<p>I live in Minnesota and can go to either Minnesota or Madison for half the price. Both of these schools are very good. If I do get into Northwestern, is it worth paying double the price. I'll be far fromm home and will probably have a much more stressful lifestyle. Also, I would like to stay in Minnesota when I get older. I will probably not recieve any financial aid if I get in because my parents actually saved their money and I do not have an super amazing high school record. I know Northwestern is one of the like top 10 schools in the country, but if I get in, is it that good of a value?</p>
<p>If you personally are going to take on the debt load, it is not worth it. </p>
<p>What you get at NU is, a neat atmosphere, a good education, and a prestigious degree. Worth the extra cost? I’d say no. If you want to end up in Minnesota after graduation, Minnesota and Wisconsin are going to do just as good for getting you a job to pay back those loans as Northwestern would do, while being a lot less expensive. Also, keep in mind that if you can get into NU you can likely get scholarship money at State U.</p>
<p>This may be a different perspective…the education afforded by attending and graduating from Northwestern is in my opinion money well spent. Money is a commodity, and what one person may consider is a valuable expenditure, another may not. You may be able to attend Northwestern and end up paying the same amount as you would if you attended your state U. I would encourage you to apply, see what the financial aid picture is offered, and then make a decision as to the value of attending NU or State U.
APOL-a Mom</p>
<p>I’m on a substantial amount of FA so I can’t really answer your question but I know a lot of full-pay students who are able to justify the cost. I think these students are either rich (and therefore have no money worries) and/or are not majoring in the liberal arts. I’m lucky that NU costs me much less than state school would. If I were a full-paying student, however, and not wealthy, I would not be willing to pay $50,000 for any school no matter how good it is. Maybe like $20,000 a year max for Harvard and $15,000 for any other school. I can tell you though that the social connections I’ve made have here been extremely transformative. I’ve also subconsciously developed a certain air that makes people take notice. I think it comes from having a certain social consciousness and intellectuality, which I think are priceless.</p>
<p>Hi Twins -
I am a parent of a NU 2014 student. I wanted to share a couple of responses to your questions. Firstly - for my child in music and the studying with the Chicago Symphony folks - YES, it is well worth it as well as the amazing academic environment where he will be around thousands of students like him academically for the first time in his education. He was the very top of his class in GPA and test scores and was always regarded as oddly different because he cared about his performance. He applied to 7 academic schools - the other 6 were full rides on scholarships. We will pay a little less than half at NU and it is worth it - the BEST music school of all the top academic colleges in the country IMHO and a great choice. What you want to major in and who you will potentially study with is a big part of the importance of where you go, too. We are excited! Also, you mentioned you had a less than stellar academic record - I am assuming you are a rising senior and I strongly advise you to take that up a notch this fall at HS if NU is a possible choice for you. They are very selective and I saw many of my son’s very talented friends who were good students (but not among the best at their schools) not get into NU for the fall and they were very unhappy. I am a HS AP teacher and your grades and scores this fall semester are very important - and NU still checks your final transcript for the entire year, too, even after an admittance to check on your consistency of studies. Good luck - I agree about not making a decision until you have all your offers in tow. A free ride at State U in our case was not better than being in the NU music conservatory environment. But, I also agree, DO NOT take on a lot of loan. NU is 100% need based and I think their FA award was very fair and accurate to our income. Give them a chance, and still be sure to file FAFSA regardless because families even in the 130K range still can receive some NU scholarship unless your family has tremendous taxable assets or home equity. Sorry to be so long, but we could have easily marked off NU in the beginning due to what we thought our COA could have been, and I am VERY glad we did not.</p>
<p>I think that it is possible to end up at the same post graduate job/gradschool/etc but the real question is how you get there. For nu kids, this path is probably more amplified and less difficult than at another school. There are less students you’re competing with from nu vs a state school and plus there are employers that prefer nu. </p>
<p>I only interviewed at 2 places and got an offer. I wasn’t even actively searching for a job because I didn’t know what I wanted to do post grad. This would not have been possible if I hadn’t gone to a top institution. I have student debt and at times it was financially stressful for my family, but I can say with certainty it makes a difference. Aside from the education, the opportunities and experiences available make a huge impact as well.</p>
<p>I’m not saying state school as in
Minnesota or Michigan or Wisconsin because these are very good schools as well. But on average, state school versus top 20 school its pretty clear</p>