Payscale rankings are heavily influenced by the percentage of STEM majors at an institution. It might be a useful too comparing between institutions for the same major (I prefer College Scorecard, but it has limitations too). Comparing whole institutions isn’t very useful.
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Depending on the EFC, Princeton can be a great value or a terrible deal.
What are they doing at Samuel Merritt University? They win the early career earnings award!
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But do they get other benefits for the increased price tag like better access to opportunities, more individualized support, and/or the ability to make connections with influential people that will help open doors? Some people may consider that worth the extra cost.
Depending upon what a person does with the Princeton degree, even at full-pay it can be a great deal.
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I think this is the key. The goals. If one wants a Wall Street like job, they can come from everywhere today and Wall Street is not just NY but yes, that person may chase Ivy, Michigan, Marshall, NYU, Columbia, etc. where someone else a going to a Gozuieta or Olin or Kellogg or Darden.
The Wall Street one is specific. I chose ASU over Texas and Indiana - back then Indiana was #7 and I went to #40. They paid me. We had I bankers ( a few) and consultants a lot - but neither was an interest or pursuit of mine. If it was I’d have gone to IU.
But people are going for industries beyond Wall Street and finance. It’s not everyone’s jam - really just a small percentage.
Btw and I can’t find a current list but the Harvard class of 2015 came from 264 schools - from ASU to Georgia Southern to Ohio Wesleyan to U of Oklahoma.
Yes elites feed from elites and there will be a higher percentage from them. Those who tested well the first time will test well for grad school. But Harvard and other elites are accessible to all.
I have heard of some top tier firms wanting a top undergrad AND grad. I suppose it can be an issue in a minuscule amount if instances. ie you go to Colorado and then Wharton.
The other thing - look at the undergrad level. There was a kid on here at Va Tech who wanted to work on Wall Street. They’re not a listed feeder. Yet in running a LinkedIn search I found plenty of alums in I Banking. Kids make assumptions without even trying. That is a bigger issue !! The kids have to want it, not just say they want it.
So while some are far more connected than others - if one is paying full they are spending a lot without assurance. It may or may not work. Even if it does, it may have from elsewhere too.
I do acknowledge as someone else said - elite schools can be cheaper. But I don’t think that falls into OPs argument. It’s more full play elite vs state school as noted $200k in differential.
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Yes that’s all part of the individual ROI calculation.
What state? I live in Virginia, my state schools include UVA and William & Mary.
Is Brown or Cornell worth 2x the cost of UVA?
The newly installed President of Columbia University has a BA from UMass, a MS from LSE and a PhD from Oxford. Going to a state flagship clearly didnt hurt her.
The current President of the United States has a BA from the University of Delaware and the current Vice President of the United States has a BA from Howard University.
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At truly elite schools, like Princeton, substantial aid is available to families making up to $250k. This often brings the cost in line with the state flagship. At other well ranked privates schools, however, aid is much sparser and it isn’t always available to families making $200k.
College Navigator - Samuel Merritt University indicates that all bachelor’s degrees awarded in a recent class were for nursing majors.
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Hi! I am not sure that your situation is so unusual - we are not in a remote location, but financially in the same boat. Our kiddos pay less to attend highly selective schools. Definitely worth it!
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One tiny data point in the information universe, but my son’s OOS >#100 ranked state school tuition was $40k less than MIT and he’ll exceed their early career median pay in year 2 of his first job, and will exceed their mid-career median pay. I appreciate that ROI, but it demonstrates the limitations of these rankings. If students at elite schools are exceptional, it would make sense that they could achieve somewhat equal career success graduating from a cheaper state school.
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LOL! Do “elite” schools even offer nursing degrees?
This is actually an unknown.
Hopefully it gives him better odds but truth is it may have been possible from UF or it may not happen from the new school or he may even change directions.
