Hello,
I got accepted as an undecided engineering major to UIUC, GTech, and SLU. SLU is a lot cheaper than the other two schools and closer to home. But, the other two have better programs. Which one do you think is the better of the three? Thanks in advance for your advice!
How are the costs for all three? And how much does that matter for you?
They already said SLU is “a lot” cheaper, and I can only infer from the fact that they still posted this that it is not the main consideration. If it is, then the question should be moot.
Both UIUC and GTech will provide you with stronger overall programs and stiffer competition from your classmates. I have often found the latter to be the main difference between a good program and a great one. I don’t mean that the atmosphere is more hostile in any way, but just that the overall higher level of student capability creates a more motivating atmosphere that forces you to put in the time and effort in order to do well. You thus learn more and your peer interactions are more fulfilling.
Personally I think GTech has the better reputation nationally except for computer engineering. I also would rather be in Atlanta than Urbana-Champaign, but that could obviously be 180 degrees for you. If money is a heavy factor, go to SLU, do really well, and then get a grad degree from UIUC, MIT, JHU, wherever. Often these programs are fully funded because they put you to work as TAs.
Can you list net costs (ie., tuition+fees+room/board, minus any scholarship/grant. Do not deduct any loan)?
And what’s your parents “out of pocket budget”, ie., what they can afford to pay from savings and income?
All are ABET accredited which is what counts in my mind. SLU grads will get paid the same for the same job as GT grads.
re: Erin’s Dad’s quote: “All are ABET accredited which is what counts in my mind. SLU grades will get paid the same for the same job as GT grads.”
This appears to be a repeated mantra but I don’t think it is true. Of course, when I say why, someone is bound to say “well when I recruit…” or “well I know someone who…” so right off the bat I’ll say that yes, it is possible to attend any school and end up successful but it will be harder at some schools than others. Some schools have reputations that draw more recruiters and provide more in-roads to top notch internships and some provide access to pretty remarkable opportunities during the 4 years of training compared to others. Further, some schools have more distractions and fewer top notch engineering students then others-so synergistic possibilities are lower. In some schools you find that there is a greater chance that strong engineering students end up with non-engineering degrees than at other schools. All told, two equally strong students, one beginning at SLU and another at GT will (very likely) end up looking very different 4 years later. Then of course you can argue that two students with similar credentials at graduation will be equally competitive for any particular job. That may be true but the chances of looking similar at graduation are low.
@lostaccount
I would be able to get out of SLU no debt. But GTech and UIUC would be impossible to pay for without a loan. Would you still consider the later two to be the better choice?
@yikesyikesyikes
I am not completely positive about the other two yet, but for SLU I would have to pay $16,000 per year.
Cost matters, but I would weigh education, opportunity, and learning atmosphere over it.
Also, does anyone know how much time it takes on average for undergrads to pay off all the debt?
how much in debt are we talking about?
What’s your parents’ budget out of pocket (from savings+ income)?
The amount a college graduate can reasonably expect to be able to pay back in 10 years (so, in his/her early 30’s) is 27K, which is why that’s the amount you can borrow from federal loans (with interest, it adds up to 31K already).
You can’t borrow more on your own - your parents would have to apply for Parent PLUS loans. (You could offer to pay them back but that’d mean you’d be severely limited until your 40’s).
Why does everyone say you can’t borrow more than 27k in federal loans? That’s Stafford loans. There’s also Perkins loans, which are subsidized but have a higher interest rate and some colleges are really insistent on including them in financial aid packages (annoyed muttering). That doesn’t necessarily mean they can realistically be paid back, but schools will offer something other than just Stafford and PLUS.
Because Perkins loans are limited per college and would only be offered to the neediest students, so that they don’t apply to most students. In addition, you can’t “decide” to take on Perkins loans, only the college can decide if you’ll be one of the students who gets it awarded. Students can’t borrow more than the Stafford loans on their own - that’s all they can decide to borrow and are sure to get.
That makes more sense, I didn’t realize people were only referring to what students were choosing on their own. I’ve just been confused because the way people make it sound, an FA package can only include Stafford or PLUS loans.
Strictly speaking a financial aid package may include state grants (need based or merit based), Pell grants, scholarships, stafford loans, and perhaps Perkins. Parent PLUS loans shouldn’t be part of the FA package because they’re beyond what is considered a student’s package (since they imply parents). A long time ago, when college costs were on pace with inflation and public universities were well-funded, it was not considered normal to take on loans at all, except for a handful of students who’d go to a private colleges, and federal grants existed rather than federal loans. Our sense of “normal” has really changed, to the point many students think taking on loans is normal, as is being indebted until your 30s or more, and 27K is not much to be in debt for.
Witness this discussion:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1867453-app-state-vs-western-carolina.html
(The OP may both have no sense of money and no better option…)
@guavamonster :
how much in debt are we talking about?
What’s your parents’ budget out of pocket (from savings+ income)?
While I think there is truth to what Erin’s Dad said about ABET accreditation and job pay in the abstract and to some degree in reality (and St. Louis is a great market for engineers usually), I still think when you take into account the overall sharper education you get at the stronger schools UIUC and GT win out. Perhaps most importantly when talking about the first 10-15 years of your career, the much more extensive engineering alumni network of both UIUC and GT have to be given serious consideration, and so I think some debt could be worth it. Now if you are talking more than about $30-35K total, I would hesitate. But generally speaking, with engineering salaries being what they are currently and the overall job market for engineers being decent even in most recessions, that level of debt should be manageable. By definition it adds risk, and only you can decide how willing you are to take on that risk. I would also add that if you are firmly set on staying in the St. Louis area for your career, that would add bonus points to SLU. Together with the no debt factor, that would probably make SLU my choice if I were you, but again only if you are 90+% fixed on living in St. Louis after graduation.
Do the numbers back this up? Data from collegescorecard seems to say otherwise.
@fallenchemist @MYOS1634
My parents will probably be able to pay 20k-25k each year, but the total tuition plus room and board is more like 46k to 50k.
My older sister is currently in college as well so that is a factor to consider as well.
Can you precisely list (tuition+fees+R/B) - (grants+scholarships) =
for EVERY university that admitted you?
- do not subtract any loan -
@MYOS1634
Saint Louis University:
Tuition+ fees+ rb: 38,000
Scholarships + grants: 22,000
Uiuc:
Tuition + fees+ Rb: 51,000
Scholarships+ grants: Unknown
Gtech:
Tuition + fees + rb: 49,000
Scholarships + grants: Unknown (gtech doesn’t really give out scholarships and the ones they do give out are really competitive, so I would assume 0)
Is collegescorecard reporting salaries just for engineering graduates, or those of the entire university? You have to make sure you’re comparing like to like when looking at these various salary “scorecards” because a school like Georgia Tech, for instance, will have a higher percentage of tech grads than the average school.
@insanedreamer, can you share the link?
@guavamonster UIUC notified it’s scholarship recipients in February. No grant for OOS students unless you qualify for federal grants.
It reports across the university. But if you compare salaries between tech schools - who mostly have engineering/tech grads, they’re not the same. See this link:
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/?degree=b&major=engineering&sort=salary:desc
compare RPI or Stevens, with GaTech, MUST or RIT.