<p>Is there anyone else struggling to choose between these two schools? I am from New Jersey and have visited Tulane for honors weekend and just came back from a Cal overnight stay program. To be honest, I felt much more comfortable at Cal than I did at Tulane...the students were more my "type" of people, there seemed to be so much more going on, and it was much more diverse. Plus it's in California! I surprised myself, because I always thought that I wanted to go to a smaller school without huge lectures. Plus, I have volunteered in NOLA for the past two summers, absolutely love it, and love the community service opportunities in the area...but Tulane just didn't feel like the place where I belong. I could always go to NOLA during the summers.</p>
<p>Yet I'm not in the situation where I can decide on my gut feelings or what I really want, necessarily. I am upper-middle class with a complicated money situation (parents divorced, mom unemployed, dad makes a lot of money but is still only willing to pay for 1/2 my college). Financially, Tulane is probably a better choice. I was offered 25k plus 11k in loans from Tulane (but is the total coast really 57k?! crazy), while from Cal I got 9k in gift and 4,700 in loans, and 4k in work study (total cost around 54,000?).</p>
<p>Ultimately, I have to have a conversation with my dad about Cal, why I want to go there over Tulane, and why it would be a good investment. I'm just interested to know if anyone else is in the same position...despite all that I love about Cal, it might be stupid (considering budget cuts, high expenses, and huge class sizes) for me to turn down such a good offer from Tulane.</p>
<p>First of all, it is never “stupid” to like what you like. If Cal felt like more of a fit for you, then it probably is. Second, I have to agree that the typical Cal student is pretty different than the typical Tulane student, at least historically. Finally, if I am reading your post correctly, and if nothing changed in 4 years, you would have $44,000 in loans if you attended Tulane and about $18,800 by going to Cal. If I am reading that right, and assuming that your Dad is OK covering whatever the difference is, then the decision makes itself. For you to be looking at $44,000 in debt and possibly more after 4 years at Tulane (although typically Tulane improves the amount of the grant portion if you do well in school) vs about $20-25,000 at Cal (because I an assuming that tuition will go up faster there on a percentage basis, and you are OOS) is a pretty big difference. Add in that you felt that Cal was the place for you, and it seems like Cal wins on both counts.</p>
<p>So I feel like I am missing something here. Are you saying that the portion not covered by the grant/loans/work-study (in the case of Cal) is bigger for Cal than Tulane and so going to Tulane would save your parents money? If so, it is shifting the burden from them to you. That is a tough call, and something only you and your parents can work out. Which, as you say, is made more complicated by the divorced status. Still, I know I would do everything I could to have my children come out with as little debt as possible so they could get off to as strong a start in their lives as possible, but different families may feel differently on this issue. Nonetheless, most of the factors seem to be pointing you to Cal, as far as I can see. It’s a really great place near a really great city, no question. You could do soooooo much worse than having this choice.</p>
<p>Let us know what happens, but I have a feeling you will be wearing a Cal shirt this fall.</p>
<p>Berkeley wins in ranking, international prestige, more diverse student body, location…etc, whereas Tulane is cheaper, smaller, and less cut throat. The price gap is likely to widen, considering the budget crunch in Ca. Yeah, tough decision…</p>
<p>S2 chose Tulane over Berkeley. He felt it was the right size, offered real contact with professors, and he enjoyed the focus on service and sense of community he found at Tulane. He also liked NOLA much better than the Berkeley/Oakland area.</p>
<p>I definitely realize that I could be a lot worse off with this choice…I’m obviously so lucky to have a choice at all! But it’s still stressful for me.</p>
<p>According to Cal’s financial info, the school costs 54k a year. I got 9k in scholarship + grant, 4k in work study, and around 7k in loans. The rest would be out of pocket (aka 34k a year out of pocket…a lot).</p>
<p>Tulane, on the other hand, is around 57k a year. I got 25k in scholarship, 8k in loans, and 3k in work study. Out of pocket would therefore be around 20k a year.</p>
<p>My parents are planning on asking Berkeley for more money (not that it’s likely I’ll get anything else…i’m a little worried about how bad the uc budget crisis is getting)</p>
