Should I Graduate Debt Free, or With 15k at My 'Dream School'?

Transfer Students
1

Hi everyone, I’m a freshman at UW-Madison majoring in economics with a certificate in East Asian Studies. Last year, I was faced with the incredibly hard decision of choosing between UW-Madison (large public university where I was awarded a full tuition scholarship with a $400/semester book stipend) and Oberlin (awarded enough aid to graduate with around 25k worth of debt, 10k that I would be able to pay off during school to leave me with 15k after graduation). I chose Madison primarily based on financial reasons.
Now that I’m at Madison, however, I’m starting to reconsider. It feels like an extension of high school: I see at least one person from my high school every day, the same types of ‘cliques’ and student groups are here, large emphasis on partying/sororities/fraternities/football. I haven’t found any of the types of people that I would find at Oberlin; the quirky, intellectual, ‘hipster’ people. Also, to sound like a pretentious snob, I feel like anyone could get into Madison; I know people here who got in with a 22 on their ACT (I know, I know, I am the biggest snob ever). At Oberlin, a top 25 liberal arts school, I would feel like I was with a ‘smarter’ group of people. The only thing that got me through high school was knowing that I could go to a school far, far away from the people at my high school, but now I feel like I’ve fallen back on my promise to myself. I am very, VERY worried about money, as I plan on going to grad school to get a masters in international studies after college, which I know will cost $$, and I also hope to do internships which might not be paid. If it was your decision, would you transfer to Oberlin and take on that 15k (if they give me the same financial aid package; they flew me over for a multicultural overnight weekend visit and even extended my financial aid offer past the may 1st deadline when i was having second guesses), or would you stay at Madison and hope for the best?

P.S. I know I have been at school for a little over a month, and things will undoubtedly change over time. Please answer this question as if I was writing it in March and I still felt this way, when the transfer application is due

2

Some here might disagree with me, but if you are really worried about money why would you add worrying about money to the list of things that cause stress in college? Rather than look back and regret a decision for things that may or may not be realities at Oberlin, look forward and embrace the great things about the school you are attending. Dig in, choose the challenging courses that attract other students who enjoy challenges, take honors classes if you can, and don’t worry about seeing high school peers, cliques, or whatever. You get to attend a four year college debt free, that is huge.

3

Don’t let superficial reasons put you in debt. Trust me, whatever makes you roll your eyes now is NOT worth $15K. School is about a degree, you have the rest of your life to surround yourself with like-minded people. Not to mention Grad school. Make the best of your situation, your older, wiser self will be thankful you did.

4

OP, the respondents on your other thread said transferring to Oberlin at this point isn’t worth it.

Are you going to keep on crating new threads until you get the answer you want to hear?

5

You probably won’t get the same financial aid as a transfer; it’s rare it happens. Move on, throw yourself into your new school and try to adjust. Reevaluate and decide if you want to transfer during winter break.

6

@GMTplus7 I posted this question in 4 different threads because I wanted a variety of opinions given by people who have different opinions based on the thread they replied through. Someone replying through the UW-Madison thread might not have the same answer as someone replying through the Oberlin thread, and will obviously be biased toward UW-Madison. I am not ‘crating new threads until you get the answer you want to hear’ since I created all these threads at the same time. I never knew posting in multiple threads wasn’t allowed on CC.