What do you think of this..honestly?

[MayoMedSchool]

Do you honestly think getting a $20,000 scholarship at a $50,000 school is better than getting a $11,000 scholarship at a $16,000 school?

Everyone at my high school thought that was true and went to the most high-cost private schools in the state. I'm at the University of South Dakota and I don't pay a thing. xD

What's your opinion? I think it's bogus how people think that crap. Although you get a bigger "scholarship", you still end up paying more in the long run anyways.

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[Fivo]

Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself that you made the right decision (unless you really didn't have a decision, then in that case you're trying to justify going to your state school). Who cares? Different people have different priorities. Deal with it.

 

[Aerus]

Do you honestly think getting a $20,000 scholarship at a $50,000 school is better than getting a $11,000 scholarship at a $16,000 school?

Everyone at my high school thought that was true and went to the most high-cost private schools in the state. I'm at the University of South Dakota and I don't pay a thing. xD

What's your opinion? I think it's bogus how people think that crap. Although you get a bigger "scholarship", you still end up paying more in the long run anyways.

Just because you disagree with someone's opinion doesn't mean it's crap. Environment, opportunities, proximity to home, prestige, and overall happiness should also go into play.

So many people undervalue the happiness factor when choosing schools. Why be miserable at a school you'll spend a couple years at?

By logic of cost, why not just go to a CC, then transfer into a State University? Why doesn't everyone do that? There are so many factors at play.

 

[circulus vitios]

$120,000 for a bachelors degree is beyond stupid.

 

[BABSstudent]

It might sound stupid but just go wherever you are the happiest because you can be spending at least four years of your life there.

 

[tbornottb]

$120,000 for a bachelors degree is beyond stupid.

yet many families pay that or more for their child's education.
If you are wealthy and your kid gets into a top private school, let's say, Williams College or Amherst College, schools like that cost ~$55,000 a year. If the family is well off enough to not qualify for any need based aid, the family could potentially end up paying $220k for their kid's bachelor's degree.

I went to a private liberal arts school and there were a lot of kids I knew whose parents were paying full tuition. My school cost ~55k a year (and no I did not pay that haha, got lots of financial aid), but only about half of the class got any financial aid whatsoever

It's tough if you don't get any financial aid or scholarships. Even the state schools in my state average tuition is $22k a year if you live on campus.

As others have said, it's a very personal decision where to attend college and happiness is a huge factor, so I don't think you should say what another person decided is "crap"

 

[circulus vitios]

yet many families pay that or more for their child's education.
If you are wealthy and your kid gets into a top private school, let's say, Williams College or Amherst College, schools like that cost ~$55,000 a year. If the family is well off enough to not qualify for any need based aid, the family could potentially end up paying $220k for their kid's bachelor's degree.

I went to a private liberal arts school and there were a lot of kids I knew whose parents were paying full tuition. My school cost ~55k a year (and no I did not pay that haha, got lots of financial aid), but only about half of the class got any financial aid whatsoever

It's tough if you don't get any financial aid or scholarships. Even the state schools in my state average tuition is $22k a year if you live on campus. Intangibles like "happiness" and "the college experience" aren't going to save you from living in a ratty, ghetto apartment because your student loan payments take away a disproportionate amount of your monthly take-home pay.

As others have said, it's a very personal decision where to attend college and happiness is a huge factor, so I don't think you should say what another person decided is "crap"

It's objectively crap when you drop $120,000 on a bachelors degree that, nepotism notwithstanding, might result in a $70,000 a year job. Intangibles like "happiness" and "the college experience" aren't going to make up for student loan payments taking away a disproportionate amount of your monthly take-home pay.

 

[487806]

Do you honestly think getting a $20,000 scholarship at a $50,000 school is better than getting a $11,000 scholarship at a $16,000 school?

Everyone at my high school thought that was true and went to the most high-cost private schools in the state. I'm at the University of South Dakota and I don't pay a thing. xD

What's your opinion? I think it's bogus how people think that crap. Although you get a bigger "scholarship", you still end up paying more in the long run anyways.

Bash those who don't agree with you. You should be a politician, OP.

 

[487806]

$120,000 for a bachelors degree is beyond stupid.

Sad, but true. Bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma. Both useless.

 

[MaenadsDance]

My brother and I both attended private colleges (I for three years, he's on track to graduate from his next year). My school offered me less than 5,000 a year in subsidized loans; my brother's is costing him less than twenty-thousand a year, despite identical sticker prices. If I had known then what I know now, I would have gone to the cheaper school. As it is, I'm borrowing 6.5 K a year to finish my education. I will graduate with about 50k in debt, and it scares the s**t out of me... but I made the choices I made, and was lucky enough to get a lot of help with my educational costs from parents and grandparents.