<p>I’m interested in a variety of things, currently English, Political Science, Sociology, and Psychology. I know that I don’t want to do math or science, otherwise I’m up in the air.</p>
<p>OK, that is clearer to me now, and pretty much what I thought. Except you have changed the loan amounts at each school so now they are pretty much equal! That really does make a difference. What’s the story on that?</p>
<p>If the first loan amounts were right, I pretty much stand by my post, it just depends on how much $20K a year vs. $34K a year means to your Dad and if he is even willing to do it. I do think your loan amount has a reasonable chance of decreasing at Tulane based on what they have done for other high performing students. I think this is less likely to be true at Berkeley. In other words, I have had a fair number of Tulane students tell me that every year after freshman year they saw the grant part of their FA package go up, and the loan portion go down, but I am not sure if the out of pocket (EFC) part changed unless their personal financial situation changed. I wouldn’t think so, Tulane expects people to pay their EFC. Now remember, these students all were very successful academically. Since you have a 25K scholarship at Tulane you have obviously been a very good student, so you should be successful at Tulane as long at you stay disciplined.</p>
<p>Anyway, back to the point, it seems to me it rests on your Dad. If he thinks that paying an extra $14K a year is something he just won’t do, I suppose you have no choice. Taking out that much in extra loans would be a mistake for sure, if you even could. If he says OK, I can afford it so make whatever decision you think is best for you, then go for Cal, since you think it fits you better. Sounds like that he is unlikely to say that, though, based on what you said in your original post. And if the second loan amounts are right, then your debt coming out would be about equal and Tulane makes more sense financially. If he cannot or will not pay the difference, the decision is pretty much made for you, it seems to me.</p>
<p>I know this thread is a couple of years old but I’m actually in a similar situation.</p>
<p>At Tulane I got the Paul Tulane Award (so full tuition covered) and everything except for $9,000ish covered in work-study and grants, with the rest in subsidized and unsubbed loans. I’d be in the Honors Program and am a semifinalist for the Altman Program as well.</p>
<p>At Berkeley I am a semifinalist for The Leadership Award (just $2,000 for one year, but lots of little perks) and would have everything covered by work-study and grants except for $5,000ish - again, with the rest in loans. I’m a CA resident so the tuition isn’t TOO bad anyway, but with my two sibs and I in college for the next few years it’ll add up.</p>
<p>I have yet to tour both (will do so in the next couple of weeks, which I am sure will influence my opinion) but I guess my real questions are:
a) Is the insecurity of California funding worth Berkeley’s additional prestige? I know we can’t predict the economic situation, but any guesses as to how much funding could be cut?
b) Top of the “bottom” (Tulane - that’s harsh, but you get what I mean) or bottom of the “top” (Berkeley)?</p>
<p>S2 chose Tulane over Berkeley largely based on small class sizes, courses taught by profs, school size, and of course New Orleans. He is a junior now and loves Tulane.</p>
<p>How about Tulane with the Dean’s Honor so free tuition vs Berkeley with a Regents so tuition about 10K? I think gotta go for Berkeley even though Tulane is great.</p>
<p>Roxanne and stevest - take it from those of us that have been in the workforce for a long time, the whole “prestige” thing is a myth at the undergrad level. The only exception, and it is a limited one, is that employers (especially at smaller companies) will know local schools better and value them more highly to some degree. So if you are not planning on grad school or professional school (law, med) then the only big difference in going to Berkeley as far as name recognition is if you are planning to try and get a job in that part of the country. If you are planning on post-grad, then it is where you go to school post-grad that people will care about. And as far as getting into grad/professional schools, it is how you did as an undergrad that counts, not where you went, especially if you go to any highly regarded school.</p>
<p>You really should choose based on fit, and since these are two really different schools, one should seem more appealing based on intrinsic factors rather than any perceived prestige issues. You will be doing yourselves huge favors by looking at it that way.</p>