Son has narrowed his top two choices to Iowa State and Marquette. He is accepted into the business school at both schools and we have visited both.
He got a nice financial aid package from both including scholarships and grants.
Marquette is a little more than an hour away from home and he really likes the city of Milwaukee. The net price for tuition/room/board comes in about $6k over budget per year, which he would need to cover with Stafford loans.
Iowa State is a solid 4 1/2 hours away from home, with no options at all for public transportation to get home (no busses or trains). All of his friends are going to school close to home. It does come in just under budget, so no need for son to borrower student loans.
Can anyone please weigh in on these options?
Any suggestions on how I can help him make his own decision? We have done pros/cons to each and it seems to boil down to cost vs. distance in the end.
4 1/2 hours drive is not that far. In fact, it might be a “better” distance than 1 hour. I know that if my S was 1 hour from home, he would be sleeping on our couch way too much.
Would you be able to drive the distance to Iowa State once every couple of months? I think that would be adequate.
He’ll make new friends…lots of them.
ETA: My opinion would be to save the money and let him broaden his horizons 4 1/2 hours from home.
Sounds like it’s his choice and both options are good.
I’d suggest going further away, avoiding all those loans, and adding an older reliable car at a later date if needed for less than the cost of one year of loans.
4-1/2 hours drive sounds conveniently close to me, but my kids are not within driving distance at all.
The first year a kid is away, you pick up and drop off more than in later years. Why? More kids have cars on campus in later years, and your S will meet people heading at least halfway back to your area. Also, kids may be less likely to come home for semester breaks and Thanksgiving as the workload gets heavier and they feel more established away from home. So the driving may not be a big deal except for Year 1.
And about friends from home: my D is a 10 hour drive away. Her HS friends are anywhere from 45 minutes to 6 hours from here. They all get together at breaks and during the summer, although that becomes tougher as they start internships.
I would not let 4-1/2 hours dissuade him IF he would otherwise be happy there.
I had one child go to a school an hour away and one go to one 3.5 hours away.
I told the latter child that she was responsible for getting herself home for breaks…there was a bus that she could take but she usually found a ride.
For 3.5/4.5 hours away, it is very difficult to visit for a day…when she was inducted into math honor society I did not attend as that would have been overnight. If it is snowing when you go to or from Xmas break, that is a pain.
I can visit My hour away student if she needs something help, but she was less independent than my other DD.
How would he get home? Used car? Fly? How much would that cost?
Would you be okay if he didn’t come home for some breaks?
I can’t believe there are no bus options to/from a school as big as Iowa state for beginning and end of term. You should double check your info with the school.
Well, you know my pick! My son is headed to ISU, which is 10 hours away for us! I don’t love how far away it is (or that I have to drive all the way through Nebraska to get there), but I think it’s manageable. I’ll drive him out to move him into the dorms, fly him home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and drive out again at the end of Spring semester. His 2nd choice was only 20 minutes from home, but he’s happy going out of state! And his in-state option was similarly more expensive.
I would check with the Iowa State University about any charter buses running for breaks. University of Kentucky runs one that stops at various Cracker Barrel restaurants in KY-IN-IL. I can pick up/drop off our student in the Chicago area, about an hour from our home.
Our daughter has also checked the RideShare board at UK and has come home for a long weekend by chipping in gas money. Again, we picked her up in a different suburb. Easy-peasy.
The school where he feels the most comfortable and can see himself being there for 4 years. My son went away to U of Alabama, while his friends mostly stayed in state. He wanted an opportunity out of Kansas and UA gave him a great opportunity. Roll Tide!
Omaha is only about 2 hrs way from Ames ( major airport).
Honestly, I thought the replies would be a little more balanced Not one person can think of any reasons Marquette would be a better choice? Would the internship and job opportunities Milwaukee would bring make it “worth it”?
This seems like such a hard decision for my son (and by extension, me). You guys make it seem so simple!
@LuckyCharms913 That would be my hope…that the first year would be tough, but not too bad after that. He would eventually get to know more kids - even if someone could get him as far as Dubuque, that would be huge.
@bopper The way he would get home would be me driving to get him and me bringing him back. That would be a very tough 9 hrs or more each day in the car for me. There are no funds for an extra car.
@AroundHere and @Midwest67 I took your advice and emailed the school to ask if they knew of any options (besides a rideshare board) - thank you!
@iamgriffinsmom Thanks for chiming in on this thread I’ll admit that I am feeling sad that all my mom friends will have their boys only 20 min away, and mine will be gone.
