Wesleyan vs Full scholarship University Maryland

College Search & Selection
21

<p>abl says,"Practically, the money for Wesleyan would likely mean that the OP’s parents would take smaller vacations for the next several years, buy a less expensive car next time (or couple of times) they needed one, give less extravagant gifts to friends and relatives, eat out at less expensive restaurants and less often, and just generally, keep a closer eye on their spending. All in all, it is unlikely that their quality of life would be significantly impacted by the cost (and even if it is, this is a sacrifice the OP’s parents evidently believe is very worthwhile). </p>

<p>According to your logic, we should never ever spend money on luxury goods; instead, we should always go for the deals and invest in retirement"</p>

<p>Response: who is to say what their parents would do with the money. Frankly, if they simply gave the $200,000 saved to the kid and invested it in their name, it would be worth $4,300,000 in 40 years for them.</p>

<p>Abl also says,"However, I’m sure that we can all agree that it is important to live life now; money is for spending</p>

<p>Response: Nope, we can’t all agree on this. Just for the record, only 3% of American households have a net worth or $1,000,000 or more due to your philosophy. If I remember correctly something like 57% of all americans before age 55 have a net investable wealth ( not counting their home ) of under $10,000.</p>

<p>There was a study that noted only 2% of Americans at age 65 or over can live on the same standard of living that they had before they hit age 65. The rest have to either reduce their standard of living or are forced to live on the charity of relative. NO THANK YOU.</p>

<p>I don’t remember the number,but there is a huge percentage of Americans who are living from paycheck to paycheck.</p>

<p>Abl also notes,"
I’ve seen so many of my friends justify, for financial reasons, going to a college they weren’t thrilled about, and end up unhappy"</p>

<p>Response: How many folks have you heard or seen regrets the tremendous debt burden that they have incurred? In fact, how many folks find that their debt burden reduces the opportunities that they could have taken in order to take advantages of certain opportunities?</p>

<p>So NO, I don’t agree to live now and spend money if you have it. That is the most financially rediculous thing I have heard in years.</p>

22

<p>abl, while it is possible the money would not be put into cds, I can tell you that in CA, going only from past experience, the money would be put into a downpayment on a nice, appreciating, highly leveraged home, that OP would likely never in his/her life be able to afford, ever, after paying back huge loans.</p>

<p>I’m going to go out on a limb here – have you EVER managed a household budget? No, let me make it easier. Do you know what a BUDGET is???</p>

23

<p>“The $200,000 for Wes might mean the parents put off retirement for 5-7 years beyond the original plan. They may privately worry about this, but want the best for their child, so won’t say anything about it. In such a case, should OP take the gift with gratitude (and some guilt), or politely decline and make the most of the UM experience?”</p>

<p>Your parents are grown-ups, and it’s their money to spend. It’s not your job to protect them from making expensive decisions. It’s their job to decide what’s worth their money.</p>

24

<p>abl, I suggest you check back in 20 years with the people who are still in debt from their “dream colleges”, see what they say then.</p>

25

<p>Wow…can we say condescending?</p>

<p>DunninLA, I am 100% financially independent from my parents, have maxed out my 403b, invest in a Roth IRA, all while paying off loans. Yes, I know what a budget is. I’m sure you’ve heard several stories about people putting that money into a house, but the fact is, as taxguy’s numbers demonstrate, the vast majority of Americans are not that financially responsible. If the OP knows for sure that his parents will invest $200,000 in his name, then the issue becomes more complicated. However, I can’t believe this will happen.</p>

<p>Sure, we can all agree that Americans don’t invest well enough. However, your argument is far too simplistic. Like I said, if our primary goal in life should be to maximize our investments, we should forgo all luxury goods. However, what is net worth worth, if not for spending. The primary value of money is for what it gets you. There are balances to everything, and you are advocating tending far too much towards the “save everything” side of things. I am not suggesting that one should take the other extreme and spend everything. Rather, I believe that a comfortable balance should be struck, and within that balance, college (being, as many would say, the best four years of one’s life) is worth the investment.</p>

