<p>Since, people are debating and responding so much, would someone like to help me decide on which college go to? TO see my thread. </p>
<p>Post #81: "Advice me please! I am accepted by Boston College with no money and Santa Clara University with $23400. I am interested in business major. Which one to chose?
Thanks in advance."</p>
<p>Boston College. Santa Clara is not that hot for Californians.</p>
<p>Post #114: Wisconsin Madison > (UCB + $80 K)</p>
<p>To be very honest, and I've said this before, nine times out of ten, there isn't much point in being that much in debt for an undergrad degree. Unless you're trying to go to grad school, law school, med school, something like that...you don't need to be 80k in debt unless you've got something to show for it. And a B.A. or B.S. in anything (even engineering) is going to put you in with thousands of other students coming out with the same thing. So I'd go with the bargain. </p>
<p>Think about it: if you got a degree in Accounting from Wesleyan...what's going to differentiate you from someone with an Accounting degree from State University? Other than the 80k you've accrued in debt?</p>
<p>UCLAri - of course you can defer. But laying on another round of debt for another degree, arguably, only extends and compounds the problem in many cases. </p>
<p>One of my concerns, that is clear from my posts, is that it is very hard to get across to 18 yearolds what fory, fifty, or eighty thousands dollars of debt is. Deferring those payments simply pushes the repayment into the future, COUPLED with taking yourself out of the earnings market for the time you go back to school - a potential double whammy (forego $100K of gross income over 2 years and spend another $50K for an MBA, for example). </p>
<p>The root of this problem, to a large extent, is that the cost of private colleges has, on an economic value basis (e.g. "the value proposition"), outstripped the salary potential of most 22-27 yearold college grads. That's an unfortunate reality, but in my view only heightens the caution that must be exercised with respect to the debt issue.</p>
<p>
[quote]
if you got a degree in Accounting from Wesleyan...what's going to differentiate you from someone with an Accounting degree from State University?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, you can't get a degree in Acct. from Wesleyan for one. In that case, I'd definitely choose the school that actually offers the program and save money. However, many top schools have innumerable benefits in addition to their excellent placement into top grad/prof programs.</p>
<p>"UC:
pros: can pay in cash = no student loans at graduation; very well known in our home state, local (my screen name says it all)
cons: huge, impersonal education, very little prestige, possible difficulty being accepted into quality grad programs. "</p>
<p>Berkeley has a great deal of prestige across the nation and internationally as well. UCLA is also prestigious throughout the nation. Also, having Berkeley or UCLA on your resume will not hinder one's chances of getting into a top grad program. Berkeley is a top grad program in many fields.</p>
<p>OMG; so you guys need to take a look in the mirror and be bless that you have something to fall back on. You complained of being 'screwed...cause you upper middle class.' While I sitting back like "what the hell?" At least u can get rides to public school while the poor who most likely may of have not been bless to go to decent school get nothing but loans. Count your damn blessings. And there is nothing like having a 0 EFC and still get gaped by a private school with getting scholarships.</p>
<p>Why am I waiting for someone to respond to my post?</p>
<p>O - In a prior post I believe you said you received a $16K scholarship to Miami. "Nothing but loans?"</p>
<p>Yeah still gaped my aid though, but I talking bout cases when some don't even have my modest stats; they may get the full pell grant and/or the other fed grant and the rest is loans. Which is kinda not right because if you had that type of EFC than the college should be awhere that the student don't have the type of resources to back such loans running over 20K in total. My point is that this country punish the poor while the upper class still have the advantage. I do have the choice of going to a state school no problem thou..</p>
<p>It really depends. If you compare UC Berkeley and UCLA with most private schools, the answer is very easy to me. Go to Berkeley and UCLA!!</p>
<p>Berkeley and UCLA are world famous schools having top notch faculty members (many Nobel price winners, some lower ivy schools have zero winners), excellent learning and research facilities, exciting campus atmosphere, and well balanced college life with PAC-10 athletic programs and so on. You will get excellent education and great life experience that you won't get from most private universities with smaller class size. If you are not self-motivated, small class size won't do much to help you out.</p>
<p>Don't read into too much about US news and world report ranking. Personally I think the ranking is very bias because it primarily focuses on strength of private schools. </p>
<p>If you compare Rowand University at NJ with Harvard and Stanford, then .....</p>
<p>I'm a bit mystified at the one-dimensional cost analysis going on here. I understand this is a thread that presents the question of whether the value of a preferred private school education is worth the debt, but value isn't just measured in increased earnings. I know that's the only known factor that will offset the debt directly, but there are other aspects of value to be considered -- all less tangible and equally hard to predict as earnings. If it's just about earnings, debt and its attendant stress, and disposable income, then it is very difficult to justify these schools. I'm just suggesting there are other things to be considered. If not, then every student should pursue studies that will maximize earnings regardless of their interests or passion.</p>
<p>On a related note -- and I'm not speaking about anyone in particular because I don't know anyone's circumstances -- as parents of current incoming college freshmen, we do understand (don't we?) that things are likely to be tougher economically for our children than for us, for reasons outside of our control? I know we've paid the price in working more, vacationing less -- we're the most productive people in the world and it's not just that the computers are doing all the work, but we, generally speaking, have been living through pretty good times in terms of building wealth the past 20 years.</p>
