Hi all! I’m currently a high school senior from Iowa who has narrowed their options down to Miami, Iowa, and UVA. I am still undecided major wise, but I plan to enter as an undeclared engineering major but I’m also fairly interested in politics so I’m also thinking about political science.
UVA has offered me 9,000 in loans (3,500 Institutional loan, 3,500 subsidized loan, and 2,000 unsubsidized), which leaves my net direct price at around 3,000 for 2020-2021.
Miami on the other hand expects my family and personal contribution to add up to almost 9,000 dollars, and then has offered 6,000 in loans to cover the remaining need (half subsidized half not)
Both of these offers seem kind of overwhelming to myself when I consider that Iowa has offered a full ride. I’m not sure if taking on the kind of debt that I would have from these schools would really be overwhelming or manageable.
I’d also like to add that I’m Latino, and living in Miami sounds very appealing because of the very strong Latino presence there. However, I’m not quite sure if the academics at Miami are on par with those of UVA or if they’re much better than Iowa’s, if at all. Would the difference even matter to grad school admissions?
Anyways enough of me talking, let me know what you guys think.
Grab that full ride and don’t look back. Graduating without debt is a wonderful thing. It will give you so many more options while you are in college. You won’t have to be constantly on the look-out for the best-paid school-year and summer vacation jobs, and the money you do make can be put toward things you want to do like study abroad or a semester in Washington. When you graduate, you won’t have to take the first job you find just so you can start paying down your student loans.
If you really want to dig into the numbers, here are a couple of useful calculators.
https://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml
https://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
Without a more clear, concise illustration of the actual annual COA for each school, the University of Iowa is the safest option.
I agree with @happymomof1. Really, the decision is a no-brainer. There’s no bachelors degree worth that kind of debt. Take the scholarship and run.
Full-ride at Iowa is by far best option.
Miami is worst option given $ (and still would be worse even for the same $ as UVa).
Especially with the economy in limbo, full ride and don’t look back.
You might be starting Fall Semester at home anyway for all we know …
I could not agree more - Iowa for the win. It is a fantastic school with a huge variety of options and a beautiful campus. Free is a very good price!