<p>It is very possibly to enjoy life and invest in the future. In fact, while we don’t know the details of the OP’s situation, it is a safe bet if Wesleyan asked him to pay full tuition, that his family can afford to cover most of it without taking loans. Given this, even if the OP attends Wesleyan, they are more likely than not to graduate from college with relatively little in debt as well as a family that’s relatively financially secure. They will be in a strong position to attend grad school or begin investing in retirement immediately after graduation. </p>

<p>If the OP’s goal in life is to have a net worth over $1,000,000, then maybe they should spend their energy convincing their parents to invest their Wes tuition in a mutual fund, and then attend MD (and then live off campus with 8 other people and eat beans and rice every day and invest that too). If the OP’s goal in life is to, well, enjoy life, then I would suggest that having an optimal college experience is the best means of doing so (especially given that doing so most likely won’t result in heavy debt for him).</p>

<p>Oh, and I don’t plan on spending as much when I’m 65 or older as when I am younger than 65. I’d much rather take advantage of my money when I’m able to do things like travel than be sitting on a pile of cash when I’m old and less mobile.</p>

26

<p>This is interesting, but we still don’t know anything about Ssbaih’s family’s finances, feelings about large schools vs more intimate classes, etc. I still lean toward U Maryland and feel that taxguy makes a lot of sense.</p>

27

<p>Practically, the money for Wesleyan would likely mean that the OP’s parents would take smaller vacations for the next several years, buy a less expensive car next time (or couple of times) they needed one, give less extravagant gifts to friends and relatives, eat out at less expensive restaurants and less often, and just generally, keep a closer eye on their spending. All in all, it is unlikely that their quality of life would be significantly impacted by the cost.</p>

<p>Obviously, ABL lives in an alternate reality from mine, and that of most of the people I know. In my world, an annual outlay of $50,000 for four years (or, since I have two children, eight years) would mean permanently delaying retirement. We could maintain the same quality of life though, I suppose, as long as we could continue working until we dropped dead. According to FAFSA, our EFC exceeds the cost of nearly every undergraduate college or university. We are not poor by any means, but neither are we wealthy. We have saved and invested our money for the past 30 plus years. We don’t have another 30 - or even 15 - working years left to recoup our savings, if we were to choose to spend them on our children’s college education.</p>

<p>Take a look at the national statistics on the typical family’s total amount of savings. The average American family has $3800 in the bank, and doesn’t have any retirement savings. When you speak of parents being mildly inconvenienced by an annual education tab of $50,000, you are talking about the richest 1% of our population.
[Our</a> Financial Failings - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030400238.html]Our”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030400238.html)</p>

<p>There doesn’t seem to be much proof that attending a prestigious college results in a superior outcome. There are many schools that can provide a thorough and rigorous education. A motivated student will get a great education at any “good” college. The intangible experiences and relationships formed will be just as meaningful at the less costly institution.</p>

<p>People speak of their “dream colleges” with the expectations that their dreams will become reality. It makes far more sense to focus on getting an education that prepares a young person for a career, and for a fulfilling life.</p>

28

<p>Kenf1234, I agree with that. it’s not as if UM is not very close in quality to WES. Who knows, because of size, UM might even offer more appropriate classes to the OP. I believe USNWR has UM in the top 50 Unis, and Wes in the top 15 Liberal Arts colleges. (edit, I just checked… UM is ranked #54 in the country ,and WES is ranked #11 in LACs.) Not a night a day difference, but a difference.</p>

<p>abl, you’re right, my post was condescending. I got a strong feeling from certain thoughts and phrases that you’ve never been responsible for a HOUSEHOLD budget (meaning spouse, kids, perhaps elderly parents)… apparently I was right.</p>

