So Ivy Day was a bit of a letdown with four waitlists: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown and three rejections: Penn Wharton, Yale (deferred SCEA), and Dartmouth. Accepted to Cornell.
My options as they stand range include Hopkins, NYU Stern, Berkeley, Vanderbilt, Duke, and the top three liberal arts colleges (Williams, Amherst with a Schupf Fellowship, Swarthmore with a full ride). Given that I probably do not qualify for need based aid at the schools I have applied for, would you rank a full ride to Vanderbilt (as a Cornelius Vanderbilt scholar) over Duke and full ride to Swarthmore?
I am interested in studying Public Policy or Econ (potential to go to a top law school or straight into Investment Banking/Consulting is definitely a consideration).
Not really… I am interested in going to law school so yes to the extent that it’d be nice to not have undergrad debt, but certainly not a deciding factor.
Finances always matter. We were able to pay for our D at Vanderbilt, but it sure would be nice to have that $240,000 back. This is especially true if grad school is in the picture. You have two fabulous choices in Vanderbilt and Swarthmore. I would not even consider the other options (unless one of the Ivy wait lists comes through). Your experience at Vanderbilt will be similar to your experience at Duke and they are essentially equal in prestige. Given Swathmore’s much smaller size, your experience there would be somewhat different, and I don’t know much about it, so I can’t really comment on that. But, I just can’t image passing up a CV scholarship for a school where you would have to pay, unless it’s an Ivy. Even then, I’m not sure it would be worth it.
Students sometimes don’t consider finances but I doubt a faculty member would select a university that paid him $240,000 less than another U. $240,000 saved and invested at 8% with compounding interest will be worth over $5,000,000 when you are 59. If you need to borrow $200,000 for grad school you will end up paying $300,000 to $400,000 to repay the loan. Take the Vandy CV scholarship or Swathmore $$, run from the Ivies, and let your parents enjoy retirement.
I was accepted to Cornell as well but I didn’t think paying full price to go there was worth it. The CV scholarship helps you stand out and of course, the merit aid is too generous to ignore.
Congrats on wonderful results. I’d go with Swarthmore and Vanderbilt as a second choice. You and your family could do a lot with the $ saved and you’ll get an amazing education at both schools, although I am partial to LACs for an undergrad education.
You are getting some good advice above. Let me use two terms here: risk and flexibility. When you say you have money to pay for college now, you cannot be certain that money will be there three or four years from now. Life happens. If your economic circumstances don’t change, you will have money for grad school or start up capital for a real adventure. Take one of the free rides. You want prestige? $250K in the bank is prestige. Figure out which “free” school has the vibe you like and go there.
I think it will be pretty darn prestigious to be able to put on your resume you went to one of the top 3 LACs in the country - Swarthmore - with a full ride scholarship. Not many people can say that and it should draw some attention from employers.
Vandyson was admitted to Swarthmore but took his merit offer to Vandy since he only got a slight tuition reduction at Swat. He was much more a Swarthmore kind of person, but he grew a lot at Vanderbilt in ways that really strengthened him for his professional life ahead. I also have a son who was a full ticket Duke grad. His graduate school costs: limited to night school and working full time. No two year MBA program for him. (Play your Long game). If you can get a supreme education at Swarthmore, do not hesitate! If you prefer a bigger college and your folks can swing the room and board and fees…go to Vandy! Do not look at the other doors. Walk through a door with a subsidized tuition!
The CV is not a full ride at Vandy. You pay room and board and expenses. Even so, our son chose his Chancellors free tuiton to Vandy over a full ride option.
If I was your parent: I would direct you to make the choice between Swarthmore and Vandy. In other words, if I had a kid who has worked as hard as you have-- and who earned two spectacular merit offers…I would most certainly not pick the merit offer for him if I could actually afford the room and board without detracting from your graduate school support or the needs of your siblings! d You would be foolish…seriously foolish…to turn down one of those two offers. Vandy is Duke in a better city (sorry Duke…Go Blue!).
