<p>Any advice for a class of 2017 freshman admitted to UPenn but unsure of major or plans after school when I have a 100% full scholarship in an honors program at very good state school and have to pay full price for UPenn as I don't qualify for any financial aid. Is the $250K+ investment worth it or should my parents save it so that I can afford graduate school all depending upon what I decide in next 4 years.</p>
<p>Maybe you can defer matriculation at both schools and take a year to think about it. It’s hard to make such life decisions with only a couple weeks.</p>
<p>My son just went through same decision - it came down to which school offered him the opportunity for better college experience. He chose state school full ride because he liked the campus, the students and overall the school. My advice - don’t select a school solely because of prestige, if you don’t like the school or fit in, no matter the cost it won’t be worth it!</p>
<p>I was accepted to Penn, but had full tuitions offers tp twp okay/decent schools. I chose Penn for 18/19k a year. I’d say that if finance wont really be a problem, go with Penn. If you will have trouble paying, take the full tuition.</p>
<p>Can your parents afford it? Talk to them and find out how important and how much of relief it would be for you to go to state U. Watch their body language and make sure you understand how they really feel, and what the financial impact of paying for UPenn would be for them. If it’s truly doable for them, and they support your choice, then go to the school you prefer.</p>
<p>As much as I love Penn, I would have to dissuade you from going unless you are in Wharton or are planning on doing pre-med or pre-dentistry. The only reason I say this is because these are pretty much the only career paths that will essentially guarantee a high paying job that will enable you to pay off those loans in a reasonable amount of time. If you go to Penn and pay full tuition, you could potentially be a debt slave for the next two decades. As good as Penn is, I don’t think it’s worth that much. I would take the state school, especially if you’re undecided. Once you figure out what you want to do in undergrad, you can always to to a name brand school like Penn for grad school and save a buttload of money.</p>
<p>Except that grad school is very competitive too and your high school record won’t help you out.</p>
<p>It’s like starting from scratch to prove you can perform at top tier school level and another low acceptance rate.</p>
<p>^If he’s smart and talented enough to get into Penn undergrad, he’ll place into a good grad school assuming he continues to work hard. Also, I can confidently say that undergraduate Ivy League admissions is far, far more rigorous than graduate school (for most fields). Grad school admissions is generally numbers driven, whereas undergrad admissions in the Ivy League places a large (and in my opinion TOO large) emphasis on intangible factors like personality, athletics, extracurriculars…</p>
<p>Not to mention that grad school could be as much as another 200k as well. That would be a whopping .5 million in debt. To me, that is pretty unacceptable unless your parents can cover more than 3/4 of the bill.</p>