Hello everyone! I was recently accepted to RPI and University of Rochester. I received $16,000 in merit from University of Rochester and $29,000 in merit from RPI. My parents are not putting in any of their money but I have a large 529 plan from my grandfather. I am planning on working in college I am expecting to make $18,600 over 3 years (assuming I make $2,200 during the year and $4,000 during the summer) I have already completed a year of college at an early college program called The Clarkson School. Both RPI and U of Rochester will accept my credits, but RPI will let me graduate in 3 years while at the University of Rochester I will have to take 3.5 years due to their 7 semester residency policy. I am going to ask for more merit from both institutions, but for now I’m going off the information that I have.
By the time I would graduate I would have:
55,000 in debt from University of Rochester (overall)
Or
zero debt with RPI (overall)
I’m planning on majoring in chemistry with a minor in materials science at both RPI and U of R with goals of going on to graduate school and getting my PhD in chemistry.
If money was not a factor, I prefer U of Rochester, but is it worth going into debt for?
LOL, with these financials, I think you’ll get over it.
Seriously, I think it’s a remarkable offer from RPI and I don’t think that the difference is worth that much debt especially since you will be deferring repayment through graduate school all the time accumulating interest.
$55,000 is more than you can borrow without a cosigner, and is inadvisably large generally, especially when going into a field whose career prospects are not that well paid.
Both schools are excellent. However. coming out of college with no debt will make so much difference in your life. My D listened to me and attended a SUNY school, so no debt. At age 26, she was able to abandon her originally chosen career of teaching when she decided it wasn’t for her and pursue a field that’s less lucrative but which she loves. She has traveled to England and Australia (twice because her bf is from there), she has been to Cuba, California, took a trip cross-country to teach ukulele and is going to Europe for the second summer in a row. She has over $20K in savings and a retirement plan and lives in a “trendy” area of NYC. She thanks me at least once a week for insisting that she choose the debt free option.
Conversely, I had no choice but to take on $28K in debt (equivalent to almost $100K in today’s dollars and my life has been much more constrained. My education debt and my H’s is part of the reason why our kids were limited to SUNY schools.
I know two current students at RPI. I saw one of them the other day. This kid loves that school.
I’d go for RPI which is an excellent school in your areas of interest.
Debt is not just something you accumulate – it is something that you will have to pay back after your education is complete. Being saddled with a lot of debt will impact life decisions for years after graduation (ex. as an adult you may not be able to lease the new car or get the nicer apartment because of debt payments, you might be compelled to take a less interesting but better paying job to make debt payments, it could impact grad school choices etc.).
I would also look through the course catalog carefully and maybe talk to an academic advisor to be sure you can complete the coursework required to meet any general education requirements as well as the requirements for your major and minor in the three years.
Unsolicited comment – if your grandfather is alive, be sure to give him a heartfelt thank you for setting up that 529 for you. Be sure he understands that you know how much it means to your future to have those funds set aside for college. (Maybe buy him a hat from the school you decide to attend or something like that).
it’s interesting to see that almost always people on this forum suggest to go to the school which costs less. if you follow what US as a country is telling us you should ignore that and take on as much debt as possible. look at US debt balance…borrow as much as you can. if you can lock that debt at low interest rate and pay it off slowly over the course of your life you should go to the school you really want to go to. now i am not sure RPI vs URochester - those few positions in the rankings probably dont make much difference and if you visited and like both schools RPI is probably a better option.
Note that chemical engineering and materials engineering are generally seen as having better career prospects than chemistry, which may be important if you are considering a high debt path.
Not always. If it was something off the charts elite like MIT (I’m an alum - full disclosure), I’d say borrow the money. I just don’t think that Rochester provides a significant enough difference to justify borrowing $55K, and I don’t think the expected earnings of a chemistry major are sufficiently lucrative to justify this debt.
These are both excellent schools, but neither are really elite.
I’m very pro URoc, but I’d also be super wary of 55K in debt. That’s a pretty high number - higher than I’d want my kids to have. I think you’re doing right to see if they will increase your aid. The worst they can do is say no.
I forgot to mention that I also have the option of staying at my current school, Clarkson University, (I am in the Honors Program and do research with a professor there) becoming a normal sophomore and when I graduate I would still have $40,000 left in my 529.
Nothing wrong with staying at Clarkson to save money for grad school.
If you are unhappy there, ask yourself why ?
RPI is a tech school like Clarkson, but clearly downstate in a more urban area,
and of course UR is urban and not just a tech school, so 3 very different choices.
I have a son at RPI now and he is getting a GREAT education. No regrets sending him there.
I think most of his classes are pretty good from what he tells me, and if you can get good grades,
the RPI name will help you get into grad school. That may be a key issue, RPI is a tough school
and you may have an easier time getting the high grades at Clarkson, having the GPA and money for grad school.
Anyway, not purely an academic decision here, probably can’t go wrong with any of them academically, though you will clearly meet stronger peers if you move on to either RPI or UR.
@ucbalumnus I am not 100% gonna leave Clarkson because it’s not like I hate it here. It’s just that without the early college program I would have never considered Clarkson because it’s just not the type of school I would have applied to. I really wanted (and kinda still want) to go to a liberal arts college, Clarkson doesn’t even have a theatre, and our library is a joke. I know RPI is a tech school as well which is the main reason I think I might prefer U of R. I did apply to some LACs but they are all very selective and will probably put me in just as much debt as Rochester.
@physicsfuture 3 years of your life is a short time. 55k in debt will impact your life for a LONG time. What does it matter that the college doesn’t have a theatre or library you love. It doesn’t. You have your whole life to go to theaters. You just need to get the best education for the best cost.