A cheap education can be a wonderful thing; the best, though, is maximizing value for your dollar. A good flagship state school is probably a better choice than the cheapest third-rate state school. Community college and then a flagship state school is also a great way to save money.

 

[darkjedi]

Sad, but true. Bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma. Both useless.

A Bachelors (or HS degree) is no guarantee of a good job, but most post-industrialist jobs expect a bachelors now. You are severely hamstringing yourself if you don't have a bachelor's degree in the job market nowadays.

 

[Cinclus]

I made money from extra scholarships given to me by the undergraduate school I attended. Hardly anyone out of the state has heard of the school, but neither I nor my bank account have any regrets.

 

[CsHead]

Do you honestly think getting a $20,000 scholarship at a $50,000 school is better than getting a $11,000 scholarship at a $16,000 school?

Everyone at my high school thought that was true and went to the most high-cost private schools in the state. I'm at the University of South Dakota and I don't pay a thing. xD

What's your opinion? I think it's bogus how people think that crap. Although you get a bigger "scholarship", you still end up paying more in the long run anyways.

You did the right thing.

It might sound stupid but just go wherever you are the happiest because you can be spending at least four years of your life there.

No, just no.

 

[FSU2013]

I went through undergrad debt free and now I'll get out of med school with well under 6 figures of debt. Couldn't be happier. Mind you, I went to state school for undergrad and med schools. My wife (who makes around 30k a year) and I are actively saving and plan to pay down med school debt while in residency. I already have my residency interviews for Harvard, Stanford, etc scheduled. Get out of undergrad debt free. Go to a cheap med school and study your butt off. The rest will work itself out.

Good luck.

 

[pineapplepancakes]

I made the decision to attend a state school (full scholarship) rather than an expensive top ten school (no aid), and though it took a long time for me to believe I made the right decision, things turned out great. When I graduated, I had no debt, and could therefore look for and start a job that didn't depend on me paying back loans (I now live and teach in a rural area abroad where I make next to nothing!). It's really nice not being held back by debt. Med school is a different story, but the good thing is I'll only have those loans to pay back, and not those from undergraduate.

You made a choice, probably a sound financial one, and now there's really no point in looking back.

 

[HSUReddie]

I went to undergrad on a full scholarship mainly because my parents wouldn't pay for my college. Now that I'm out, I'm very proud that they didn't. I took out loans up to the cost of attendance to cover my traveling over the summers. It was way easier for me to pay a jaw-dropping amount for my masters knowing that I didn't have that or more already sitting there collecting interest.

 

[wjs010]

Are you guys kidding me? Telling op he should be "happy"? Lol. Op, please disregard any post that said that

Stay at the cheaper school. Don't worry about being "happy" . You're getting an undergraduate degree. How happy do you think you're gonna be? The people telling you to go where you're happy obviously don't have real world experiences such as paying bills. Stay where its cheap, even if its an ugly boring town. It's only 4 years your life and it will be only slightly less fun than an inner city expensive school. Why? Because you'll be busy.

 

[Aerus]

Are you guys kidding me? Telling op he should be "happy"? Lol. Op, please disregard any post that said that

Stay at the cheaper school. Don't worry about being "happy" . You're getting an undergraduate degree. How happy do you think you're gonna be? The people telling you to go where you're happy obviously don't have real world experiences such as paying bills. Stay where its cheap, even if its an ugly boring town. It's only 4 years your life and it will be only slightly less fun than an inner city expensive school. Why? Because you'll be busy.

So you're saying that everyone going to a top reputable school without financial aid are ignorant to the real world? Quite a claim you're making there.

 

[lobo.solo]

Being debt free is always the best decision.

 

[aurora90]

Being debt free is always the best decision.

if being debt free is always the best decision then why go to medical school? the average med student these days graduates with $160,000 in debt and 33% have at least $200,000 in debt

what if someone only gets into a private med school and can only pay with loans? should they not go to med school to avoid debt?

 

[von Matterhorn]

Dare I point out the irony of naming yourself after one of the most prestigious medical schools after insulting those who prefer to go to prestigious undergrads?

 

[MayoMedSchool]

Dare I point out the irony of naming yourself after one of the most prestigious medical schools after insulting those who prefer to go to prestigious undergrads?

May I point out that Mayo Medical School has a prestigious financial aid program where the debt rate for graduates is the lowest in the country. Makes sense now doesn't it.

 

[Narmerguy]

I think it depends what you want to get out of the school. Is there something about that expensive school that is really unique and valuable? Are you being realistic with yourself about what that's really worth?

