What school should I pick? (Financial)

Paying for College
1

Hello!!

I just got into MIT Early Action and WPI Early Action! My family is in the middle class, and I have a brother in college (only for two years overlap). MIT would give me a bit of aid for the first two years, whereas WPI gave me a presidential scholarship worth a lot. Based on agreements my parents and I made about financial contributions, my cost for WPI over all four years would be $24,000 whereas MIT could be anywhere from $94,000 to $125,000 depending on how much aid they give me after my brother graduates.

I want to do Computational Biology (potentially Biomedical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering) and I know that MIT is world renowned, but I still can’t put the money aspect out of my head. Do I want to be struggling after I get out, or be comfortable? At the same time, what job opportunities would each present me?

MIT has been my dream since I was a kid, but I can’t just go because of that. At both schools, I have the chance to row, I like the social environment, and I like how it’s close to home (I live in New England).

I’m not sure what I want to do post-graduate which is why I am struggling especially. I have strongly considered Med School, but I feel that if I go to MIT I wouldn’t pursue that route. I have also thought about continuing getting a masters degree in some engineering or computer science course. Every now and then I also toss around the idea of being a lawyer (haha I know that’s out of left field, but I want to minor in Economics and I’m very into facts, figures, and debates).

What financially makes the most sense to set me up for a good future post-grad and debt wise? MIT has a lot of good opportunities but I just don’t know…

THANK YOU! :slight_smile:

2

Who is going to be paying that $100,000 or so for you to attend MIT?

3

I would have to (with loans).

4

@thumper1 it’s definitely a lot… which is why I’m so nervous

5

You won’t be able to take $100,000 in loans without a cosigner. Either your parents will need to cosign, or they will need to take out those loans.

Will they do that?

6

Wih WPI you can take federal loans if needed to pay for all four years. As thumper1 mentioned, you won’t be able to come up with the remaining $75-ish k on your own.

7

@rower2017

These are your EA schools. Do,you have any other pending appllcations?

8

It’s really simple, actually. You can’t afford MIT. You can afford WPI.

It doesn’t matter how wonderful MIT is. You can’t afford it.

Obviously you can’t borrow the money you would need to attend MIT, but even if you could with a co-signer or with your parents playing game with PLUS loan… you still can’t afford it.

$24,000 for 4 years of undergrad is a reasonable amount of debt.

$100K is not. It is an insanely stupid amount of debt for a young person to take on. And since very little of that, if any, wlill be subsidized, it will be accumulating interest as long as you are in school and payments are not being made, so by the time you graduate the loan balances would already be many thousands more than what you thought you had signed up for.

So you have every right to be disappointed … but you cannot cripple yourself with debt.

On the flip side it is possible that with you may very will find that at WPI you will get opportunities that wouldn’t come your way at MIT. Just because you are essentially entering at the head of the pack. (Though you probably won’t be the only student there who has turned down a spot at MIT for financial reasons).

Of course you can still also apply to other school that are likely to offer you merit aid. Obviously your parents are too affluent on paper to allow you to hope for a significant amount of need based aid. (That doesn’t mean they really can afford their EFC – but it does mean that the burden is on you to fill the gap with merit money).

You should be very proud of your accomplishments and your admission – and of course you still have options to consider other schools, if you have applications pending elsewhere – but MIT has simply been priced out of reach for you.

Keep in mind that most of the benefits of attending a school that is “word renowned” are at the graduate level. Once a person earns a graduate degree, no one cares where the undergrad degree came from.

There really is only one rational answer to your question. Your emotions are obviously sending different signals – there are good reasons that MIT is and has always been your dream school — but you really need to make this decision with your obviously very capable brain and not with your heart.

9

Do you have younger siblings? Do you know what your FAFSA EFC is?

10

For the record:

My niece graduated four years ago from MIT with honors and a double major. She told her younger sister (also a very strong student from the same high school) not to apply to MIT, but to apply to WPI. Second niece was accepted to WPI and to Case-Western. She went to Case Western as the money was better and she had plans to be a doctor.

The MIT niece lost interest in a career in research, graduated from law school and is practicing patent law in a respected firm.

The Case Western niece recently graduated and has lost interest in MD, but wants to continue in a new medical field involving genetic counseling.

Very few students actually live their dream as envisioned on HS graduation. Sometimes the dream grows in positive directions you have never even imagined.

As an alumnus, I suggest you look into the extraordinary opportunities you now have to pursue a very wide range of international studies and to take an active role, as an undergraduate, to help solve our worlds problems.

11

24,000 vs $125,000 is a no brainer. What did WPI give you for merit that you can go for $24,000 for four years???