When I got accepted to my dream school, I was so happy. But I’m not going to be going there in the fall and here’s why.
College is expensive, like really expensive. My dad always warned me of this. My dad has had a successful career and makes six figures. He also went to a very cheap college. I will be doing the same.
From a young age, my dad always told me. “The name on your degree gets you your first job, you have to do the rest yourself.” I didn’t believe him for a long time with all my friends pushing me to apply to prestigious institutions. It wasn’t until I contacted some of the people in the field I was looking to get into that I realized how right my dad had been. When you look at the degrees of successful people, they come from all over the place. I even found some from my safety school. So I decided to make the hardest decision I’ve ever made. I committed to my local state school that gave me a merit scholarship. I will be able to get through my undergrad degree debt free and that is an amazing thing.
People on college confidential are part of the reason why students are pressured to go to prestigious universities that they just can’t afford. It’s not worth it.
I don’t know that you can blame CC… the vast majority of high school students have never heard of it.
Most of the advice I see given by CC regulars in regard to this topic is to not go to a school you can’t afford, and to not worry so much about prestige.
I went to an obscure, affordable, little public university and loved it. I have no reason to tell people they need to go into debt so they can go to a prestigious school.
No one should be ashamed to attend the school they choose - whether it’s their safety or their dream school. Every school one applies to should be one they would be happy to attend. Then their individual situation/goals/desires/finances/whatever makes that final decision.
I’m glad you made a decision you are pleased with. I am equally as glad when others make a decision they are pleased with - safety, dream, or in between.
@Wrennn I think you made a very wise choice. D1 is at her safety school, also by choice. She was admitted to her dream school but the safety offered her a great financial package. We did what you did and looked at the alma matars of people successful in her field. They come from all over, most from colleges I had never heard of. I gave her the choice and she chose the safety. The money she is saving will help pay for her sisters’ education and she is very proud of being able to contribute to the family that way. It turns out that she is loving her school. In many ways its a better fit than the dream school. Its closer to a big city with the internships she needs. She has made great connections and has studied with excellent professors. I wish more people would think this way. I also wish no one even had to talk about shame with regard to attending any school.
Good for you for making a financially savvy decision that allows you to attend college and come out debt free.You actually got a merit scholarship through your work and results, no one gave it to you, so you should feel pride in that.
But I have to agree with others that College Confidential is not why “students are pressured to go to prestigious universities that they just can’t afford”. There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying something even if you know the chances of acceptance might be low and even if admitted the chancer of being able to attend might be too low because of lack of financial aid etc. The effort you put in has probably made you a stronger student and candidate at your state school and might even have helped you get the merit scholarship you got.
Good luck to you!
If anything, CC has opened my eyes to the allure of attending a safety school w/ generous merit.
@wrenn I made the same choice, had a great experience, and then chose between two top 20 graduate school on full fellowship, one of them an Ivy. My total tuition bill was zero. I had friends paying off student loans into their 30s.
I agree with @MomOutWest though. The very first question that people will ask of students assessing their choices on CC is: “Is it affordable without loans?”
It is true that many parents at CC ask about money, but if the student spends most of their time reading posts by other students (for example in the Chances forum), then it is really easy to miss that topic. Also there are a fair number of parents who also get caught up in the prestige thing and/or still are learning about financial issues themselves. Plenty of conversations along those lines in the Parents forum right now.
But back to the OP: Good for you! Take advantage of everything your college/university has to offer, and have a wonderful time there!
The OP opted for a school by his own choice. More power to him/her. The reason cited is that a lot of successful people go to a low reach/safety schools that cost very little. I am sure there are many counter examples that successful people go to dream schools. Agreed that everybody should be financially astute whether he/she can afford the school and everyone in CC kind of preaches that.
Going along the same vein, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of school, even though it was Harvard. So, will most of us should drop out school to be successful? There are arguments for and about that too.
I think the most common denominator I see in advice about college (anywhere) is “make sure it’s affordable without huge loans.”
Personally, I think that’s great advice. If there are no loans, great, but I’m one who sees the benefit in “basic” (low level) loans given the right situation for many kids. Sometimes that’s just to get them in to their safety school. Most students do not get “free” offers. The key is to have a guaranteed affordable/admission school that one would be happy to attend.
I can’t come up with a good reason for high loans for undergrad.
If a school is affordable, I’m fine with a student (and their parents) paying for it in the same way I don’t give a hoot what make/model car they choose. Pick what fits the need and desires.