My dedicated and hard working son has been accepted to The University of Chicago, Stanford and Yale. It’s well deserved and we are very proud of his accomplishments. Our son is in the process of deciding/choosing, and we are going to allow him to make the final decision. But it looks like he has already ruled out UChicago even though the financial aid and scholarship package they offered him is more by 80K over a 4 year period; when compared to that of Stanford and Yale. Based on my research, it looks like UChicago is almost as good as Stanford and Yale, and doesn’t make sense me to spend 80K more to attend Stanford or Yale. Especially knowing the ranking of UChicago when it comes to Political Science major, a major he is interested in pursuing. Any advice and insight would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
We’ve visited UC and Stanford, but not Yale. U of Chicago didn’t click at all with us. The surrounding neighborhood wasn’t great, and the school seemed stuffy. I don’t believe it is worth another $80K. Depends on where he wants to be, but my own vote is Stanford. Such a great campus, kids seemed very friendly, and it has big time sports if that matters at all. Plus you are in the Bay Area, with all that it and California has to offer. If I had to do college all over again, and could go anywhere I wanted, Stanford would be it for me.
Maybe I didn’t explain it very well, but UChicago would actually be less by 80K over a 4 year period (20K less per year). But the surrounding neighborhood not being great, and the school seeming stuffy wouldn’t be ideal.
“it looks like UChicago is almost as good as Stanford and Yale”
For engineering or computer science I would lean towards Stanford. The same is true for operations research, which is a little known sub-field of math that I happened to major in. For almost anything else I would consider them equal in quality. I would also consider them all to be superb for a very, very wide range of majors.
One of my daughter’s very good friends (an exceptional student) went to Chicago. It is academically very demanding, but so are Stanford and Yale.
If I could do it without debt I would probably come up with the money for any of these schools. If I had to take on debt, I would go with the least expensive of these three superb schools.
What kind of advice are your seeking? You said you are “going to allow him to make the final decision.” So your belief that it “doesn’t make sense” to spend $80k more on Stanford or Yale should not have any impact. If you want to have a say, then you need to be up front with him and tell him that, in fact, he is not free to make the final decision.
Great problem to have for sure! Congrats to your son!
I know Yale exceedingly well, and have long experience with Stanford. And I have even enjoyed some time eating Harold’s fried chicken near to Chicago and have a decent feel for that university as well.
Obviously, they are all outstanding. In terms of intellectual “milieu” - for lack of a better word - Chicago > Yale > Stanford, at least for the subject your son is interested in.
Neighborhood? Unless you hate manicured faux-Mission suburbia (and, really, who can hate that?) Stanford > Yale = Chicago. Proximity to downtown Chicago obviously is a plus, but there are worse ways to spend two hours than on the New Haven Line to Grand Central Station I guess. And then you are in NYC.
Weather? Well, that is easy. Stanford > Yale > Chicago.
On balance, my vote would be for Yale. Unless your son is a cyclist, then Stanford. And if the $80K is very important to your family, then Chicago. Hmmm, maybe that wasn’t too helpful after all…
Best of luck choosing, he really cannot go wrong here, and in the end 90%+ of his college experience is going to flow from the attitude he has going in anyway. Again, congrats to your son.
If its political science it would depend on what his long term plans are, is it running political office, working in Washington, going to law school, etc? Politics is local, it would be advantageous to go to a school close to where he will practice.
Thanks to those who have shared their personal perspective and opinions, and for all the additional information. I guess what I’m trying to figure out is if Stanford and/or Yale are worth the extra 80K? If not, then why not? I plan to use the information to engage my son about his choice. It should be obvious that I wouldn’t be asking for an advice if we weren’t considering college affordability.
You have probably heard the old adage, “price is what you pay, value is what you get”?
This is an impossible question for anyone else to answer because the value received is going to be specific to your son. Objectively, it is hard to justify paying $80K more to attend either Yale or Stanford over Chicago. They are all world-class institutions, and the true value to be derived from attending any of these places is going to be based upon what your son puts into it, which today cannot really be forecast with any confidence - at least not to a precision that would distinguish $80K worth of value over a lifetime.
Nevertheless, perhaps a thought experiment would help you think through the choice. What would admissions spots at these three universities sell for on the open market, meaning what level of monetary donation secures a spot now? Perhaps some people on here have actual insight into this question, but my guess would be Yale > Stanford > Chicago. I am not too sure of the delta between Yale and Stanford - and I could even perhaps be convinced that the order would be reversed - but I feel pretty confident that a spot at either Yale or Stanford would sell for more than $80K over one at Chicago.
Nonetheless, both Yale and Stanford are unquestionably top-notch destinations for the study of political science and, for this reason, could represent excellent value propositions themselves, even with a cost premium.
Have you asked Yale or Stanford to match Chicago’s FA package? If not, you might consider doing that…they may or may not match it, but you might get some more $ and there is no harm in asking.
No one can answer if $80K more is worth it to go to Y or S over Chicago…because that decision is so unique to you. It depends if your family can afford the extra money without hardship and loans. If affordable with no hardship, then the softer things come into play…in which intellectual environment would he thrive? Which poli sci profs are doing research in areas he likes most? Which social environment does he prefer? Then weather, geography, etc.
I agree with Brantly…if it’s his decision to make then let him…if the money is a thing tell him that ASAP.
Yes, I have reached out to both Stanford and Yale about matching UChicago’s scholarship offer, and they will not. Actually, according to their policies, they will not match financial aid and scholarship offers from other colleges. It’s almost like take it or leave it. One can only submit a request for reevaluation of financial aid award.
Have any of you made your son or daughter attend a college that he/she didn’t want to attend based on finances, and if so, how did it turn out for your son/daughter in the long run? How about your relationship with your son/daughter afterwards?
