<p>Like many other admitted students, my financial aid package wasn't spectacular. Though my parents can pay for it (uncomfortably), they're worried about graduate school and my employment opportunities after I graduate from UChicago. They won't have money for grad school.</p>
<p>I spoke to one of my teachers (a very bright man who attended a top-tier school about 15-20 years ago and has taught me for three years now), and he suggested that I should attend UChicago over Williams, who is offering me more financial aid. He's confident in my ability to do well in whatever field I pursue at UChicago (I'm undecided) and believes I'll be able to get into job positions or graduate programs that will pay for most of my graduate degree because of the connections UChicago professors and alums will have to the professional world. I'm not as confident in myself as he is in me, but I'd still love to know more about the connections/CAPS/alumni network for post-graduation plans.</p>
<p>That said, UChicago alums - how well did your connections/experience at UChicago prepare you for your career or further education after graduation? What are you doing now (and how are you handling your debt)? I'd prefer to hear from alums, but if anyone has other insight (on UChicago or the below schools), I'd appreciate that, too.</p>
<p>For some context, I was accepted to Amherst, Williams, UChicago, and Rutgers (full ride). But UChicago is my dream school. Hands down.</p>
<p>I do not agree with your teacher’s assessment of the situation.</p>
<p>Basically, most Ph.D. programs with competitive reputation, especially in the STEM and social science field, support their Ph.D.students. This means, tuition waiver and living stipend as an RA or TA. Even programs like philosophy and other “arts” divisions do in well reputed programs (similar deal). This is the default - not contingent upon who knows whom and what kind of connections you have. Of course, you have to be admitted first to benefit from this arrangement. Now, if you teacher meant that U Chicago faculty’s connections mean with their strong recommendation you are more likely to be admitted to top Ph.D. programs, then I agree. But even there, I don’t know by how much: Williams professors cannot possibly be chopped livers - it’s a school with outstanding reputation. However, given that they don’t have tremendous research focused reputation, you may be deprived of a resume building exercise of participating in actively research oriented faculty’s research paper mill. </p>
<p>Second, if you are talking about professional graduate schools (like MBA, medical school, law school): these are hard places to get financial aid from. Merit scholarships are rare at professional graduate schools. Especially, tippy top programs don’t have the incentive to give merit scholarships. I highly doubt that your undergraduate faculty connection is going to give you a ton of leverage. </p>
<p>Williams is an outstanding school. Truthfully, I highly doubt that you will be disadvantaged AT ALL in graduate school placement and job prospect at Williams as opposed to U Chicago.</p>
<p>I am saying this as a parent who is thoroughly satisfied that the exorbitant tuition I am paying for my son as a full pay student was one of the best investments I made (note: my son had a full ride plus stipend and travel expenses offer from a very good school). We are not gazillionaires, but we could afford the expense, and it was the best decision ever both for my son and me as a parent watching her kid thrive beyond her wildest imagination. But that does not mean that schools like Williams are just a pale shadow of the real thing. </p>
<p>The issue is really the fit between you and the school, and also by how much more you have to pay for U Chicago and how much impact it has on your parents’ financial outlook.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>What’s the difference in financial aid between Williams and Chicago? I’d put $5k/year as a dividing line: if more than $5k/year difference, I’d say choose Williams. If less than $5k/year difference, I’d say choose Chicago.</p>
<p>My situation has changed greatly since I first posted this thread. I received a revised financial aid decision from Williams today, and they offered me no money. Both Williams and UChicago will cost about the same (Williams might even cost a little bit more).</p>
<p>That said, I would still love to know more about UChicago students’ plans/financial situation after graduation!</p>
<p>I would strongly second everything posted by <em>hyeonjlee</em>, but would say that without money, Williams is a hard sell over Chicago. Let me be clear: I hold Williams graduates in very high regard and would put them in the same general bucket with Ivy League graduates in general (as do top tier employers and graduate schools). You will go places if you do well at either institution. That said, there is just so much more being offered to you both inside and outside the classroom at UChicago. </p>
<p>First, the biggest thing I would watch out for is the depth of the offerings in your major; if you well-rounded student wide-eyed to the academic world then Williams will likely meet your needs. But if you already have a big intellectual leg up in a field and want to major in the same area in college, you may find yourself taking courses simply because they are what Williams happen to offer in a given semester. This is not particular just to WC, but also applies to Amherst and Wellesley. Concretely, I have personally known science students at each of these schools who have bumped up against ceilings in their respective fields’ of study. Truly gifted humanities and social sciences students could easily be in same boat, although full-year study abroad is a way out (e.g. LSE, Oxford). </p>
<p>Second, if you have not been to the Berkshires I would strongly recommend doing so before accepting an offer from Williams. UChicago is pretty straightforward – big city close by with the campus in an urban neighborhood – Hopkins, Penn, and Columbia all have a very similar vibe if you are familiar with them and have not visited Chicago. Conversely, I feel Williams sells itself as picturesque and woodsy which is somewhat disingenuous. Western Massachusetts is very economically depressed and the nearby towns are dying for lack of work. There is nothing of interest to a college student off-campus with an hour car ride (which basically just gets you to the highway to Boston or NY, each another two hours onward). In short, you really need to be very sold on the sense of community the school offers (as is the case with Cornell or Dartmouth). You may love it, you may not…</p>