<p>struggling to decide between some great schools that cost a lot of $ and will cause me to go into debt about $50M. also in the mix is a state school with a great reputation and little costs allowing funding for future post grad.</p>
<p>I am academically strong and want an academically challenging environment. Each school has its pluses. I love the theatre, acappella, residential colleges and atmosphere of people at Yale. Thinking about communication studies but dont want that to be the driving factor as i know majority of students change their minds in college. Drawbak of Yale is the Ivy Image and location but theatre oportunites and acapella superior with Northwestern in second place.</p>
<p>For starters, all 5 of those schools are VERY different. SMU is a rich-Dallas-kid type of school. Notre Dame is not really all that great of a university (at least IMO). Vandy is good, but has a reputation of being very southern and greeky. Northwestern and Yale are obviously your two best choices.</p>
<p>What is the financial situation like at all of these schools?</p>
<p>It’s interesting that you’d consider the Ivy Image a drawback. Many good students would consider Yale’s image/prestige a major attraction. You should be aware, though, that Yale (like most other highly selective colleges) does not offer majors in communications or journalism. </p>
<p>It sounds like your family is too affluent to qualify for need-based aid, but does not have the savings/disposable income to fully cover the Expected Family Contribution. Or is it the case that your parents refuse to pay for an expensive private school? $50K is well over the Stafford limits, and a lot of debt if the alternative is an excellent state school like UT. Will your parents co-sign for the loans?</p>
<p>Northwestern also has a reputation of being very “Greeky”, not just Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt has kids from all over the country and LOTS of them are from Pennsylvania, NY, NJ, CT. Northwestern would seem “northern” to some kids, so is “southern” a negative??? College is a time to experience something new and northern isn’t necessarily better than southern. Smart people do come from the south, by the way, and there are good schools down here. If cost is no concern, Yale might be the best bet. Notre Dame is a stellar academic school, so andrew above is misinformed. All are great choices, but if you’re not interested in something specific that one of those schools has, go Yale.</p>
<p>Yale.
You will probably get the best financial aid at Yale, and of course their theater dept. is fantastic. Vandy: Sure, lots from the northeast, but that doesn’t mean that they totally fit in there. ND: A very specific/conservative/catholic subculture, with the emphasis on serving the world, eg. Uganda as opposed to Oxbridge for your junior year. NW: No clue. SMU: A wonderful, if a bit elitist/greek etc. (Texas centered elitist)</p>
<p>When you speak of an interest in theater and find the ivy league image (I’m assuming in the context of arrogance and elitism) as a drawback, I think it’s then easier to strike off a few from your list. Vanderbilt and ND should definitely be out IMO.</p>
<p>SMU I know little about, but based on other posters it should also be struck down if the merit scholarship you mention isn’t enough of a draw. </p>
<p>Yale and Northwestern seem to be your two choices, based on the criteria you seem to be using to choose. You should fully concentrate on them. I would personally suggest Northwestern, but it’s a toss-up. </p>
<p>I think you should remember that since HYP have their selection of almost any student, they have a tendency to actually have a much lower concentration of sheltered/intolerant/arrogant kids. While its true their reputations for arrogance etc. are well-earned, there are plenty of schools ranked below them that would qualify as generally having a far more elitist and arrogant student body. In fact, you actually will find kids from all walks of life there, whereas you would never have that same experience at ND, for example.</p>
<p>the state school is UF…we don’t qualify for aid and parents say my contribution needs to be $40M-60M for the private schools with no aid/scholarship. Yale is the one I think will offer the most long term opportunities (although NW is a better academic fit). It sure is hard to pass up SMU scholarship despite my expectation that the academics will not be as challenging as i want, the elitist mentality of entitlement, and that it will not open the same doors as a NW or Yale in the future. Clearly the state school will provide the most logical financial decision in the short term, but it seems Yale is worth the financial risk, NW would be next and Vandy, which has the most comfortable fit socially but in my view not the best academic focus and theatre/acappella/communications/broadcasting opportunities of NW. I know Yale doesn’t offer the communications focus but more of a liberal arts focus. When I say Ivy is a drawback, I mean in terms of the perceived need to pick it for prestige over a school like NW that offers it all academically but is not socially like Yale with it’s residential colleges. Have visited all schools and NW feels a bit more professional due to the grad population that is not as prevalent at Yale bc of the residential college experience.</p>
<p>I am a graduate of NU. There is no way that I would allow my S to get a degree in Comm Studies from NU AND assume $50,000 in debt. Sorry, not worth it. I would consider it for Yale. I think you are overestimating the doors that will be opened for you just by attending NU. Doors get opened because you make it happen through internships, study abroad, high grades and taking on leadership roles. You can make it happen just as easily from UF as you can from NU. </p>
<p>Also, the Comm Studies program at NU is not all that academically challenging. Those of us at NU that were looking for easy majors went either Comm Studies or Education and Social Policy.</p>
<p>^ Like at most schools, kids from the North are accepted at Vanderbilt. Northerners who choose to go south are up for that experience. I had 2 kids graduate from there and I can assure you that no one was segregated or judged by where they were from. They mix in Greek groups and seem to get along. You really don’t know what you’re talking about when you say northerners “don’t fit in there”. </p>
<p>Vanderbilt has amazing academic experience with a great communications department. Look at the Peabody School for some interesting majors. Of course, Arts and Science are tops. Nashville is a wonderful, fun city to spend 4 years in. The freshman commons is a fabulous living experience for students.</p>
<p>Still think Yale would be worth the extra money, but don’t discount Vanderbilt (or Notre Dame) because of opinions on this thread. Both are amazing!</p>
<p>First off, you can’t borrow that kind of money without a co-signer. Before you even consider that level of debt, get into the bank or credit union with your parents and find out whether or not they will be able to qualify to co-sign for that much money over the course of all four years.</p>
<p>Since there are several different aid packages under consideration, run the numbers here: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) All of these are very fine institutions, which means that you can safely choose the one that will leave you with the lowest amount of debt. Better yet, choose the one that your family can afford with no loans at all. To get an idea about just exactly how long it will take you to dig yourself out of your potential debt, see the loan repayment calculators at the FinAid website.</p>