<p>I have been accepted into UC Davis as an out of state undergraduate (from Hawaii). As you know, the cost for oos is steep (47k total with the entering UG scholarship). UC Davis is the best school I got into as far as rankings, prestige, and it seems like a good fit for me. My major is undeclared, but i'm leaning towards the sciences/engineering, which Davis is highly ranked in. The other school I'm considering is the University of Portland, which would only cost around 24k. They also have the majors of studies I want to pursue but isn't a highly recognized national institution like Davis.</p>
<p>I'm torn between these two schools. Both schools would provide a great education and experience. Davis would be the greater of the two but is it worth the jump when it comes down to prestige and cost?</p>
<p>My parents can pay for both schools (taking out huge loans for Davis, paying back over next 10+ years) but a 200k investment vs a 100k investment is definitely something I'm taking into consideration (middle class is tough). My parents are giving the final decision to me. I feel like both schools are great; U of Portland is great, but UC Davis is better but costs twice as much.</p>
<p>Where you go to college will probably set you up for the rest of your life. I want to go to the better institution but will it be a good investment?
Which school would be more reasonable and the better value when it comes down to cost, opportunities, and quality of education?</p>
<p>The first thing you need to do is to step back and rethink the “where you go to college setting you up for life.” Some colleges provide advantages over other colleges to students who use them. However, the question is how much are those advantages actually worth? You can read multiple threads here about people trying to decide between an Ivy school and a full-ride at a state school. You might take a look at some of those to get an idea of how much you would value the difference.</p>
<p>If you’re considering engineering, ucbalumnus has multiple posts about accreditation concerns so take a look at those. </p>
<p>Ultimately, I don’t think it’s worth the $100,000 difference. There are a lot of things that you can do with $100,000 dollars that will make where you went to school irrelevant. Just think in terms of possibly going to graduate school. Something else that is happening more often is that students are finding that they have to do multiple unpaid internships (probably not in engineering) before getting a paid internship. The money would go a long ways in terms of allowing to go for the best such internships during the summer. </p>
<p>The college you go to isn’t going to solve your problems for life, it’s supposed to give you the tools to help you solve problems as you go through life. There are situations where having a high end set of tools can be an advantage but for most people, a hammer is a hammer. Having a degree from college x will impress some people, but there are plenty of other ways to impress people without your parents having to go deeply into debt.</p>
<p>“UC Davis is the best school I got into as far as rankings, prestige, and it seems like a good fit for me.”</p>
<p>$100k is a lot of moolah for rankings and prestige. Generally, for that kind of money, you ought to be buying something that has more tangible benefits - a program that isn’t offered at U of Portland, resources and opportunities your couldn’t otherwise get, a student body that is significantly more academically challenging, a lot more faculty attention/mentoring, vastly superior research opportunities, etc…If you were talking MIT vs. U of Portland, prestige might be a bigger deal and worth $100k. Not sure that the difference between these two schools commands that kind of premium.</p>
<p>The second question is about opportunity cost - if you go to the less expensive school, does that mean potentially more support for grad school? The ability to work at internships or lower paying positions over the summer? The opportunity to study abroad? Use of a car to get to/from a new job once you graduate? Sometimes that alone can make a big difference.</p>
<p>Last question:Where do you see yourself ending up? Is there any value in the network and connections you can build for yourself at one school vs. the other? If you plan to live/work in Portland, building your network there from the start might be worthwhile (or, alternatively, is that a reason to live somewhere else for a while and see another part of the world?)</p>
<p>Ultimately, no right or wrong answer - just trade offs that you and your family have to weigh.</p>
<p>I can see myself going to either one of these schools and having a great experience but you never know what the end result may be. Both schools have the programs I want to study, but Davis is more academically challenging, bigger name, superior research and opportunities. U Portland would be the regular public school that can satisfy your needs but UC Davis in comparison is like the expensive privates school with better quality, facilities, resources, student body, etc. </p>
<p>I feel like going to UC Davis will be the greater opportunity but U of Portland would leave me in a more comfortable position with more financial flexibility. Is it worth 100k more to go to UC Davis or would it be more reasonable to go to Portland and still receive a decent education (not as good as davis).</p>
<p>Davis is a great school but not worth an extra 100K save yourself and your parents some money. You will be surprised at the quality of education at Portland.</p>
<p>I have done a considerable amount of research on both of these schools. I wish I could have visited at least one of these campuses to gain a greater perspective because my view is mostly based on websites, reviews, videos/photos, counselors, and people. </p>
