<p>Ok, so I'm a senior in high school, I've just finished hearing back from all my colleges. I got into some great schools, but now i've got a tough decision to make. What would you do with these 3 choices, going into engineering (undecided as to what type, but leaning towards either electrical or mechanical):</p>
<p>Penn State - Honors College - graduate debt free</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon - $50,000 in loans</p>
<p>Cornell - $75,000 in loans</p>
<p>Penn obviously</p>
<p>For prestige, I would choose Cornell. Would the $75,000 be for 4 years?</p>
<p>If you don’t have enough money, then choose Penn, but you should choose the university that you feel like attending.</p>
<p>For example, I chose Berkeley, which is giving me over 20k in loans, over CSULB, which is giving me a full scholarship because I did not feel like going to Long Beach. The scholarship was tempting, though.</p>
<p>Ok, please do not call us Penn. Florida is not the same school as Florida State, is it? As a Penn State student, I don’t want us confused with Penn. They are in Philadelphia. We are in State College. </p>
<p>To the poster, Penn State is amazing. The honors college is very prestigious. If you haven’t already, you should definitely visit the campus. They are all good choices, so you really can’t go wrong. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Well your decision is basically financial alone. Go to Penn State if you can’t pay 50k in loans, or go to Cornell if you can pay.</p>
<p>If in the end you really have to take on that debt yourself, the go to Penn State.</p>
<p>Since you’re interested in engineering, all 3 options will provide you a fantastic education. You’ll get similar job opportunities and similar pay with an engineering degree from any of your choices. In this case, I would choose Penn State Honors. It’s a great school and graduating debt free will put you in a fantastic position to explore your career dreams unhindered.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptances.</p>
<p>I would take Penn State Honors. It is usually quite easy to attend a prestigious graduate school for engineering with full tuition plus a stipend. You can always do that later.</p>
<p>YOU are… PENN STATE! </p>
<p>No contest. With Engineering and SHC, choose the PSU option. Go to fancy (and pricey) graduate school, if you must.</p>
<p>penn state. easily. honors program at an already great university plus debt free?! cant go wrong!</p>
<p>Alright. So it’s looking like most people say PSU. That’s what I’m leaning towards (it seems like the logical choice), but Cornell is my #1 choice, so I’m finding it kind of hard to let go. Thanks for all the input.</p>
<p>Also, I’m kinda boggled by the big numbers that my loans add up to. Does anyone have any insight (maybe personal experience) into how hard it would be to pay off 50K-75K in loans?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There are LITERALLY people still paying off student loans with their social security checks.</p>
<p>Penn State Honors is very respected in the business community as is Penn State’s overall engineering programs. IMO, this is a pretty easy choice if you’re ok with the size of PSU and the nature of the academic and non-academic experience you will have there. Not everybody can handle the size and some don’t like the big social life and even bigger athletic scene, but if those interest you at all, then PSU Schreyers would be an excellent choice.</p>
<p>Perhaps Cornell can revise your financial package? You lose nothing by asking. You can tell them that you have a full ride to another school but that Cornell is your #1 choice. Maybe that can lighten the load, although I doubt that will be able to lighten it too much!</p>
<p>In my opinion, the choice should come down to PSU Honors (no debt) or Cornell with $75,000 debt. If you’re going to take out loans anyway, Carnegie Mellon isn’t worth it. That said, here are some sample monthly payments you would make to pay back $75,000, assuming 7% interest. Only you can decide if the loans are worth it. FWIW, I would choose PSU Honors.</p>
<p>$870 a month for 10 years
$675 a month for 15 years
$580 a month for 20 years
$500 a month for 30 years</p>
<p>I actually had this whole arguement with my mom about applying to PSU, so you’d think I wouldn’t say this, buuuut: </p>
<p>Penn State. Really, the Honors College is supposed to be spectacular and I know some really amazing students that didn’t get in (haha), so it must be pretty prestigious. A couple of my friends went there for engineering and had a great time and have ended up with amaaaaazing jobs- just watch out for the weeder classes in the beginning- those intro classes can kill you at PSU. With Honors, your classes will be smaller and you’ll get to have a closer community, too, so you really can’t go wrong. 50K and 75K isn’t worth “Ivy Prestige” when PSU engineering is pretty great.</p>
<p>UPDATE</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon recalculated my aid and gave me a lot more.</p>
<p>Here’s the new situation:
Penn State - Honors College - graduate debt free
Carnegie Mellon - $20,000 in debt
Cornell - $75,000 in debt</p>
<p>Does this change anything, or do most of you still say Penn State is the best choice?</p>
<p>Changes a lot. $20K in debt over 4 years is manageable for an engineering degree. I’d seriously consider CMU. In the end go with your instinct.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’ve always wondered if the confusion between Penn State and Penn drove you guys nuts too ;)</p>
<p>Penn…Penn State, what the difference?! ;)</p>
<p>bts, for a $5k/year, I think CMU would be a better deal than PSU. But as Ken points out, it also depends on fit. PSU offers a more complete undergraduate experience. </p>
<p>You really ought to contact Cornell and them them that you are getting a much better offer from Carnegie Mellon. Tell them that they are your first choice, but that for $50k, you really cannot turn down CMU. Maybe they will get back to you with a better offer. There is still another 10 days before you have to send in you security deposit, so a lot can happen.</p>