice seems ludicrous to me. Princeton is a Holy Grail School. I’m not going to even go into those merits. I’m sure you know this ad nauseam. In your case, it’s the fear of the unknown that is an issue. I encourage you to venture out of the comfort zone of Rice and explore Princeton territory.
The extra cost for someone whose family is willing to pay full price is likely not an issue and IMO well worth a Princeton education
@cptofthehouse, read post #54
Congratulations! Your road map to your decision will be a guide for future students making the same choice. Princeton is a terrific school and you will be forging your own path there.