WashU vs University of Tulsa

College Search & Selection
1

Hi, I’m looking for advice regarding the numerous factors that go into play when selecting a university to attend.

I’ve been accepted to both Washington University (in STL) and the University of Tulsa, both of which are relatively close to me geographically as a Missouri resident.

WashU is by far the more selective and prestigious university, but it comes at a price. I’m looking at offers from WashU at $50,000 per year and from Tulsa at $30,000 per year.

I will have approximately $20,000 each year (and perhaps a few thousand more) from outside sources to help pay for college, thus putting expenses for WashU at $30,000/year and Tulsa at $10,000/year. I’m faced with taking out loans to cover these expenses.

It should also be noted that I will pursue a Computer Science degree at both schools. Although both aren’t top 10 in that regard, WashU is again significantly higher ranked with respect to CS.

I prefer the St. Louis area and love the WashU campus, whereas I find Tulsa’s campus less preferable and am not as excited/inspired by the school and its research opportunities.

With all of that said, is WashU really worth the extra $20,000/year over Tulsa? I want to tell myself yes as I prefer WashU in nearly all aspects (except financially, of course). I understand that taking on debt is inevitable, but is it truly worth that much extra debt to attend WashU? Still time to think about this but would love to hear some outside opinions on this. Thanks for any feedback.

2

It seems as if you really prefer WashU over Tulsa so it’s kind of just up to whether or not you’re willing to pay for it.

3

You can’t take $20,000 in loans per year. Your parents would. But even if they could, it wouldn’t be a good idea.
Note that even Tulsa doesn’t sound affordable. You can take $5,500 in loans for your first year, everything else must be covered by your savings, your parents’ savings, their contribution from income, scholarships, or grants.