I have only the deepest respect for Swarthmore as an institution with a unique and storied history in our nation. Graduate schools generally feel the same respect for Swat. Obama wanted to go there but was rejected. trivia.
I like to think that Vandyson created his Swarthmore at Vandy…he became part of the small seminar Vandy College Scholar program by applying his freshman year for a seat.
The IB banking craze was all the rage when Duke son started in 2005, right in time for the crash of 2008. Never saw more 22 year old “consultants” in my life. ??? MIT was putting a huge portion of grads on Wall Street. Focus on your broad education for a while, and focus on putting your head down and getting the job done in quantitative skills. IB Banking is not a worthy goal for someone 18 years of age. If you really have the math goods, those kinds of jobs will find you. … But they only take those with the most quantitative talent. Believe me.
You have an embarrasment of riches from two institutions that have served our nation well. Make up your mind and then become a contributing member of that community. Give it all you got. What you give to your alma mater always flows back into your life.
@faline2 - Very glad to see that you are still around guiding folks in this forum. Invaluable advice especially since you had kids in both Duke and Vandy. Provides excellent perspective. I know it helped me and my kid last year in the hour of need. Thanks again. DD loves Vandy
lovingasiandad, I saw your moniker and was hoping you would drop us a word on your student and your family’s satsifaction with Vanderbilt. You can’t have it all at any college…each institution has its charms, its heritage, its mission. But Vanderbilt’s deep resources and the presence of the professional schools adds a sense of breadth and reality to what is also a very cozy liberal arts college campus.
So pleased your daughter made a happy decision for her! Please PM if you have more details to share. Cheers.
The problem with this website is that you can be inundated with information from people who may not know what they are talking about.
Take lenny2 for instance. He/she seems to believe that the Ivy League schools are objectively better than every other school in America. This is clearly not the case.
Stanford is superior to Penn using almost any criteria, Duke’s faculty is much more productive than Brown’s, and Chicago is better endowed than Cornell. These are just a few examples. There are obviously many more.
As far as Vanderbilt being as prestigious as Duke is concerned, I refute that assertion completely. They are only compared because they are in the same geographic vicinity. Selectivity is not tantamount to prestige. Duke is in the top 20-25 of every global ranking. Vanderbilt often doesn’t even crack the top 100-150. Duke has almost never been ranked outside of the top 10 nationally (barring a year or two). Vanderbilt has never been ranked in the top 10. There are significant differences between theses schools and you should go to the one you prefer if you have the means to afford it (which you clearly do).
Cornell is divided internally into the “endowed division” and the “statutory division”. The "statutory division receives annual appropriations from New York State equivalent to a $3.5 billion endowment, last time I found it referenced.
I will add that if you are interested in IB in NY, Duke and Cornell do a much better job at recruiting to wall street. S1 is a senior at Cornell and the recruiting was amazing. S2 is a Jr. at Vandy and has had some great internship opportunities but most in the south and California. Bain does a lot of recruiting, but not the bigger NY banks. Just something else to consider. If NY is not where you are interesting in heading, go to Vandy and save your parents $$$$$$ (even after last night’s game) My son’s good friend chose Vandy over Duke, he felt the CS program was stronger and the financial package was better. You have some amazing choices, Congrats!!!
A large scholarship to Vanderbilt tops Duke. If you had a large scholarship to Duke, it would have trumped everything else if you don’t have financial need.
If it comes down to Duke and Vandy, go to the one that has offered you a scholarship. I cannot stress enough on how much a merit scholarship will help you stand out in external applications and in the university itself. If you had to choose between Harvard and Vandy, then that would be an entirely different debate, but if you have to choose between Duke and Vandy, especially when only one is offering you so much aid (and that too MERIT!), it’s a no brainer (at least for me )
PaulDirac takes someone to task for worshipping the Ivies, and indulges in his own rapturous worship of Duke compared to Vanderbilt, when they really are about equal. Get used to that.
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