My daughter has been accepted to these two schools and is favoring wash u. However, we are having a hard time justifyin the difference in cost to us between the two schools as we live in michigan. Michigan seems to have more name recognition and is ranked higher nationally in many areas as well. we did not qualify for financial aid and despite having very high academic and extra curricular qualifications, she did not receive any merit aid from wash u. Any opinions as to what we should do? What makes Wash U a better choice??
My son was also accepted to U of Mich and WashU, as well as other schools. It is a very personal decision but, for him, all of the personal attention that WashU appears to provide to students may be what will make the biggest difference in the end. Both are amazing institutions and he has grown up near UM with lots of friends currently attending. If a student is persistent at seeking out opportunities and makes sure not to get lost in the crowd, then UM can be an excellent choice. WashU, however, from our research, provides lots of advising, more opportunities for the students to bond, and more faculty contact. There are many other reasons he loved WashU went he went to visit, and he is doing overnight visits at WashU and other schools to make his final choice this year. Although UM has campus day that does not provide an overnight, if your daughter knows someone she can spend the night with at UM and do an overnight at WashU, my older son found those visits very helpful in making his final college decision. The rankings for both schools are amazing (if rankings matter) - some favoring UM and some WashU - to the point that they probably cancel out. We have a similar monetary issue so I know that is hard and sometimes that determines the final decision, so I understand but I would still encourage the visits to see if you see enough of a difference.
For me I would have to know how big the cost differential is and what the student is studying. If my daughter wanted to study engineering and she was admitted to Michigan, and the cost differential was anything > $10 k, then I’d send my deposit to Ann Arbir
I sent you a PM.
My advice is to pick the college that fits your child and if you can afford it I would highly recommend Wash U. There are so many benefits attending a smaller private school vs a huge state school. Everyone is different so you know best. Good luck!
What major is she pursuing? What is the ballpark cost differential? I have a UM son so can give some insight if I know a bit more. I’m so jealous you live in MI. Can you please adopt him?
The estimated in-state cost to attend UM is approximately 45% of the cost to attend Wash U.
Have you visited both places? The two schools are distinctly different in so many obvious ways–medium vs huge, B1G athletics with a rabid fan base vs D3 athletics with a small fan base, flagship state school vs private, individualized attention vs small fish in big pool; the list goes on. The difference in feel between the two experiences is palpable and if you have not already done so, I strongly suggest that you undertake a serious visit to both.
I’m an Illinois alum and my daughter is at Wash U. As a family we all love Illinois but collectively felt that Wash U provides her a more comfortable environment where she can thrive and more readily maximize her gifts, more fully benefit from the next 4 years and be better set up for grad school. Simply put, we felt that in 4 years she would be in a better place with respect to her goals at Wash U. We knew it within an hour of being on campus and talking with people. Might be the opposite for many others; it’s a very individual thing.
If this is strictly a financially based, objectively measured decision, it’s a no-brainer and you should start buying up more maize 'n blue stuff. Making the investment in Wash U needs to make sense separately, on its own merits, for your daughter and your family. If it does, I don’t think anyone would say that you made a poor decision in packing her up for St. Louis.
Thank you all for your advice. Osserpusser- for us it is a 50,000 difference per year. a lot of money for undergrad. we have a MET plan. so we would only pay room and board at U of M and michigan gave her a small merit scholarship as well to attend. She has no major- she is thinking of the sciences or engineering eventually. she says at wash u she will have more leeway to change majors or double major or switch schools- liberal arts to engineering, etc. I am sorry I cannot adopt your child- but i have three more to go after my daughter! Foursite- I actually went to U of M myself for 7 years- undergrad and grad school so I am very familiar with the school and what it is like- although some things have changed. She got into honors college which is supposedly smaller classes, etc. There is definitely not as much individual attention for each student, although several of my friend’s kids who go there have developed close relationships with some of their professors and actually have professor taught classes. If you put effort into it, you can get to know profs etc. We are going to visit wash u next week for a couple days. but i have a feeling she will love it. I would go there if I could from what i have read and seen.
@conpar39 as someone who is on the flip side- paying the 50k extra as OOS at UM, I can tell you unequivocally it’s not worth it no matter the school. We made our choice with eyes wide open, but it’s been a real killer, especially with another in college and one more to go. My son has small classes in almost all of his classes, especially in his major. He gets individual time whenever he requests it. They just have to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them to make it a smaller place. As much as she loves Wash U, I would say just like for us at UM it’s not 50k/year better than the in state schools. Best of luck to you!
