<p>It is a *little *different to choose UCSD over Stanford (one of the top research universities in the world) than it is to choose SCU, which isn’t a major research university like Stanford and UCSD.</p>
<p>A Stanford degree will likely open more doors to you initially, however if you graduate with $200K (+/-) of debt – that may very well limit, perhaps severely, your practical choices you can pursue and act on later. Did the OP ever say what degree or post graduate education or career goals are? While many that graduate Stanford do well financially – I am sure there are plenty, especially in certain majors that do not. Even if you are in the right major, you may end up in a career you hate and be saddled with a huge debt burden.</p>
<p>It’s up to you if all this is worth it for a Stanford degree. Maybe you can some find some folks that actually took on that level of debt to graduate Standford ( or another prestigious school) – and see how they felt about it 4-8 years after graduation.</p>
<p>If the degree you are trying to get will never be worth that 200k of debt, I’d say the full ride is best. If you’re not going to be making $70k+ out of college you should never be going to a school that offers no sort of financial aid. You may get lucky and find a job that will make it more simple to pay off your student debt but odds are you’ll just end up in a 99% rally on Wall St.</p>
<p>I would pick Stanford…up to what amount of income will Stanford provide scholarships?</p>
<p>^ typically up to $200,000</p>
<p>[The</a> Parent Contribution : Stanford University](<a href=“Financial Aid : Stanford University”>Financial Aid : Stanford University)</p>
<p>Please understand that you go to a college not just because of its name/prestige/selectivity, you go there 'cause of the environment and the resources it provides you. Even at full sticker price, what you pay at a place like Stanford is a fraction of what will be spent on your education. Besides, you could start interning at a startup or a Silicon Valley Tech giant, or you could be researching at a well-funded top-notch lab, and start making some money pretty soon. At Stanford, you would be surrounded by amazing faculty and peers. Every faculty you would meet has made a significant contribution in their field of study, and just dropping these names will start opening doors for you whereever you would go. Some of your dormmates are bound to be world-famous scientists, entrepreneurs, athletes, etc. The value is priceless, and Stanford is very generous with its aid policy too. The opportunity it provides is mind boggling, please do not trade it for Santa Clara Univ. It should not even cross your mind.</p>
<p>Slorg, any regrets about going to UCSD instead of Stanford for undergrad? Now that you’ve experienced both, how would you describe the difference? Is UCSD considered better than Santa Clara?</p>
<p>My husband went to ucsd for undergrad and Stanford for Grad/engineering. This was 27 years ago. The Stanford “connection” still opens doors and provides good opportunities for him to work with the best people. UCSD provided classes, Stanford provided knowledgeable and worldwide connections, the best research opportunities, and great alumni connections.</p>
<p>This thread is going to have a disproportionate number of people who say ‘go to Stanford.’ If you were admitted to Stanford, it’s highly likely you could have gotten a full-ride at many good schools if you had chosen to apply. Most students (and their families) who chose Stanford, did it in spite of that knowledge. So asking them if it’s worth it is going to get you only one response. (I think the right answer is ‘it depends’ - on many variables mentioned above.)</p>
<p>And yes, we think it’s been worth it for our kid. One more variable - even as a freshman, D was able to take graduate level classes in certain areas. Her schedule has subsequently included graduate level courses in each semester. And the faculty have actually reached out (people at the top of their field) and offered to mentor her. Is her experience typical? Maybe not - but if you are the kind of student who may want or need graduate level courses before your senior year, if you are choosing the kind of career where mentoring by leaders in the field will make a big difference, then Stanford is worth paying for even if you could go elsewhere for free.</p>
<p>no i wouldnt. i didnt go to this amazing private high school after i got in and i regret it to this day. be grateful that you got in, many would pay so much more just for that oppertunity.</p>
<p>To the OP: So are you a class of HS 2013 <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/1223072-black-class-2013-hs-thread-5.html#post13908706[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/1223072-black-class-2013-hs-thread-5.html#post13908706</a>
Why start this thread and have people waste their time when you are still a junior in high school? If it is a generic discussion, you should state that as a disclosure.</p>
<p>I think it is idiotic how so many of you would throw away $200,000 when it is possible to just go to Stanford for graduate school. I can’t way until the real world hits you kids.</p>
<p>coobot, people can’t just assume they’ll get in to Stanford, or other peer schools, for graduate school. Admissions to Stanford’s professional schools, and most of its graduate programs generally, are extremely competitive as well. Sometimes people who can’t attend HYPSM for undergrad for one reason or another say they’ll “just go for grad school”, but that may be more of a wishful consolation than an actual plan, under the circumstances. So, your tone is really off base. And, I can assure you, no one is “throwing away” their money by attending Stanford.</p>
<p>^ yup, many if not most of Stanford’s PhD programs have a lower admit rate than its undergrad, and that’s with a much, much more self-selecting group of applicants and a much larger group of applicants from around the world (Stanford isn’t afraid to admit more competitive international students, which make up 1/3 of grad students). The med school acceptance rate is 1-2%, business 6.8%, law 8.7% in 2006, education 7.2%. These are all probably more self-selecting than the undergrad applicant pool.</p>
<p>In other words, getting in as an undergrad very well may be your only shot at a Stanford education.</p>
<p>Yes, when it is $200,000 for school you are throwing away your money. You can apply to many competitive grad schools as long as you have the grades for it (grades you should be working on regardless of what college you go to). Your undergraduate school doesn’t matter as much as you would think, especially when it is a great school like Santa Clara.
Do you want a SIX-FIGURE student debt? Oh please. You better have made some amazing connections in college or have some loving/rich parents to pay that off easily.</p>
<p>Yes I would go for the free ride.You will be at the top of the class, given special treatment for being in the honors, and when you apply to grad school you will have saved so much money that you can go to a school like Stanford then. If Santa Clara was a community college then I would say Stanford, but it most definitely is not. It is a great school! I’m in a similar situation myself with a different school, and since my parents really do not have money at all I’m thankful for what I’ve been given.</p>
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<p>It probably matters more than you think. Keeping your grades up is not enough to get into Stanford grad school. You also have to have extensive research experience, which is much harder at a school like SCU where the professors are low in the research productivity scale, where the research facilities are poor by comparison, and where the funding for research is meager. The recommendations you get from profs are also monumentally important, and the name of the profs is *very *important.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone should take out a six-figure debt for a bachelor’s. But $200k is most definitely not a waste of money if you can pay it.</p>
<p>This is all hypothetical and I was assuming that the $200k debt could not be paid throughout the 4 years in undergrad and the student would have a large debt after school, otherwise in the hypothetical situation if the $200k debt could be paid easily it wouldn’t be a choice between SCU full-ride or Stanford no financial aid.
Of course you would have an easier time at a research university such as Stanford when it comes to that sort of thing and I would never argue that. However, you have to look at it from a money to education ratio. Can you honestly tell me that Stanford Undergraduate is worth $200,000 + interest more than SCU for free? Is it really worth the financial hassle? Also, I think using the word “poor” is a little of an overstatement.</p>
<p>Out of topic, but I heard SCU only gives you full tuition scholarship. Do they also have full ride scholarship?</p>
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<p>Not if it’s debt, as I already said. But if you can pay for it without it being a significant financial burden, then yes.</p>
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<p>I don’t think so. SCU is not a strong research university, and most of its strength lies in fields that don’t require extensive (or any) facilities. As a result, it has very little in the way of research facilities.</p>