This is definitely son’s decision. I am very careful to speak evenly and often about both schools.
There is a bus from Ames to Chicago. I assume that you live somewhere near Chicago or Madison. It’s an all day trip, however. Typically students ride with other students, or you could always drop or pick him up from the bus terminal. There are also buses from Des Moines to Ames, and he could fly there too. Finally you could pick him up/ drop off, and that is not too much of a burden twice a semester… If you don’t have a reliable care you could rent one, it should cost < $100 for rental and gas both ways. It’s going to be a lot less expensive than $6K/yr in loans.
Each path will be different! Different students, professors, classes, opportunities…he’ll just have to choose and make the most of what comes his way!
If money is tight, I’m in favor of low to no debt, bc you might want funds for something down the line (like the ability to accept a low paying internship).
You are comparing a mid-size Jesuit urban school to a large state school. IMO in addition to budget and distance, you should also consider if one of these environments is better suited for your S. Does your S have a preference? If things are basically even in the end, I’d opt for the debt-free school.
@happy1 Son has stated he could see himself being happy at either one, and I agree.
He attended Catholic school his whole life, so of course, Marquette feels good. He had a great one-on one tour with a guide he described as exactly the same as himself. Curly hair, business major, enjoys basketball and tennis, and both captains of their improv teams. He came away really liking Marquette. He thought the campus was really nice. He is definitely drawn to the urban setting and culture and would enjoy a more diverse city like Milwaukee. But, is that enough to warrant $25k in student loans?
The whole reason he applied to Iowa State was because I felt it would have a similar feel to UW Madison (near where we live). Big state school, big school spirit, lots of support for sporting events, beautiful campus, etc. I have not read a single post from anyone on CC who has said their kid was not happy at ISU. The weather was awful on our visit, upper 30s, windy and all day rain. Still, son said he liked it and it was the only school he wanted to buy a sweatshirt from of all the schools we visited.
Son and several of his friends took a Managing Your Financial Life class this year (Dave Ramsey). The evils of debt and interest was the primary message. I get that, but I also don’t want that to be the only reason he chooses ISU. It’s easy for his friends to say he should choose Iowa State when they will all be able to come home for a weekend whenever they want to. Son would not have that option…
FWIW My S went to college about a half hour away and there was a train that ran from the school to our town – it just turned out to be the best fit, reasonably priced option. We agreed ahead of time that we would treat him as if he were hours away and would not pop by and we did not expect him to come home all the time. And honestly, I can count the times on one hand that he came home other than official school vacations. Once kids are settled and happy at a college, I think the distance will be more along the lines of an occasional hassle as opposed to a huge thing.
Good luck with your choice and congratulations on having two really fine options.
I really think he needs to consider best fit. Although I don’t want to see kids graduate with $24k in debt, I think some summer jobs or an internship may prevent him from having to borrow in future years. If a smaller school has better internship connections and opportunities, I think that is valuable. If the price difference was a lot more I would probably lean the other way but a good internship could earn him more than the difference right now.
I’d pick Marquette if I, myself (and/or other parent) could cover the difference. Otherwise Iowa State seems to be the option.
Normally I would not say this as I am very anti-debt. But there is very likely quite a difference between these two schools. Milwaukee, and Marquette in particular, is urban.
If he would be happy at either (and you have the sweatshirt to prove it) I’d go for the lower cost option. There are two bus lines that serve Ames that serve Chicago and points beyond with a bus change. It might be more economical and efficient to take the shuttle into Des Moines and fly home, depending on where you are located.
4.5 hours in the car does not sound that bad to me. Presumably your son could help with the driving on the way back? Or you could break it up and overnight in Ames at a hotel?
Travel costs are going to be a lot less than 6K per year in loans!
You mentioned that you live near UW-Madison - is that one of his choices?
It also sounds like you are wishing that he’ll be closer to home. However, just because it would be relatively easy for him to come home to visit on the weekend from Marquette, he may quickly integrate himself into his new college life and be so busy that you might not see a lot of him outside of major breaks from school.
My son is headed to ISU, which is 10 hours away for us! I don’t love how far away it is (or that I have to drive all the way through Nebraska to get there), but I think it’s manageable. I’ll drive him out to move him into the dorms, fly him home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and drive out again at the end of Spring semester. His 2nd choice was only 20 minutes from home, but he’s happy going out of state! And his in-state option was similarly more expensive.