<p>This is why it is difficult for me to make a clear decision. If I choose to go to Univ of Portland, I would save 100k but it would feel like I would be missing out on a greater opportunity to go to a better school. If I go to Davis, it would be the better school but my financial situation and expectations will weigh heavily. Many people say to go to the better institution even though it costs more and others say go to Portland. </p>
<p>Does anyone have greater insights on the University of Portland (there’s not as much information on UoP as UC Davis) and the quality of education, classes, student body, facilities, post grad/job, etc.</p>
<p>i know that UC Davis is a large public while U Portland is a small private, its just a comparison when i compared them with public/prviate, public being the lesser school while private being the nice, prestigious expensive school. UCD is a top public school and a top 40 national university. Univ of Portland isn’t even close to that. Is UC Davis worth 100k more when it comes down to academics, opportunities, jobs/internships, etc?</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re going to find anyone telling you that Davis is worth a $100,000. Let me start by saying that Davis is a great school (really, this is devils advocate) but seem you already seem to have the potential negatives down for Portland, consider the situation for Daivs.</p>
<p>Davis is
“more academically challenging”-sitting in large undergraduate classes where all discussion sections are led by TAs is a form of challenging. Go to the Berkeley open courses and listen to the professors introduce the TAs and tell the students that the 600 seat hall is oversubscribed so another 150 can be accommodated in classroom X. That’s encouraging for intellectual discussion and development. Also, while the students SAT math scores are somewhat higher at Davis, the critical reading scores are lower. Class selections to small at Portland? Design your own course with a professor that’s interested in working with you. </p>
<p>“bigger name”-No doubt about it. But what is that bigger name getting you? Are there specific companies that are recruiting on campus that you are interested in? The career center people at Davis bring in the corporate recruiters, review your resume, and send you off with your list of alumni contacts. At Portland, the career center people are making calls for you. </p>
<p>“superior research”- And what makes you think you’ll have anything to do with it? You’ll be competing with 24,000 other undergraduates and 6000 graduates. Every university has an undergraduate research department/center. Some are little more than telling you to look up the faculty interests and good luck. Others are obviously serious about it have faculty listing requests for students for actual positions for specific projects. Davis appears to lean towards the former.</p>
<p>“and opportunities”-for what? Visit any of the smaller schools and they’ll tell you something to the effect that if you don’t see it here, we’ll support you in getting it. You haven’t articulated the greater opportunities, to be treated as number? To have to hope that your professor is keeping office hours today so that you can introduce yourself and maybe get a letter of recommendation? </p>
<p>If money wasn’t an issue and your heart is set on Davis, everyone would tell you to go. But if you’re looking for someone to say that Davis is worth $100,000 so that your parents can justify paying the difference, it isn’t going to happen. They both have strengths and weaknesses. They are two different experiences. I think you would get more support if you were saying that you thought you would suffocate at Portland or that you are uncomfortable in small classrooms.</p>
<p>Hey silverddue, why don’t you spend a little of that 100K difference and fly down to UCDavis. Being from Hawaii, you may hate it. It’s landlocked and smells like cow poop in the summer sometimes. </p>
<p>I love Davis. It’s a great UC and small town. Several family members have graduated from there. But it’s rural. And many of the students there are commuters and don’t live on campus. Just a thought.</p>
<p>I wish I had visited one of these campuses but the deadline is May 1st and I hope to decide by this weekend. The schools are different in terms of large university vs small private but the pros/cons outweigh one another, if not the greater advantage to UC Davis. Either way I will have to adjust, its just to what situation. UC Davis is like the better version of Univ of Portland in every aspect (just to what extent?): academically more prestigious, bigger name, faculty/network connections and opportunities to work in California in comparison to Oregon. If it was not about the money, UC Davis would be the clear choice. When I evaluated all of my choices, Portland came up and could very well be the more reasonable decision.</p>
<p>I have read many cases of students deciding between the cheap state school vs the large prestigious institution (I am not calling Portland the cheap state school or UC Davis the prestigious institution). As of now, I am trying to get the best comparison possible between UC Davis and University of Portland. I know a lot more about UC Davis than the Univ of Portland (not a lot of information on Portland that goes in-depth like Davis). I just need more reassurance about the Univ of Portland that goes past the academic majors available, size, and more about the opportunities available with a degree in Oregon, quality of education, quality of college. Is the extra cost worth it to attend <uc davis=""> rather than <univ of="" portland="">?</univ></uc></p>
