<p>Is Wash U worth full price admission for an undergrad business or engineering degree? My daughter is a National Merit Finalist, top 2% of her class, but doesn't really know what she wants to do/major in. She excells in just about everything (including math/science--hence our thoughts about engineering), but she doesn't have a clear idea of where she wants to focus in college. She has been admitted to Wash U, but we'll have to pay close to full price (As a National Merit, she'd get a small amount of merit aid from Wash U--$2500/year for 4 years). We could probably pull it off but it would take a good chunk out of our retirement nestegg (we're in our mid-50s, upper middle class, but not wealthy) and there would be nothing left for grad school/study abroad. I'm just not sure it's worth the $250K+ for an undergrad degree, given her uncertainty. She wasn't really challenged in HS, so she wants a challenging environment full of very intelligent people--I'm sure she could get that at Wash U, but for $250 grand?? (BTW, She would probably fit in really well at Wash U and she likes the campus.) Unfortunately, her other remaining choices are limited (she should have applied to more mid-tier schools). She has scholarships at our in-state schools -- Arizona State and U of Arizona (admitted to the honors colleges at both) -- that would cover everything but housing (we would have to pay about $10 K per year) and a full-ride scholarship (tuition, housing, plus small stipends) from U of Alabama. She liked Alabama when we visited but is not crazy about the football/greek culture; as for the state schools, she's afraid it will just feel like a continuation of high school. She's considering going to a state school and then transferring after a year or two to a better school once she has a clearer picture of what she wants to do, but I'm not sure how good an option that is these days. Wash U seems like an opportunity that maybe we should not pass up, but I just can't get past that huge price tag. Any advice?</p>
<p>kitkat</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is no good advice here. Some people think it is worth spending the money to go to a Brand Name University, others do not. What little empirical evidence there is seems to suggest that what schools you get into is a better indicator of success than the school you graduate from, but no one really really knows.</p>
<p>FWIW – faced with a similar choice to yours, (we are of similar age/demographic) we our daughter is attending Northwestern paying full freight (vs several lower cost options). However, we are fortunate in that doing so will not cause sever hardship or impact our retirement plans.</p>
<p>I suspect that if I were in your position, I would lean towards the state school for two years to ensure that we would be able to help out with graduate school. However, honestly, I don’t think that anyone other than you can really make this decision.</p>
<p>MODERATOR NOTE: Please post threads about college selection on the College Search & Selection forum.</p>