You see, according to my son, one of the reasons he worked so hard is so that he can attend one of the top-notch colleges, and he also thinks that attending and graduating from Stanford or Yale will open more doors for him and will lead to his success after college.
His hard work benefits him by increasing his knowledge, taking pleasure in learning, etc. He would likely be successful coming out of any undergrad poli sci program.
What are his career goals? Is law school or other grad school in his future? Does spending $80K more impact whether you could/would contribute to grad school costs?
You mentioned the neighborhood not being great around UChicago…while true that there are less safe areas within a mile or so, the campus area is relatively safe for an urban campus. Not sure Yale/New Haven is any more safe. Have you looked at crime stats in the Clery report? UChicago police department also publishes weekly crime reports.
You used the word stuffy to describe U Chicago and students…not sure I would use that word. It is an academically intense place (IMO more so than the S and Y…who probably both lean toward grade inflation on an inflation/deflation continuum). Chicago students tend to be quirky, introverted, work hard types. Again, IMO, based on kids I know who have gone there, and their feedback. Of course there are extroverts, or sporty types there…not looking to debate or offend anyone.
But all of this is moot, if you don’t want to (or can’t, or want to save $ for grad school…no judgment) spend $80K more on Y or S…then UChicago it is.
Congrats to your son! I’m also a Stanford admit and will be attending does he chose to go. I seriously considered all three of these schools before deciding on Stanford. Contrary to what a lot of people here are saying I do humbly believe that Stanford and Yale are a tier above UChicago. The name brand from those two does tend to have more cache depending on what you chose to go into. When deciding where I wanted to go I had a friend in business say that applicants with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford are significantly more likely to get interviews and opportunities and they even had some sort of nickname for those 4 schools. In addition, a lot of people will look at college rankings either on US News and World report or major-specific. I was told not to pay much attention to these. Stanford’s acceptance rate and name brand are evident regardless of what these services say. I’ve seen it ranked from 1st to 7th and it really just depends on the metrics they’re using, but I would argue nothing beats the prestige that comes with Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Stanford.
Money is definitely a big factor and I’ve heard varying reviews from friends about the financial aid at Stanford. What I’ll say is that your son is absolutely right that Stanford or Yale will open lots of doors. A lot of people I talked to at Stanford raved about their opportunity to go into politics after graduating. However, if your son is looking to be a lawyer I know that UChicago also opens a lot of those same doors. Where he goes to law school will ultimately matter more than whether he went to Stanford, UChicago, or Yale undergrad. So I would say that if he wants to do something on the Hill Stanford and Yale will open more doors (just based on my experience in making my own decision), but if he wants to be a lawyer that is not the case. However, should he change his mind during college Stanford or Yale would be better locations as their other programs such as Comp Sci at Stanford might bring greater cache than UChicago (not that UChicago isn’t world-renowned in other programs but nothing beats Stanford Comp Sci).
Where the money really comes into question is the experience. The weather and the people at Stanford and Yale (particularly Stanford, hence my decision) were a lot more friendly, in my experience. In addition, a school like Stanford offers so many experiences outside the classroom that can help boost your resume. I heard that because of the quarter system there it is much easier to take advantage of these opportunities. It is possible that the difference in money is worth it because of the experience at Stanford or Yale will be significantly more fun and beneficial. That however, is clearly a family decision. If he wants to be a lawyer I don’t see how Stanford and Yale bring that much more if any cache than UChicago, but they certainly bring a different kind of (and in my opinion better) experience than UChicago.
Graduating without any debt and having $80k available for grad school will open up more opportunities than having “Yale” or “Stanford” on a diploma instead of “Univ of Chicago.”
The academics are of equal caliber.
Remind your son that NO ONE cares where you went to college after your second job. You hire the person who accomplished the most in their last position and is best suited for the open role, not the one whose years-ago diploma has the more prestigious name (and Univ of Chicago is plenty prestigious. It’s students have a reputation for being among the most hard working. That’s not the rep for Stanford outside of STEM, btw.)
By age 18, kids should have some understanding of money and the fact that it shouldn’t be wasted. Can your son take a gap year and earn the $80k difference given it matters so much to him?
Bottom line: He’s not too old to learn that he isn’t entitled to something more expensive when he has an equally great option available to him.
All great choices, congratulations. For our S, he did not even consider UC or Stanford after visits there. He did not feel the “'vibe” at UC or Stanford. He’s at Yale and thriving. For us, the decision was where were our kids the most excited to go. We did not want them walking onto a campus where they start out having regrets or thoughts of “what if”.
As far as economics, both kids had gotten into our state’s highly ranked flagship with decent merit. We are fortunate to be able to afford full pay at privates, and we did not hesitate to make the investment. It wasn’t just a probability driven financial return calculation, but one driven by where we thought our kids would have the best chance of having a great 4 year experience. For our kids, this has been the right decision.
Perhaps one way to put your son to the test is to let him make the choice, but to tell him if he chooses Chicago, there is an $80k (or whatever size) check as an extra bonus to his graduation present. He will be making choices like that the rest of his life.
I disagree here. I agree U Chicago +80k is a better option than Stanford or Yale, but it sounds like the parents are trying to make the call if it’s worth it for them. If her son is graduating with no debt than clearly Stanford and Yale make more sense. In addition, it’s utter garbage to suggest where you go to school doesn’t matter after your second job. In the legal and business field every employer looks at it. Pedigree matters albeit less after your first and second job. But it is that pedigree that gets you the first and second job that then put you in a position to get better jobs down the road. This is why people pay to send their kids to prestigious schools in the first place. U Chicago is plenty prestigious of course. Also, where are you getting this reputation for Stanford? Everyone I know raves about Stanford’s reputations and the students who graduate from there just as they do about Ivy leaguers. Can you site any of your data on this?