<p>My son was also offered a full-ride at Rutgers, but had numerous reasons specific to his personal situation why Yale was a better choice. So I understand your dilemma very well. He will not be incurring the debt you anticipate, which made his choice much easier. </p>
<p>It sounds like you are very undecided about what you want to study. If you are at all inclined towards med school, that $20,000 (which is more than a “few thousand” in my book), will only be the tip of the iceberg in terms of your higher education debt. This is something to seriously consider. I will also mention that several of my son’s pre-med-leaning friends at Yale have found the STEM classes populated by other aspiring pre-meds quite brutal in terms of difficulty. </p>
<p>There are some very brilliant kids at Rutgers, including several of our high-school’s valedictorians and salutatorians. They have had great success in the Rutgers honors program. I know of one Presidential Scholar who, having done undergrad research at Rutgers, is now doing (fully funded) graduate work at an Ivy. (He had offers from several.) Free education the whole way for this young man.</p>
<p>The campuses and general vibe at the two schools are obviously very, very different. But at either school, your experience will be what you make of it. Yes, Yale has amazing resources and opportunities – but you have to seek them out and there are many other ambitious students doing the same thing. Depending on which program you enter at Rutgers, the opportunities for students in the honors program may be easier to come by early on.</p>
<p>As an NJ student, you probably know some kids in Rutgers Honors already. I would really encourage you to reach out to a couple of Presidential Scholars if you can, and hear what they have to say about their experiences. </p>
<p>I know: People hear that you got accepted to Yale and assume “Of course you’re going there!” It is hard to them to believe that you might not. Just remember that THEY are not going to be paying your tuition. Many, many smart kids these days are turning down big-name privates for full-ride publics. Yes, Yale is a wonderful place, but consider the pros and cons carefully, and do not dismiss the incurring of debt as something incidental. </p>
<p>Sorry T2, I’d still pick Yale if the total debt is 20k.Rutgers is a very good school, but Yale can open alot of doors that could earn that back many times over.</p>
<p>To be fair, for the exact reason that Yale is asking of the OP (at least) 20k per year, we can be sure that he/she is at least firmly middle class, if not upper-mid or upper.</p>
<p>So whether families exist living on 20k per year or not is kinda moot.</p>
<p>It just dawned on me that no low income family has any debt once accepted to Yale or any of the other top need blind schools… In approx numbers any family earning less than 80K pays almost nothing, and incurs no debt…</p>
<p>Knowing Yale’s Finaid formula: I’m confident that the OP’s family makes more than $20K per year. And in my own life, incurring $20K total for Yale is not oppressive and would welcome it if that was the sole cost to my kid for attending Yale. I’m not suggesting it is or isn’t oppressive for the OP. Like others of you have said, it’s a component of the decision (which the OP himself brought forward).</p>
<p>What I AM saying is that $20K – even over four years – is not some throwaway amount of money for many people. That’s ALL I’m saying.</p>
<p>I’d pick Yale, but I am not a debt-averse person. Don’t forget you may be able to get a high-paying summer job to help pay down the debt right away. One of my Ds got a great summer placement with a major corporation through her career office and earned about $10K in one summer. (But she did have to use part of it to pay her summer living expenses).</p>
<p>I know this is going to sound shallow but U.S News rankks Yale #3 and Rutgers #68.</p>
<p>Of much more importance, I think Yale is very well suited to a student who hasn’t fully decided what career to pursue. Given that Rutgers is a large State Uni. it will probably be harder to explore possibilities - our state flagship (UIUC) is almost polar opposite to Yale in that regard.</p>
<p>Yale fin. aid pkg says No family contribution if earnings are 65k or less. That’s 0 EFC. There is a sliding scale of from 1-20% for families earning upto 200k.</p>
<p>i can’t agree with you more. for my niece, she knew she wanted to be a doctor from early on. she graduated from Rutgers with a full ride. She passed up smaller scholarships from several ivy leagues. she just completed her M.D. education at WashU. </p>
<p>my son, on the other hand, doesn’t quite know what career to pursue. Last year, he was interested in law, now it is business. In his case an ivy league education makes more sense. I dont know where he will end up, but on our spreadsheet, parent funded ivy league option is rated higher than a full ride at a state school option.</p>
<p>I think if you decide to pursue the doctor route, go Rutgers. Paying for Yale tuition + $20K in debt doesn’t sound good to me if you plan on going to med school right afterwards.</p>
<p>However, if you decide against becoming a doctor, I would go with Yale.</p>
<p>I know some people think where you go undergrad doesn’t matter.It does matter. A Yale education is like a Rolls Royce, Rutgers is a Buick. There is a difference.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the responses! I’ll have to sit down with my parents to weigh the options. They’re nice enough that they’re willing to let me make the decision and assure me that I have their blessing regardless of where I go. </p>
<p>And I’m sorry if this wasn’t clear, but my EFC was around 20K/year, and would probably have to pay off about 20K in loans.</p>
<p>Kinda smacking myself in the head right now for not taking a shot at Harvard (whose policies are much more generous for my income bracket) though, cause I just found out about Yale’s policy to lower financial aid for my income bracket, lol.</p>
<p>I thought you said you would need about $20K for all four years of Yale. First of all, you are not likely to be able to borrow $20K yourself to go to Yale. Who would lend you the money? You are entitled to get $5500 in Stafford loans (I believe Yale leaves those intact for full use towards EFC) But where are you going to get the nearly $15K additional in funds? Your parents are going to have to get involved either in borrowing through PLUS or cosigning a loan with you, which is basically the same as co borrowing it and will affect their credit and put them fully on the hook for repayment. It’s nice that they are willing to give their blessing regardless of where you go, but they are also going to have to give you $15K which may not be so easy to do. And then they will have to keep doing this each year. The price only goes up and Yale will be expecting you to come up with more of the cost each year, as all colleges do. </p>
<p>Your parents will have be in debt for about $70K before you are done unless they can be paying on the loan as they take it out. In ADDITION, you will be owing about $30K or more with interest yourself upon graduation. What kind of shape are your parents in to be able to take out that kind of debt? THey’ll have to start paying, at latest, when you graduate and if you go on to med school, you aren’t going to be able to help them with those payments as you will be taking out even more loans and accruing interest on that more than $30K you borrowed on your own. Is this even doable for them? Will this hurt their credit, their flexibility, their finances? Can THEY , not YOU, afford to do this?</p>
<p>This thread is starting to emit the ■■■■■ aroma.Did the OP get the Rutgers Presidential?? If yes it’s 24k still leaving a few thousand a year expenses.</p>
Just to clarify the Yale fin aid policy, it is no expected “parent contribution” for families making less than 65K. The student still has a summer income contribution and an expected self-help contribution (currently $2700/yr) that they are expected to meet.</p>