<p>I posted this same question in the UConn forum but I wanted to get opinions from both sides.</p>
<p>My son was accepted in the UConn Honors program for Computer Engineering with a 1/2 tution scholarship.</p>
<p>He was also accepted in WPI but the merit aid he received, though higher than UConn, will still leave a substantial amount to be paid out of pocket.</p>
<p>All in all, it will cost 100K more to attend WPI than UConn for a four year degree.</p>
<p>Our question is: Is a BS degree from WPI worth 100K more than a BS from UConn with honors?</p>
<p>It depends on a couple pf things. Can you afford the expense? If not, then, no, going into debt by 100K is never worth it. If you can afford it, then the next part of the equation is what type of learning environment does your S want? He should visit both schools and stay overnight, sit in on some classes, and then decide.</p>
<p>UConn and WPI would have very different <em>feels</em> to them.</p>
<p>In our case, the extra expense over and above every other school S was accepted to (even with a merit scholarship), was worth it, because it was the right fit for our kid and we could see our way to affording the extra (despite not preferring to pay it).</p>
<p>I have tried to teach my son it is not all about job opportunities, it is about life experiences as well and where one feels that he can learn, though what al6200 says about those job opps is most likely true. But I still say, you cannot truly decide until you would spend time at both places (provided the debt is doable)</p>
<p>unfortunately a big chunk of that extra 100K will have to be from loans. Do I want my kid to be saddled with that kind of debt? Will an honors degree from UConn open similar doors for him than a degree from WPI?</p>
<p>As far as the feel of each, we visited both and you are right. Different vibes. In the end, he liked both well enough but for different reasons. Right now he seems to have a slight preference toward WPI for no particular reason but he’s being very reasonable about it. He’s a pretty level headed kid and I think he sees for himself the dilemma.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who posted. More opionions will be welcome.</p>
<p>Both schools are targets for engineering firms (I know this is true for WPI, but don’t have confirmation on UConn). The strengths of the two student bodies are probably about equal. </p>
<p>As I said earlier, I think that UConn honors is the best choice here. One hundred thousand dollars can buy: </p>
<p>-A nice graduate degree. It’s also a good chunk of a law degree. </p>
<p>-A house in some parts of the country, a massive down payment in most parts. </p>
<p>-A car and other wonderful luxury goods. </p>
<p>-A healthy savings fund. </p>
<p>Technically the 100k are significantly loans, but my point remains. The 100k or so of loans that you’ll have is 100k+ that you’ll have to divert from buying a house/car/graduate degree. In your situation going to WPI is foolish.</p>
<p>thank you for your thoughts. That, of course, is our line of thinking also. We just want to be sure that we’re not overlooking some reason that makes attending WPI a better choice, even at that substantial surcharge. Thanks again.</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore student at WPI. Here are the advantages of going to WPI, as I see them: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Smaller campus, possibly smaller classes. This may or may not be an advantage. </p></li>
<li><p>Probably a stronger student body. There are some exceptional international students. The honors program at UConn might cancel this out. </p></li>
<li><p>Projects at WPI may add strength to a resume, but they probably won’t. It probably doesn’t matter because in my experience engineering jobs are not difficult to get. The difficult jobs in banking or consulting probably won’t care. Moreover, REUs probably look better on a resume than projects and REUs pay a considerable stipend (as opposed to projects, which cost tuition money). </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I don’t think that those advantages are worth $100k, but that’s just my opinion.</p>