<p>The 100k involved is definitely a huge factor, and it makes it even tougher on me that my parents are more than willing to pay for it (asian parents). They wouldn’t have a second thought about the cost differential because they want me to go to the more prestigious school. By no means are we rich but as a middle class family with a steady income, taking out a 200k loan and paying back over the next 15+ years is something my parents can do. (I can also help out too) I wouldn’t be struggling too much on the investment but having the weight of a 200k loan is a difference that cannot be ignored. I just want to make the best decision possible and under these circumstances, I control my own destiny. </p>
<p>From my stance now, Davis seems like the greater opportunity to get the more prestigious degree, job, and experience, which is what I hope for from college; with the expense of paying a lot more than getting the same education from Portland, just without the name brand that could be the difference to my future career (undecided) and life. I know there is a gap between these two schools after evaluating the situation. UC Davis is a great school. Just how good of a school is the Univ of Portland in comparison? Which school would be the greater bang for the buck? </p>
<p>Without the perspective of being on any of the campuses, it is difficult for me to confidently pick the school I like more, that’s why I am trying to get as much input and insight from other sources to clear things up.</p>
<p>My daughter was in the similar situation as you. She got accepted at UCI, UCD, and waitlisted at UCSD. We have visited both UCD and U of Portland campuses. She liked both campuses. They both are beautiful. But now she has ruled out all the UCs because she knows very well now that she wants a smaller school experience. You need to ask yourself, do you like to be in a classroom with 100-400 people or more vs. a classroom of 25? Do you like professors to call you by your name or professors who don’t know you existed? Do you like the lecturing class format or a more interacted discussion format? Do you like to ride your bike around the campus to go from one class to the other (at UCD you need to since it is so big), or just walk to classes (U of Portland has a campus size of 130 Acres)? U of Portland is a good school. It’s a regional school with a good reputation in the Northwest. I am from Southern California by the way. But I have many colleagues who work in Portland. When we visited the campus, the student body, administration, and the faculty were all very friendly and nice. We really enjoyed our visit there. If I have one complaint about this school is that there is lack of diversity compare with the UCs. But that is not a problem for my daughter. She also sat in 2 classes and I was able to sit in on them and we both enjoy the classes. My daughter is deciding between University of Portland and another private school in So CAL at this time. She likes the curriculum in U of Portland more but she isn’t sure about the rainy weather. Well, both of you don’t have much time to decide. But I am sure she will do well in either school. As for you, I do think the big school and small school learning environment matters. Unless you prefer the big school system, I feel that with the scholarship you received from U of Portland and the quality of education you will be getting from this school, you should choose U of Portland. Save the $100,000 for graduate school.</p>
<p>Deciding this weekend will be tough. I wish you luck, silverddue. </p>
<p>Just one more thought. If you are certain, absolutely passionately certain that you want to be a science/engineering major go to Davis. The huge class sizes won’t bother you because you’re after the content. After you become more specialized usually the classes get smaller anyway. And there will be opportunities for internships in some of the professor’s labs. Things will fall into place because a science major is where you belong. </p>
<p>What science major were you leaning towards anyway? When I was in HS I always wanted to be a botanist. But I ended up studying Cell and Molecular Biology with an emphasis in Plant Cell and Molecular Biology. Trust me, there is a difference. lol.</p>
<p>If, however, you aren’t sure you want to be in the sciences at all. Save the 100K and go to Portland. You can always transfer to a more science obsessed school later. Trust me, if you have the passion/focus/drive, there is a way to transfer (albeit difficult) and you’ll find it. And you would have saved money on those repetitive (in content) lower division science/math classes. You can also use the savings to go to grad school. It’s practically a necessity in these disciplines anyway to get a well paying job. </p>
<p>Anyhow, goodluck. It seems like you’ll be able to make the most of whatever school you choose.</p>
<p>Everyone, forget it. The OP is stuck on perceived prestige and apparently has no ability or desire to give any other specific reasons for Davis. Heck, just a list of employers recruiting at Davis and not Portland would be something at this point. I’m not sure why the op even applied to Portland. OP apparently thinks that paying off the loan over a 15 year period is acceptable because there couldn’t possibly be any life emergencies that might happen during that time period. Bankruptcy doesn’t get rid of student loans.</p>
<p>University of Portland is a fantastic school. The students are interesting and driven and the faculty are engaging and go out of their way to help students achieve in life. It is top ranked in many categories. I know students who have transferred to UP from larger schools and feel like they have grown more intellectually at UP than schools with classrooms of 400 students taught by a TA.
However, they are not a huge “ra ra” school. The students have a lot of pride in their university, but it does not have a football team.</p>