29

<p>abl… here’s the thing that I haven’t well articulated but is likely the case with the OP.</p>

<p>Weslyan is full price. What does this mean? It probably means her parents do not qualify for financial aid according the the standard measures. It does not mean they are well off. They are likely servicing a mortgage, loans on two cars, and living an upper middle class life. These are EXACTLY the type people Princeton and Harvard has realized were cut out of private school education.. the hard working professional upper middle class… let’s say husband and wife both working and pulling in $130,000 per year. $120,000 per year expenses, $10,000 per year into savings.</p>

<p>Where does such a family, who qualifies for ZERO financial aid, come up with $50,000 per year. They only have $10,000 per year to divert out of savings.</p>

<p>Thank goodness Harvard/Princeton/Yale/Stanford and trickling down would now only require such a family to kick in $13,000 per year.</p>

<p>I really hope the non-Top 10 quality private colleges and universities like Wesleyan, Vanderbuilt, Emory, Rice, etc will be able to find a similar way to accomodate the millions of upper middle class families that are caught in no-man’s-land with too much income for financial aid, and too little to pay the full tuition.</p>

30

<p>taxguy - nice bit of reductionism, there.</p>

<p>AspiringIn Salem - obviously, anyone who has $50,000 a year to invest in any way they like, by definition, exists in an alternate reality from either you or abl (or, I for that matter.) Under that scenario Wes would not be much of a stretch. The family for whom it would be a stretch would be the one (as abl describes) for whom $50,000 represents not an opportunity cost but a real loss in standard of living. That means, in the here and now – not, in forty years.</p>

31

<p>Look, ultimately, the money is not the OP’s, but the OP’s parents. They appear willing to spend it on Wesleyan (or else would there be a post on this?). We can guess what their actually income is for as long as we want, but in some ways, the decision’s been made for us; the OP’s parents believe that whatever sacrifices they may have to make to afford Wesleyan would be worth it if the OP wants to attend the school. Maybe these sacrifices will be significant. Maybe they will not. Either way, the OP’s parents seem willing to make them. That implies that the OP’s parents value the OP’s college preference over their own financial situation. Maybe DunninLA and taxguy think that they shouldn’t. I personally think that they should and will act similarly when I am a parent. Regardless of what you or I may think, this decision has effectively been made.</p>

<p>I believe that since college is among the most important years of your life–socially, academically, professionally–spending it in your top choice is important. I do believe that the qualitative differences between Wes and U-MD are huge for a student not wanting to major in a highly specialized area (and there are any number of statistics someone who cares more than I do can find to back this up). However, ultimately, that’s not the issue. The issue is where does the OP think they’ll be happier during these absolutely crucial formative years? Where does the OP think he/she will grow more as individual and learn more as a student? Which school does the OP think will better position him/her for their career? </p>

<p>If the OP really believes the answer to each of those questions is “they’re pretty equal,” than I doubt he/she would have posted on here in the first place. If the OP thinks that U-MD and Wes will contribute equal value to his/her college experience, then U-MD is a fairly easy choice. </p>

<p>If, on the other hand, the OP believes that Wes is the answer to most or all of the above questions…then I think that’s the choice the OP should make. By giving the OP the opportunity to decide, the OP’s parents have demonstrated their preference; they would rather their kid went where their kid wanted. My advice to the OP is to choose your school based on where you want to go–that’s where your parents want you to go. If that school is Wes, go to Wes and don’t look back–the intangibles that make up a wonderful college experience can’t be bought later in life for any amount of money.</p>

32

<p>Well, I feel a litle guilty at having hijacked OP’s thread into a purely financial one… let me make amends, if it is possible at this point, by asking OP about some of the unanswered questions here –</p>

<p>-which school does OP prefer, and why, if $ were no object (abl, you assumed OP prefers WES, but it is not so stated)
-what do OP’s parents think about all this? Is $ an object?
-Have the aid options at WES been explored and exhausted?</p>

