This is my first post here so I’ll try to keep it short. So I’ve pretty much heard back from all my colleges except one, and I ended up being excepted into one of my top choices which is Boston College, but I will not be receiving any financial aid and will have to take out student loans with my parents to afford the steep tuition fee. On the other hand, I have been offered a full ride from the University of Pittsburgh, but I applied to this school as a safety and to me it was ranked last on my list of schools.
I’ve been accepted to the Business Programs of both universities, and after talking to my parents and some of their friends who have a background in business, pretty much all of them said that going to either Pittsburgh or Boston College wouldn’t matter in the long run if I plan on applying to a Graduate program. So basically, I’m looking for some more insight on what I should do. I’m also applying for a scholarship at the University of Wisconsin Madison, and I’m waiting to hear back from the Navy for an ROTC scholarship, but as it stands right now these are my two choices.
At this point you don’t have to decide until May, right? Wait to hear from Wisc and the Navy. If you don’t get in to Wisc or get the ROTC scholarship then I would go for Pitt. I think your parents are right that neither college will be significantly better than the other for UG (regardless of whether you head to grad school). JMHO
Full ride or full scholarship to Pitt? A full ride suggests you’re an outstanding applicant and I can’t imagine the school wouldn’t treat you as such with all kinds of perks, like admission to their honors college, etc., that would be hard to turn down for most people.
Agree with Erin’s Dad: Wait until you have all your offers on the table, and compare like to like (grants are preferable to loans and not equivalent!). Then make a judgment based on the best overall value and what you can afford without taking on a lot of debt.
I agree with other posters. Wait for all the offers to come in before making a decision. Between the two, I’d take the full ride. You can always consider BU for your grad program.
Also, while BC is a good school, it’s not exactly HYPSM (or Wharton . . . or even Georgetown). Saddling yourself with a ton of debt to go there when you have a perfectly fine respectable school seems a bit crazy.
My feeling is that people in Pittsburgh think as highly of Pitt as people in Boston think of BC (or more so, since BC has Harvard, MIT, Tufts, etc. in its area).
And yes, I don’t see the rush to make a decision now.
I agree with Mom2collegekids. You can get your first business lesson in real life if you think about this for a few minutes. If your parents truly could afford this, that’s a whole other story. If everyone has to borrow for this opportunity, beyond the student DIrect Loan of $5500 you can take (goes up a bit each year), it’s not worth it, IMO.
Wait and see, but I’d take the offer from Pitt unless Wisconsin comes through with the same deal. The Navy thing isn’t as much a scholarship, as a pre-payment for 4 years obligation of service! Would you go into the Navy regardless? If so, put that one on the table too, but if not, 4 years of your life is not worth some $$ toward BC when you already have Pitt on the table with no obligation afterward.
BC does guarantee to meet full need, are you sure you won’t receive any aid? It would be a shame to turn down your top choice, but having money in your pocket can really ease that wound
Both do seem have great programs that would set you up for career success. Good luck!
If there’s no more money forthcoming from BC or elsewhere, think of this like a business person would. Free or a quarter million dollars? A quarter million dollars or free? You will probably love Pitt as much as you would love BC. My D just started at Pitt and likes it although it was her penultimate choice. You’re a smart kid. Act like it.
Chiming in here…I tend to think where you go only determines your success to a certain extent. With that said, BC is much more highly ranked UNDERGRAD than Pitt and I do think it carries a lot more weight in Boston and NYC…not saying Pitt isn’t good but BC is honestly in a different class. If you read some of the posts on who got in and who didn’t you will be shocked by the stats…kids with 34 ACT and great EC’s getting deferred. So the student body will be superior at BC but with that comes pressure, maybe harder to get good grades, etc. But with that superior student body might come many intangible benefits…a stronger network, better class discussions, maybe just a better overall education? Just one way of looking at it.
I do think it is important for you to be happy and before you decide, maybe you can spend a day at each? They are very different schools and you need to be happy, that’s part of the deal. And yes, the difference might be 250K, but in the end, maybe it would pay for itself, not sure. So hard to say but I know kids that have refused full rides for BC. And BC is ranked 4th by Business Week, by the way, ahead of Georgetown and quite a few other elite programs. It really is considered one of the top undergrad b schools, so I would think long and hard before turning it down. My daughter will be turning down 30K per year offers at very decent schools for BC. We are hedging it will be worth it in the end, but there is no way of really knowing, is there?
Good luck! If you work hard, you will be a success at either school.
@collegemomjam, I know that you’re invested in your decision, but BC isn’t an Ivy-equivalent, and . . . . you shouldn’t really rely on rankings either. Speaking as someone with no connections to either school, I know that Georgetown does better on Wall Street.
That said, BC evidently does have a strong alumni network, and does place on Wall Street. I would not say that Pitt is on the same level as BC. But personally, I would not spend 250K more for BC over Pitt. But that’s given my personal circumstances. Every case is different.
What’s not to love about BC? It is a great school. But unless your parents can write a check for $63K a year without blinking an eye, this is a no-brainer. Go to Pitt for free. Pitt is a great school.
BC is certainly a very nice school and if the parents can easily pay the much larger amount, then fine. Will going to BC over Pitt mean a larger return on investment…probably not…maybe only if the stars align in some lucky fashion…but no, it’s not going to mean that the person will likely earn a whole bunch more money or be a whole lot more successful.
It’s crazy that this is even a question. Full ride > $200k+ debt.
It depends on what you want to do with your degree, but in almost all circumstances you’d be a fool to turn down the full ride in favor of $200k+ debt.
This is correct. How will you afford the graduate program coming from BC? Trapping yourself under even more debt? With a job you probably could’ve gotten from UPitt?
I would choose pitt over BC anyway.
what is so much better about bc in your mind that you would want to pay to go to school there?
debt is a really big deal! and pitt is super awesome!
Op, did you get a full RIDE (tuition, fees, room&board, +) or full tuition from Pitt?
Is it possible some FA or merit is forthcoming from BC?
What about the other colleges you applied to?