<p>Why not transfer some of that wealth to our kids now, if we can? They've been working their butts off to prepare themselves for college. If we need to liquidate some assets to reduce their college debt load, why not do it? A few years ago, I sold my house, made a lot on it, taking advantage of the real estate boom many of us have benefited from, and -- yes, after paying off my debt -- started renting a small apartment knowing my daughter would be leaving home soon. That's where a huge chunk of her college savings is coming from.</p>
<p>I don't need to live a luxurious life now or when I'm retired. What happiness will that give me compared to the happiness I get from helping my daughter develop her talents and pursue her dreams? Besides, a nice small place to keep clean, no yard work... I'm making out pretty good, myself.</p>
<p>in response to the last post...I admire what you did as a parent and I hope your daughter appreciates and loves you for what you did. I am a HS senior living in Missouri and am upper middle class. We show no financial need and my dream school, Notre Dame, will cost close to 50K. My parents are like many others here in this thread, willing to orginally pay 25K or a little more. That still leaves me 80K in debt plus interest totalling over 100K. Plus my parents would be out 120K. I have a full ride to Texas a&m and am looking at engineering or business. </p>
<p>Therefore I have really no clue what to do. Opinions on my personal situation would be greatly appreciated. However, I have begun to realize via this site how great a burden debt may be. I orginally believed my hard work deserved to be rewarded with my dream school. But even more so, I have begun to realize that I cannot ask my parents to contribue that much money. They are great parents and I love them for everything they have done. Affecting their life financially is something I am beginning to think maybe I do not have the right to do...</p>
<p>for me it just sort of seems as though the past four years of blood, sweat and tears to get into a great school are wasted on somewhere less prestigious. It's like everything you've worked toward is suddenly redirected to a much less idealistic goal, can you imagine spending four greuling years working ur a** off, slaving away at AP classes, staying up til' 2:00 a.m. every night and then ending up in the same college as the person next to you who never had to do 6 hours of hw or turn in extensive research papers. its horrible. maybe im sounding childish but i just want to know that all my hard work will land me somewhere better than joe smith who took all standard classes and still got into the same state school.</p>
<p>pownall07 - Do you have any other options somewhere in the middle between A&M and Notre Dame? We visited A&M and really did not like it, (though many do) - somehow it feels even more MEGASCHOOL than UT. :(</p>
<p>UVA also full tuition..but that is 35K a year...clemson at about 20K. Those are the options i've narrowed it down to. WashU is also too expensive and Michigan is too expensive for a public....also I would agree that A&M is mega but my parents counterargue, truly, that the honors college really shrinks the class size and everything.</p>
<p>Sharpielove asked yesterday about hating one's public university choice. A long time ago (25 years), I graduated at the top of my huge public high school with high SAT scores. I wanted to go to a good private college, but went to Penn State because that's what we thought we could afford. I did well at PSU, did research projects for some professors who were thrilled to find an undergrad who was actually interested in learning, and was accepted at every elite law school to which I applied, including Harvard. I ended up attending Duke with a free tuition ride, made the Law Journal, and got a federal judicial clerkship, followed by a job at a very picky law firm. I'm not bragging, just pointing out that it is NOT necessary to attend a selective and expensive private school in order to be successful.
My husband is a faculty member at a large state university, and is always on the lookout for smart, hardworking undergrads. The opportunities are there at big state schools; you just have to work harder to find them. There are excellent professors at every school, and if you take some initiative they can be a terrific resource. Most of the students who contact my husband at office hours or via email are, unfortunately, simply complaining about their poor grades or trying to find out how to make up the work they missed because they didn't bother coming to class. Smart, motivated students STAND OUT in large public universities.</p>
<p>I am so thankful that my state college pays full tuition and couldn't imagine having 100k+ loans to deal with after college. If money is an issue and you have a good state college in your state, then it would be a good decision. All you do is excel in your major you will be able to get into many reputable grad schools. Also, look at the certain field you plan on majoring in. For example, my state school has an excellent engineering and accounting department so it would be wiser to attend the state school compared to a 100K private school.</p>
<p>An even longer time ago, I went to a middle of the road public university v. my younger sister who went to Stanford (even with lower SATs, but then again, she was a HS All America in her sport - didn't get a scholarship, but I'm sure it helped her get in...). She got pretty much straight As and I was a B+ student, until my senior year. I did a junior year abroad, and had some terrific professors.</p>
<p>She got into a good law school, I got into a great business school. When she and I talk about it, we're both pretty happy with our life choices (though I do make more than she does - sibling rivalry made me say this...).</p>
<p>My point: you can get a good education pretty much anywhere - but it all depends on you. I've noted elsewhere that the head of one of the world's largest consulting firms started at a community college.</p>
<p>To floridastudent, one thing I can say, now that I'm an executive, I'd take you anytime over some of the ivy-leaguers I've interviewed, who seem to think that they're ready to run the company after they've made the 2-year tour of the different functions... You've learned how to work, rather than just flaunt your intelligence - this is a skill that will serve you well, and take you to the top of whatever profession you choose.</p>