@conpar39 We are in the same boat here in Chicago. My daughter was accepted to Wash U, but we do not qualify for any financial aide. She has gotten merit money from a number of other schools, but Wash U is really the school that she would like to attend. Over a four year time period, I am looking at paying an extra $200,000 for her to attend Wash U versus other schools, and I have two more kids to put through school in a couple of years. The hard part for me, is that I feel as if Wash U is completely the best fit for her and where she will be the most comfortable. I love the town, the campus, the size of the school and so many other things. I must say the entire financial aide process is incredibly frustrating to me. The reason we do not qualify for any help from the government is because we have had two full-time incomes for almost 30 years now, and we have worked our tails off in order to save money for our kids to go to school. In the college aide process that is just not a smart thing to do! That $200,000 could put her through grad school and could be used for so many other things. That is why in an earlier post I asked if Wash U is worth paying full price?? This is a decision that we will need to make soon, and I think I change my mind about it daily. I keep telling myself it is only money and you can’t take it with you. There are no easy answers. If you have an epiphany about your decision please share.
MinnieMouse5: What are the other options you are evaluating?
I have a senior son at Wash U and a freshman son at Michigan. Wash U is a fabulous school and I am a huge supporter of it. It has a beautiful self contained campus and a tremendous amount of professor attention to students. We are OOS at Michigan and full pay at both schools but it is not a burden for us. As much as I love Wash U, I feel that $50,000 extra a year is much too much extra to pay if it is at all difficult for you. My younger son was accepted at Wash U but he wanted to the big campus, sports atmosphere of Michigan (I went to Michigan so he has always been a fan). Michigan has also been a good experience. Of course it is much bigger, but if he e-mails a professor with a question he often gets an answer within 10 minutes. So I don’t know that the size matters that much. Campuses are very different. There may be a lot more to do at MIchigan but I don’t know that the students actually take advantage of it that much (other than the sports). These posts say rankings are similar but of course Wash U is overall ranked much higher. Both are great schools, but I cannot say that Wash U is worth $50,000 extra money that might be difficult to pay.
Similar dilemma here. Rejected from WashU, but admitted to Emory, Michigan, University of Illinois business school, University of Southern California and Maryland business schools, Tulane. Best fit economically and academically is Illinois, but my son is interested in all the schools that will cost me almost twice as much except for Tulane which was generous. Fortunately you have good options. If I were you, I would stay home. But, we will try to make our kids happy.
@minnie mouse- we sound like we are in the exact same boat as you- same scenario- two working parents who have worked hard for just under 30 years and saved up for college ( but not enough to cover this if we want to help with grad school too) - but we have 3 more kids, not just 2, to put thru college after my daughter. we are in the full pay boat - and wash u who says all over website how they have so many merit scholarships available offered nothing. even u of m gave her a little something. So i agree with the frustration of it all. ( Now i hear that stanford will give you free tuition if you make 125000 or less. maybe i should not have been working all of these years! ) SHe also would probably thrive there. I have no answers. we are going to visit next week. @Coachray- it is so hard to tell them no, when they have worked so hard to get accepted to these schools.
@kaukauna The other school that my daughter is seriously considering is Miami of Ohio. We would be paying under $20,000 a year, and she would be in the honors program in the Farmer School of Business. She would also be in the business honors dorm. She thought the campus was beautiful and the people were very friendly. I worry about the reputation that it is a party school (which is not my daughter at all), and quite frankly I would like to see her in a more diverse environment. We do have the money in the bank to pay her tuition, but it really is an opportunity cost kind of dilemma. There are so many things to spend that money on. I have been an educator for 27 years with a Masters plus enough hours for a second masters, yet I still do not bring home enough cash to cover one year at Wash U. Obviously, my husband makes more than me, but we have worked really hard to save this money. With that being said, it ultimately will be her choice. Many life lessons to be taken away from this college search process!
MinnieMouse5: I really sympathize with your dilemma. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of us each year. We are the people who are too rich to get aid, but too poor for it not to hurt!! Haha.
On the other hand, we should not complain because often are choosing between 2 or 3 great options which is the case with your daughter.
Sometimes it becomes clear what the right decision is but often we are cought right on the horns of a dilemma, which means it comes down to a personal choice. Here are some thoughts and personal feelings on the situation from my experience, in no particular order. And the points come from both sides of the argument. Note that I’ve been to Miami (Oxford) several times, Wash U. once, had children apply to Wash U. and know many attendees and parents of both schools.