So many kids don’t even know what jobs are out there until they land. Everyone thinks they know but they don’t necessarily. I’m in a job I had no idea existed abd was recently offered a lateral in a role that didn’t exist til they offered it to me.
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UPenn does: BSN Programs • Admissions • Penn Nursing
However, the early career pay winners in the Payscale rankings are mostly colleges which focus on in-demand majors (engineering majors, nursing) or which are service academies. Obviously, the mix of majors matters a lot for the early career pay levels of graduates, and the choice of major is likely to matter a lot for an individual student.
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Is this the well paid social worker of last resort?
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It is, and I may recommend he add that to the bottom of his business card. Sadly, business is very good. Soon he can also add emergent care where others dare not enter to his business card.
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I wouldn’t be snorting as loudly as I am if someone were to honestly answer “does a salad prepared on a cutting board on top of a granite countertop taste better than that salad prepared on formica?” or “Does a Louis Vuitton tote bag carry your water bottle and umbrella better than the canvas bag with the NPR or Target logo”?
There are so many financial decisions people make-- to spend more than they have to (the Target tote is free, the Vuitton bag is $1500) to achieve the utilitarian goal. But somehow on CC the folks who have paid full freight are the “chumps” and the folks who have found “University of East Overshoe” which is “just as good as Yale” are the financial geniuses.
My kids could have gotten a fine education at our flagship. We chose a different path and I don’t regret it-- and before you tell me what the opportunity cost was, or how I could have invested that money to buy a condo or pay for a wedding or whatever- think- does a family who can pay full freight for multiple children really need a tutorial on sound financial planning?
Probably not. I am likely the most frugal member of my social circle- and right now I believe I out-earn all the women I am close to. That’s not a brag (since you don’t know me IRL it doesn’t matter). But it means that choosing lucrative career paths, opting for the “non-mommy track” even after having kids, and not retiring at 62 to do Pilates and Pickleball fulltime offers many more financial options-- especially regarding one’s children’s education-- than people who have made different choices.
I don’t criticize folks who made different choices-- but boy, the courtesy does not extend in both directions. I have been told on CC that sending a kid to MIT is a dumb financial decision since “everyone knows” that Georgia Tech and UIUC are stronger in CS. Since my kid did not study CS I guess I’ll never know how dumb I was- but since we are not residents of Georgia or Illinois it was a stupid comparison anyway!!!
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Like every school at every price, they pay bcuz they want to.
There’s two current posts that come to mind.
An Illinois student has a family with some assets - maybe $150k. And an annual income of $125k - which is not relevant. Why ? They plan to give her not a nickel. Harvard or Southern Illinois doesn’t matter - they either don’t see the value of education or at least paying for it. Some really do think their kids have to ‘earn’ it because maybe they did.
The other is a student at AU. I think two years in. Sounds like it was a stress from day 1 because the student has worked two jobs. The student never offered what they’re paying (I asked a few times). Why ? Because if they are paying $30k or $40k etc they could have initially gone for less. Instead they blamed not doing well in hs for a not great offer.
But the family, maybe via student pressure or not, chose to pay. I’d say they should have said no - but everyone makes their decisions. We don’t know but it’s likely much cheaper schools out there.
For some full pay at Lehigh is a drop in the bucket. For others, $20k is not affordable.
What kills me is you have many schools - Colby, W&L, Grinnell, in some cases a Rice, Emory, WUSTL, Bates, Hamilton - very low name recognition in the vast part of society. Yet families are still paying up big time !!!
But again it’s their choice.
For what it is worth, we’ll happily pay if S24 is accepted into any of the top schools he is looking at, as we can afford it comfortably. I feel there is value beyond his potential earnings. That being said, I would feel differently if it would be a financial burden or would entail taking a lot of loans. I realize, and appreciate, that this is a luxury we are lucky to have. S22 passed on the ultra expensive undergraduate option as he is planning on grad school - we agreed to pay for that when opted for the cheaper undergrad. I guess we’ll have done both between the two kids.
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