33

<p>Wow, So much interest I could hardly believe it.</p>

<p>First, I’m a parent. We have one child at NYU ($50,000/year)
Paid via Loans (parent $150,000, child $50,000)</p>

<p>Second Child’s educational plan being discussed.</p>

<p>Third Child age 13.</p>

<p>Wes was almost an early decision application, but son decided to make it a regular admission to allow other applications.</p>

<p>Univ of Maryland, the ‘safety’ Yes Honors Program</p>

34

<p>That makes it very clear, to me at least- U Maryland. Those loan figures are scary.</p>

35

<p>Yeah ,I echo the sentiments of OneMom, the loan figures are scary. Since you have other children, pick University of Maryland..</p>

36

<p>Agreed. What’s done is done wrt NYU. Don’t go deeper into debt. UM. this is not even a close call. You are clearly not rich or you wouldn’t have indebted yourself with a $150,000 loan and 1st child another $50,000 loan.</p>

<p>abl or someone pointed out that if this is what parents choose to do with their money (or loans), so be it. I disagree with that. A child must realize that 20-30-40 years from now, if the parent is OUT OF MONEY due to diverting retirement resources into the bank account of “prestigious private college”, it won’t ultimately have been the parent’s money at all, will it have been? It will have been the money of the children supporting the parent down the line.</p>

<p>The financial well being of the parents ultimately falls to the children – in most cultures. And I hope we can agree to that. Children of college age need to factor this into the decision to accept the self sacrificing of many parents — it in the end may not be self sacrifice of the parents, but the entire family’s sacrifice.</p>

37

<p>and, why shouldn’t they take out a loan, if they can afford to pay it back? assuming that they don’t have sufficient access to cash or cash equivalents is just that – an assumption (alto, in today’s market it probably would have made sense to spend the money than let it ride down in the stock market.)</p>

38

<p>taxguy-I’ve seen you extolling the virtues of a private education versus a public one on the University of Miami threads. However, on all other school threads you pick the public school as if anyone is crazy to consider spending such money on private education. Why is University of Miami worth the money and no other private school is???</p>

39

<p>That’s funny. I was going to ask johnwesley if he would be fighting so hard for the private school if it weren’t Wesleyan!</p>

<p>Honestly, Ssbaih, I’m a Wes student, and I think this place is awesome. But I listen to some of my friends here talk about the loans they have, and even though I LOVE that they’re here, obviously, I have to wonder *** they’re thinking (especially the ones with non-lucrative careers goals, which is many of them). </p>

<p>Wes is an amazing academic experiance and a great and unique environment, but I also know a lot of people at UMaryland that are very happy. The academics are strong a UMaryland, and the honors program allows for a smaller environment on a large campus.</p>

<p>Of course, its your and your child’s decision, but unless it seems like your child’s hart would absolutely break if they don’t go to Wes, or unless there is something about your financial situation we don’t know that makes those loans and the others you would have to take off feasible, I’d say go UMaryland.</p>

40

<p>Researchmaven,I must admit that I have a bias toward Miami. Also, I generally prefer many private schools to that of state schools since state schools are subject to cut backs due to the vagaries of state funding. In addition, state schools tend to give lower grades and usually have less grade inflation. However, not withstanding what I have said above, I usually wouldn’t recommend any private school, even Miami, over a good state school unless the parents are wealthy, or the major that the kid wants isn’t offered in the state university, or the kid needs some special program ,or the private school offers enough scholarship money to be almost equivalent to that of a state school, give or take a few thousand dollars a year.</p>

<p>I certainly would NOT recommend anyone going into substantial debt to attend any private school unless the desired major is absolutely unavailable in their state university.</p>

<p>Don’t forget, most of my posts that concern Miami deal with whether Miami is better than other private schools such as BU or Syracuse or Northeastern etc. Few people have asked me whether I would recommend sending their kid to Miami for undergraduate studies over their in-state university.</p>