- There is a body of research which says that very good students who go to a great school and become average are less well off, from a purely utilitarian standpoint, than going to the less competitive where the student is more likely to shine. This phenomenon is also referred to as the big fish in a small pond effect. Is your daughter better off going to Miami and garnering a 3.9 earning Phi Beta Kappa status, or maybe going to Washington and getting a fine GPA of 3.4 and kind of being among a bunch of people?
- Following up on 1, if your daughter goes to WU, be prepared for the inevitable panicked phone call when she gets her first low grade in a weedout type class.
- Because your daughter is identified as part of the honors program of Miami, she will have a leg up in terms of access to special programs.
- What types of study abroad opportunities are there? Is there funding available to help pay for it? What is the liklihood of good summer internships?
- What happens if your daughter decides she is not interested in business? Which school is more likely to have the better backup options?
- Something that is impossible to quantify but which was important to our family's decision is what if you pass on WU and then you regret not trying to compete in the "big pond". Related to this is the prestige factor of WU. In my opinion it is legitimate to think about that.
- You and your husband saved for this opportunity for your daughter. Congratulations on doing this. In a sense the money does not exist anymore because this money is apart from what you need to live a comfortable retirement, am I right?
- It's only money.
- You hit the nail on the head about opportunity cost. Find out how badly your daughter wants to go to Wash U. by offering her some portion of the difference, held in trust, and available to here after she graduates from Miami for law / medical / business school.
- Interestingly, distance is not a factor because Oxford, OH and St. Louis, MO are almost equidistant from Chicago.
At the end of the day for me, if I were in the same situation as you, facing an extra $200,000 between the two remaining alternatives, and with two children still on deck, I would strongly push for Miami. I would do some research about Miami and argue about the strong opportunities available there, and then I would make a financial pitch of some sort using the method above about grad school, transportation starting her sophomore year, or maybe a study abroad opportunity one summer. Ultimately I know you could just put your foot down and dictate Miami, but I strongly suspect that your daughter is a great kid who has worked really hard to put herself in this position, and so I think she deserves a chance to be part of the decision if possible. Best of luck to you. Let us know how it goes.
that is very good advice kaukana
minnie mouse- funny, my daughter keeps telling me that u of m has more of a drinking culture than wash u as one argument as to why she should go to wash u. perhaps if our daughters do end up there, we should get them together to be friends!
@kaukana Thank you so much for all of your advice and thoughts. I truly appreciate your insights. We have had all of those same discussions, which is why this decision is so incredibly difficult. I worry that she is used to being one of the top ranked kids in the school. This would all change at Wash U. With that being said, she has this great math brain and the subject really seems to come pretty easily for her. I think she could hold her own. I also worry about her passing up this opportunity. So many kids apply and so few kids get in. Would passing up Wash U be a decision that was greatly regretted down the road?
Yes, the money that we have saved is separate from our retirement accounts. (I am getting excited about the thought of retirement and would not touch that money!!) If she does decide to choose Wash U, I really think that we will make her pay us back a portion of the tuition. I want to be fair to my other two children as well. However, I do think that fair is not always equal. My husband is all for Miami and so are many of our friends that we talk to. They think the extra $200,000 would be crazy to pay. She does know that if she chooses Wash U she will be on her own for grad school. What is really hard for me to hear about is kids from our same neighborhood that are getting thousands of dollars to attend these highly selective schools. We all live in the same neighborhood and pay the same taxes. It is hard to think that they will be paying next to nothing and we have to pay full price. Basically, my husband has told me to stop stressing about it, as there really is nothing that we can do. I grew up in St. Louis and still have family there, so that is another reason why I am pushing for Wash U. I know they would be there for her if she needed anything. The town is also wonderful. Grew up not too far from Grant’s Farm - fun place to go if you are in town for a visit, and of course you need to stop and get a frozen custard at Ted Drewes. We will be visiting again soon, so hopefully that will help her make her final decision.
My daughter has told me to just make the decision for her, she would be fine with either. Ha! That won’t happen. I am glad that it is one I will not have to make.
@ conpar39 - Good to hear that there are other kids that would like to stay away from the drinking culture. I am sure that our daughters would make good friends. Will keep you posted on her decision. Good luck to all of you as we all venture through one more important rite of passage!
As I said in prior post, I have sons at both Wash U (a senior) and Michigan (a freshman). We are OOS so money isn’t that much different for us. Both are great schools. It is just the extra money for Wash U for you that is at issue. Keep in mind that if your D is planning on going to grad school, both schools will be highly regarded by grad school admissions and ultimately it will be her grad school that determines her employment opportunities. It may make sense to save the money for grad school.