How hard would you have to scrounge, is my question? We paid full freight for a private college for our youngest, and I often wonder if it was the right choice. In our case, we made the commitment long before the acceptances came rolling in because, we permitted him to apply ED to a school that gives very little merit money and was a long shot for admissions. That’s a problem with ED–things happen before the acceptances and choices are on the table, and my son was poised to be perfectly happy with second choice EA school at half the price. But we had already all made the commitment and kept it.
You have the choices right down to the costs in front of you, and it comes down to how important going to Vandy is to you and your DD. Perhaps offering her the differential in costs as a grad present if she takes the lower cost option can show her what the true difference is in terms of money. Kids don’t always get that until it’s right in their faces.
I suspect unless you are a trust fund family, most would suggest for history or economics major save the money and go UCSB. If gets into Cal that would be worth considering too for those majors, very strong. If honors at UCSB allows early class registration that is great. not sure what honors means at UCSB.
@cptofthehouse, Thanks for the honest reply concerning your experience with full pay for private school. For me, my hesitation is based on that large differential better used someplace else, like graduate school, help with a house down payment, etc. I’m concerned about the value proposition. I also have 2 other daughters who will be in college in the fall, so equity/fairness becomes an issue. Of course Vandy could come back with a great package later this week and things may require a closer look.
@anon145, UCSB honors does offer priority registration, a “scholars floor” in the dorms, special advising and peer services, etc. It certainly sweetens the pot.
From your reply #16, it looks like Vanderbilt is at the very edge of affordability, so that an unexpected extra semester or financial setback (or even higher than typical college cost increases in later years) could push it into the unaffordable range. That seems risky for both you and the student.
UCSB. The reality is liberal arts majors do not graduate having big incomes. Employers pay grad A from school c the same as grad B from school d. In the long run it would be smarter to have that grad school paid or a downpayment on a house.
@LMK5 the key with honors is the priority registration. At state schools that is IMHO the best thing for an honors program. Some offer it some don’t, some used to offer it but got rid of that part e.g. UNC chapel hill. The ‘worst’ part of state schools is not getting classes or teachers you want. priority registration gets rid of that.
@LMK5. Another vote for UCSB with honors. I faced a similar choice back in the day and chose an in-state public honors program for reasons of cost. It was a great choice. She will encounter similarly smart peers, will have priority registration, and UCSB has a great history department (as does Vanderbilt, but if she sticks with history, she can consider it again for grad school). And then there’s the beach…
wow same thing happened to my son accepted Vandy and now ucsb. I have no idea which is better choice for him
I am worried he will have too many distractions at UCSB.On the other hand I will be able to pay his med school bills.
Any issues with pre med at UCSB?
I think the whole UCSB as party school / distraction is a bit over rated as a concern. Its quite competitive to gain admission, the kids who attend there certainly acheived a lot in HS, and most are going to keep it up.
Does your child understand that the price of attendance at Vanderbilt (if no substantial financial aid is offered) would be zero money for graduate school or toward a down payment of a first home? If so, leave the decision to your child, and let the chips fall where they may. I strongly suggest not making the choice yourself under these circumstances.
Regarding the distraction factor at UCSB, I’d say it’s very much an individual thing. For one of mine, the concern was merited, very bright student, but time management not a strong suit. I could see, and so could she, how she could easily get carried away. For my other one, not so much, very strong time management skills and she performs better when she is busy.
Exactly. For those with excellent time management skills, a school with a party rep is win-win: while many are out at the beach, you are in the library studying, raising that curve.
@LMK5 Vandy’s has been known for generous finaid. In general, your estimated COA should not be that much different from UCs unless you have very high income bracket (> $300k/yr with equity of $500k+). I will be surprised that your earned income is < $200k/yr and COA difference between UCs and Vandy is over $10k/yr.
In some cases I’ve seen personally (a family making about $110k/yr), attending Vandy was cheaper than attending UCs.
@InfoQuestMom I think kids who are prone to dawdling and squandering time will find a way to do so on any campus. I went to school in a cold, boring midwestern campus. I’d sometime spend time I shoud have been studying just randomly picking books up off the stacks in the library and reading a bit of them. Or I’d watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune on TV. My son, who also has time managment issues, will read a cereal box or more commonly watch insipid You Tube videos.
If your point is that kids might get involved in too many extra-cirriculars I dont see how UCSB is any worse than other top schools with a huge suite of activities on campus.
If its about too much “partying”, I knew lots of kids at my top 25, boring Midwestern campus who drank to excess every day from Thurs to Sat. Its really the student, not the location that drives a lot of this behavior.