I went to the cheapest undergraduate school that I could (the one that gave me the largest scholarship) and am thrilled that I went here. In retrospect, I realize that a lot of the things that I thought mattered as a HS student didn't actually matter the slightest bit. However on the flip side, I think the undergraduate school I went to was probably the best one for me out of any school I can imagine, and hope that if presented with the choice in the future, I wouldn't ignore this school even if it didn't come with the cheapest bill. I very much believe that a large portion of who I am today is because of the school I attended, which is a weird feeling to have.

But if there's nothing particularly engaging about the more expensive school for you, and if it's just a better/more prestigious name or a few better opportunities, I wouldn't lose much sleep on passing it up for the cheaper option. It's what I would have done at least.

 

[JCTWP46]

Neither I nor my parents have paid a cent for me to attend college. I have made money every single semester I have attended, and yes I go to a state school that many people have probably never heard of. I did get into other private schools costing $40,000+ per year. But, after sitting and talking to some high school teachers and my folks, we decided that in this day and this economy you can't beat receiving a completely free college education.

 

[tiedyeddog]

The same opportunities are not available at every school. What constitutes a "deal" depends on the person in this case.

 

[MrChance2]

From my experience the student matters so much more than the institution they came from.

 

[wjs010]

So you're saying that everyone going to a top reputable school without financial aid are ignorant to the real world? Quite a claim you're making there.

#reading comprehension. All I'm saying is that's it's ******ed to pass up a cheap undergrad just to go to a more expensive school to be "happy" lol...so dumb

 

[tiedyeddog]

From my experience the student matters so much more than the institution they came from.

Sure, but the same student could have done better at X institution over Y institution.

 

[Praefectus]

$120,000 for a bachelors degree is beyond stupid.

I'll graduate this spring with $0 of debt. At the end of the day, I don't have to worry about compounding interest or losing a large chunk of my salary towards student loan payments.

 

[Aerus]

#reading comprehension. All I'm saying is that's it's ******ed to pass up a cheap undergrad just to go to a more expensive school to be "happy" lol...so dumb

There is no reading comprehension error there. You're saying exactly that.

Many people who go to top institutions more than likely got various scholarships from other schools. There are tons of reasons why you would pick a more expensive school. Basically, calling everyone who picks the more expensive school as "******ed" is calling a huge chunk of the students who are now in the Ivy Leagues, the top public schools, and the other prominent schools (MIT/Caltech/Stanford) as ******ed.

Perhaps you should use a bit of reading comprehension as I reiterate what I said above:

-Proximity to home: How close or how far do you want to be away from home? I turned down a top university offer because it was too close to home and I have been living in that area for my whole life. I wanted a change of scenery to grow out of my bubble. Other people might want to regularly visit their loved ones. Tons of variety here.

-Opportunities: Sure, I can go to a very cheap state university right by my backyard with an almost full scholarship. But that school had very few opportunities to research with very prominent figures in that field. In fact, that school had very few opportunities to research, period.

-Prestige: This matters less for premeds, but prestige of your UG does matter a bit more for other admissions, like Law School.

-Compromising with your Significant Other: Sometimes, you and your significant other might be working on a way to maintain a long distance relationship or even go to the same school. If you both got into schools that you'd rather go to, but decide to settle on this institution for similarities to your first choices, that's a very good compromise.

-Environment: Some people cannot stand the hot weather/cold weather/humidity. It's less important because your body does acclimate somewhat, but still a factor for some people.


Tl;Dr/don't have the necessary reading comprehension? There are way too many factors to consider other than a mere "This school is cheaper so I pick this". Calling the decision "******ed" is pretty short sighted of you.

 

[BABSstudent]

#reading comprehension. All I'm saying is that's it's ******ed to pass up a cheap undergrad just to go to a more expensive school to be "happy" lol...so dumb

Who said going to an expensive school will make you happy? I said pick the school that feels right to you. If you like rural areas, go there. If you like the city, live in the city. Don't pick schools by it being the cheapest option because being happy does matter. Are you more likely to study when happy or depressed? Will you have a support group? Does the school even offer a degree in your interests? For me, the best choice school was the cheapest.

 

[Aerus]

Who said going to an expensive school will make you happy? I said pick the school that feels right to you. If you like rural areas, go there. If you like the city, live in the city. Don't pick schools by it being the cheapest option because being happy does matter. Are you more likely to study when happy or depressed? Will you have a support group? Does the school even offer a degree in your interests? For me, the best choice school was the cheapest.

Many good points here that I forgot to mention.