The classic debate: Private, expensive dream School versus Inexpensive Public

<p>Can people help me decide between colleges as well? I posted all the financial aid info so everyone can see what I am deciding between.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...d.php?t=324265%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...d.php?t=324265&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>^^^ Link doesn't work. You must have copied the link incorrectly. Did you copy from the address bar? Or, post the summary of your acceptances & FA here and let people comment on it.</p>

<p>Sorry. Here this one should work.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=324265%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=324265&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I am deciding between UMass-Amherst Commonwealth College (Honors), University of Connecticut and University of Delaware. </p>

<p>I like Delaware the most and feel as if I belong there but it gave me the worst financial aid package.</p>

<p><strong><em>U. OF MASSACHUSETTS-AMHERST (COMMONWEALTH COLLEGE (Honors))</em></strong>
-Comm College Incentive Award-$5,000
-Federal Acad Competetive Grant I- $750
-Fed SEOG Grant- $400
-Federal College Work Study- $1,500
-Federal Direct Subsidized Loan- $3500
-Federal Pell Grant- $400
-Federal Perkins Loan- $1,600
-UMass Amherst Grant-$3,162</p>

<p><em>TOTAL- $16,132</em>
<em>ESTIMATED COST OF ATTENDANCE-$27,978</em>
<em>REMAINING-$11,846</em></p>

<p><strong><em>UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE</em></strong>
-Federal College Work Study- $2,000
-Federal Direct Subsidized Loan- $3500
-Federal Perkins Loan- $2,000</p>

<p><em>TOTAL- $7,500</em>
<em>ESTIMATED COST OF ATTENDANCE-$29,700</em>
<em>REMAINING-$22,200</em></p>

<p><strong><em>UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT</em></strong>
-Federal College Work Study- $1,800
-Federal Direct Subsidized Loan- $3,500
-Federal Perkins Loan- $1,600
-Tution Remission Grant UG O/S- $5,000
University Grant- $2,000</p>

<p><em>TOTAL- $13,900</em>
<em>ESTIMATED COST OF ATTENDANCE-$29,828</em>
<em>REMAINING- $15,928</em></p>

<p>TO ADD ON, my parents will pay around $7,000 a year for either college. I am undecided so far but will probably major in something to do with engineering or science, such as astronomy. I am not sure yet though.</p>

<p>UMass engineering has very good reputation. Besides, as an engineering major, you are very likely to get a good job after graduation irrespective of the college, provided you obtain a decent GPA.</p>

<p>Okay so i need some advice on my decision
i got into yale, and if I go I will be about 40,000 in debt when i graduate.
i also got into USC with a full ride.
Im planning on majoring in economics if I go to yale and Business at USC.
I don't know whether it's worth the 40,000 debt to go to a prestigious school like Yale or whether I could probably get just as good a job coming out of USC.
Advice?</p>

<p>A Yale degree will come handy anytime you will try to get or change jobs.
Also Networking is very important when it comes to job hunting or going up the corporate ladders. Yale alumni will come handy there too.</p>

<p>$40,000 is on a very low side for a Yale education.</p>

<p>if i plan on working in california after college is Yale still good with alumni? or is USC better?</p>

<p>40,000 is on the low side for debt coming out of Yale, but it is still a lot of debt. It's a full year's salary for many. It's a very good new car. It's 20% down on a house in much of the country (admittedly not in many high price areas).
Now, consider how long it will take to pay it off. Assuming 5% interest, to pay it off in 10 years, you would need to come up with $425/month. In five years, $750. If you only have $250/month , it's a whopping 22 YEARS.</p>

<p>You have to ask yourself what the net present value of the $40K more is. Will it pay off later, or are there other investments with higher NPVs?</p>

<p>well thats the problem... i'm not really sure how much more i would get out of a yale degree than I would a USC degree. id be willing to go in debt that much if i knew that it would pay off in the end... but im not sure if going to usc would be just as good as going to yale since i am planning to stay in southern california... its a hard decision ughh! anyone else??</p>

<p>imsilly; don't be silly, go to USC.</p>

<p>Yes, especially if you are most likely staying in California.</p>

<p>but would a yale degree be considered more prestigious than a usc one... even if i do decide to stay in southern california? or would a degree from usc be just as good in that case?</p>

<p>My daughter has a similar problem/opportunity as many here. We live in MD. D wants to major in math, and cover her pre-med prerequisites.<br>
All the numbers are in, EFC 35k(little or no need) here's the out of pocket:
Per Year!
UR (Richmond)- 23k
UNC-Ch - 26k
Lafayette - 20k
Loyola-MD - 18k
U. Miami (Fla) - 16k
UMD-CP - 15k
UD(Delaware) -14.5k
College of Charleston - 8k
ECU (East Carolina) - Full Ride </p>

<p>She leans CofC, any thoughts? (Math major- Pre-Med thoughts- 56 AP credits offered)</p>

<p>Yale trumps SC by far - even in California. Think of it this way, USC can't even say that it's the most prestigious school in Los Angeles, much less the state of California.<br>
Looking at your preference of majors, you obviously want to go to business. You say you want to stay in California but hey, you may change your mind over the next four years and become open to working in, say, Wall Street. Yale will open much more doors than USC can ever hope to. Sure, people like to tout USC's alumni network but do you really think those Trojan alums are stupid (or arrogant) enough to only hire Trojans while turning away Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, MIT, etc. graduates?
$40k over the long run isn't that much, especially if you're going into business. Only if you wanted to go into nonprofit, the teaching profession, or something where your undergrad brand doesn't matter that much would I recommend SC.
Good luck.</p>

<p>its so confusing because of everyone i ask, even on this forum... half the ppl say USC n half say yale pretty much... its hard to know which answer is better</p>

<p>For what it's worth, my husband, who is an econ prof (but not at Yale or USC), says that Yale has by far the better program. You will get a much better undergrad education there than at USC. $40 K is not an unreasonable debt burden, and perhaps it will inspire you to work harder and take your education more seriously. Certainly, you will find more serious classmates at Yale than at the University of Spoiled Children (the name one friend who is an alum has given it).</p>

<p>another thought I had is that I want to get my MBA from a top school...which will probably cost a lot. Would it be worth it to go into debt 40,000 at Yale when I am probably going to have to take out more loans to go to get my MBA?</p>

<p>It's hard to decide from other people's advice because they don't fully know your situation. The best thing to do is to try to organize the information in a structured way. Try this: take a piece of paper and use all of it to make two columns and two rows. One column is Yale, the other USC. One row is + the other is -. Now, fill it in (with a pencil - you'll probably have some changes) with everything you can: costs/debt, quality of education, networking, preparation for grad school, location, weather, social life - whatever is relevant. A question that will help is, "if I go to USC/Yale, what will give up by going to Yale/USC?" Sleep on it. Stare at it. Show it to friends and family. Add new information until you can't come up with anything else. Then sleep on it again. Decide. Now, ask yourself, if "if I go to USC/Yale, will I regret not going to Yale/USC?" If your answer feels right, put down your deposit. If not, ask yourself why.</p>

<p>The good news is you will get a good education at either school if you apply yourself. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>The best answer is that if you enjoy the private college and can finance it, it may be your best fit under conditions. These conditions are academic excellence and core competencies. If you like it and have displayed the aptitude for your chosen courses then its a good fit. </p>

<p>Whatever your decision is, measure the resources and capacities to fit your strategy for a college education. Set goals of what you want to accomplish.</p>