I want to make the best choice I can on May 1st. So hopefully I’ve come to the right place. First of all, financial security is very important to my family (under 100k a year with me, my sister, and my parent’s incomes combined). My sister will also be a college senior this year so I don’t want to overwhelm my parents with more payments. UNC chapel hill has offered me one of their full rides called the Carolina scholarship. However, most of my friends are telling me that Duke is equivalent to an upper ivy-league school and that I should not pass up the opportunity to attend. Michigan’s college of engineering is also a very attractive option to me as someone who wants a nice college experience coupled with reknowned education. If it also helps, I am largely undecided on what I want to do. I’ve wanted to go pre-med, I’ve wanted to develop gaming hardware and software, and I’ve wanted to do business at different points in my life. Perhaps a school with a variety of options is best? I don’t know but please let me know what you think.
Additional aid info (could potentially be negotiated):
Michigan: 57k with my family having to pay about 7k
Duke: 58k and my family would have to pay about 14k
Thanks and please offer any other information or consolation that you think might help me out.
I want to say congratulations to you on your acceptances!
You indicated that your sister will be a college senior… when you are a freshman? If this is true, it means that your FA awards from Duke and Michigan will likely change once your sister graduates and your parents have one child in college. Your cost of attendance would likely go up once you are a sophomore. If these awards are merit based… it won’t matter.
I would sit down with your parents and use the net price calculators for Duke and Michigan, and plug in your financial information with one child in college. This number may be close to what your parents would be required to pay for your education the following year, once your sister graduates. Ask them if they can comfortably afford that cost.
If the cost is too high I would attend UNC… a full ride there is tough to pass up. If the cost looks ok… with no hardship for your family…I would try to visit. Are you instate for any? You can see Duke and UNC on the same day as they are only about 15-20 minutes apart.
UNC does not have engineering, other than biomedical engineering. You seem unsure about a major, but if you want engineering… this is something to consider as well. Good luck!!
Please stop listening to where your high school age friends think you should go. They are very excited that one of their pals got into such famous places, but they aren’t going to be helping you play for your education. UNC has a terrific national reputation. You have no need to feel that it is “less than” another option.
Your total family income including yours and your sister’s is less than 100k. After your aid packages, Duke still needs 14k, and Michigan needs 7k. To pay 14k, your family needs to cut that much from current expenses, or come up with something like 20k more in total pre-tax income, or borrow a chunk of change. The challenges of meeting the cost for Michigan are lower, but they are still there. What is your sister studying? Will she graduate in a career field where she can readily earn enough to help cover the increased costs of your studies at Duke or Michigan once they go up without her being in college? Would she be willing to do that? In some families siblings do that kind of thing.
What are the requirements that you need to meet to keep the Carolina scholarship? What would UNC cost you if you lost that scholarship? What other benefits do you get besides the full ride? honors program? Preference for registration for courses? Some other nifty thing?
How are the aid packages at Duke and Michigan structured? Is it all need-based aid, or is some of that aid merit-based? What are the requirements to keep the merit aid each year?
Thank you for your response. I will take up your advice to get a more accurate representation of my aid over the 4 years. I am from Pennsylvania so I’m out of state for my top choices.
Sadly, Duke would probably offer the greatest flexibility, UMich second most (UNC doesn’t even offer engineering).
Unless you’re going to do electrical or computer engineering, UNC is the best bet, at least covering comp sci, undergrad bus and majors for med school. Twogirls is right - the FA package will go down from UM and Duke after the older sister graduates college, so better to stick with UNC.
UNC is a good pick. Why is Michigan still in the running?
Congratulations on the excellent alternatives.
For someone who is still in the process of exploration and has a broad array of passions and interests, Duke provides the greatest flexibility and the broadest set of viable career options (including those that are most lucrative and would provide the incremental earnings to easily pay down the additional cost of a Duke). Assuming you choose a major other than engineering you have two years to take a broad array of course offerings (including engineering offerings) before choosing a major. Unfortunately, if you choose an engineering major you would probably need to lock into a Pratt curriculum by second semester Freshman year.
Best wishes!
“UNC is a good pick. Why is Michigan still in the running?”
UNC does not offer the full spectrum of engineering. Michigan is superior to Duke in overall Engineering. It is also an academic peer of Duke. Furthermore, I’m not sure what people mean by stating Duke is more “flexible” than Michigan. Michigan has virtually no academic weakness. It actually is the school of the three mentioned that would give the OP the “greatest flexibility and broadest set of viable career options.” I’m not say that the OP should chose Michigan; UNC is the choice here. However, it is certainly understandable why someone would be considering Michigan as much as Duke in this case.
@am61517 - The issue is not paying down costs later, it is meeting costs now. The OP’s family probably can’t come up with the extra 14k for the freshman year, and the as-yet-undetermined extra costs for the remaining three years out-of-pocket. Someone would need to take on loans. Anything beyond the federal loans that the OP can borrow ($5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year) will have to be co-signed or Parent PLUS loans. Even if they are willing to do so (most aren’t) the parents may well not be able to take on that kind of debt. Likewise, there is no guarantee that the OP will end up in a lucrative career field.
@caramelmac - Are these three your only offers, or are they just the ones that you like best right now?
Duke and UNC are called “academic collaborators” and students are permitted to take classes at the other school ( not exactly sure about the rules with regard to the number of classes).
The full ride to UNC is hard to turn down given that the student’s FA award will change (drop) once his sister graduates. It is important to understand NOW what his family would be expected to pay starting sophomore year, and whether it will be affordable. Turning down a full ride to UNC only to find Duke or Michigan to be unaffordable a year down the road …would be horrible.
Another thing to consider is whether the student wants engineering… other than biomedical. If engineering is off the table, UNC has a wide variety of majors, top programs, research experiences, etc. Did the OP get significant merit to any schools that offer engineering?
@caramelmac I am not a big risk taker with regard to paying for college, but everybody is different. I would take the full ride unless I was certain that my family could manage the other schools even if the financial aid drops - and it will once you become a sophomore. The full ride is not at an unknown school… it is at a top public university with lots of opportunities. As I mentioned, the only issue (and it’s a big one) would be if you have your mind set on engineering.
Although it’s unfortunate that cost is such a major consideration, it is. Great advice to explore FA when your sister graduates as that will likely make a big difference.
That said, understand that your options are incredible and congrats for those accomplishments. OOS admission for UNC is very, VERY challenging, so hats off to you.
Hard to imagine a kid from PA not wanting to get into that NC weather. Research Triangle area is a special place and full of job opportunities from major employers.
Good luck. You’re going to do great regardless of your choice!
Unless you’re set on engineering, I say Go Heels!!!
Full ride at UNC is too good to pass up. You will be part of the Honors program as part of your scholarship – including Honors dorm if you want as a first-year. Business and pre-med are top both top notch.
If you want to do engineering, Michigan. It’s cheaper than Duke and a better engineering program. (But I agree it’ll go up when your sister leaves college.)
And congrats!!
Thanks for all the responses. To answer some questions, those are the schools that I have narrowed my choices down to. The others were safety schools. And I believe the requirements for the scholarship are simply to maintain a 3.0 but I can’t be sure, i havent thoroughly checked.
It’s a no-brainer. UNC is offering a full ride. Think of it this way. There’s no rational reason to spend $50k on a new car when someone offers you a comparable new car for free. No matter how you add up the numbers, the free car will always put you ahead.
Traveled to visit both with my nephew and lucky enough to watch a Duke hoops game at the indoor stadium. We all left totally surprised at how much we like UNC better in comparison. Academics are slightly more highly regarded at Duke. But it was a no brainier for him. UNC and Carolina blue all day long. But also pay close attention to the details on aid the others mentioned. Including the requirements for keeping your scholarship. Also the change in cost when your sister completes her degree.
I would say it comes down to Michigan and UNC. If you decide to pursue engineering, Michigan is your best and cheapest engineering option. Otherwise, UNC since it is your most affordable option.
I would say UNC all the way. “Go Heels” 