Education to Value Ratio

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Basically the overall educational experience over the cost of the college (tuition, room, food). </p>

<p>Sorry, but please none of that stuff about how “every college provides an excellent and unique experience even when you consider the money.”</p>

<p>I am just curious how the schools I applied to are. I know there are a ranking or two that does this, but generally the colleges on the list can be considered fairly subpar since they tend to focus more on value rather than education.</p>

<p>My parents are fairly low income (a bit under 40k) and very little savings until now. Since we sold our house for little to no profit for 500k just in time for financial aid calculations, we have a good deal of cash under our belts and under the federal methodology for calculating financial aid, I believe that we have no chance for aid at public or private schools. </p>

<p>Better yet, my younger sibling is 4 years younger than me so we can’t get a break by saying that we will have 2 students in college at the same time. </p>

<p>My colleges are:</p>

<p>UC Berk
UCLA
UCSD
Stanford
UPenn
Columbia
Cornell
Carnegie Mellon
NYU</p>

<p>A few things that I’ve heard to keep in mind: At the UCs, grad students teach you in many classes, but fairly cheap for people like me. At Ivies, I doubt I can get any aid, but maybe the opportunities will be worth the debt. </p>

<p>What do you parents think? Which of my schools or just any schools do you feel provide an excellent education for the cost without lacking too much prestige (a big factor for me because face it, even if the education was rigorous, it never sounds that good to say I came from Downtown Community College)?</p>

2

<p>Okay, let me make this clear: Grad students almost never teach lectures, if ever, at UCLA or Cal.</p>

<p>They lead discussion sections. That’s pretty par for the course at big research universities.</p>

3

<p>Do you have a good safety and a financial safety? </p>

<p>Many schools including all Ivies will meet 100% demonstrated need, so even though they’re expensive they tend to put together nice financial aid packages. If I remember correctly, at some schools (such as Harvard), there is no expected parental contribution if income is below a certain level determined by the school. </p>

<p>Also, with high scores you can find many schools outside the top 25 (or whatever) to give you merit scholarships as well as need-based aid. Many of these schools are wonderful and worth your consideration. You shouldn’t base so much attention on prestige. If you are considering grad school, you can definitely be in the running for the top schools if you have a high GPA, high scores, and good recs from a lesser known school. The name of your grad school holds much more weight than the name of your undergrad. If this is not the kind of advice you’re looking for, feel free to ignore it.</p>

<p>None of us can really compare the quality of education to the cost, especially since the aid packages at these schools and their final costs for your family are likely to differ a lot from what you see on the price tag.</p>

<p>I have heard NYU’s aid isn’t dependable. Further, assuming you are a CA resident, you should consider schools closer to your area. It’s so much easier if you can drive or take a bus/train home than if you need to fly. You don’t want to find yourself unable to come home for the holidays because finances are tight, and flight costs add up very quickly. I think it’s something to keep in mind and factor in when considering the costs of each school. </p>

<p>I can’t give you any other school ideas because you haven’t said what you’re looking for. Your school list is a little diverse (Cornell vs. Columbia, for example). Could you tell us a little more about what you want in a school? Atmosphere, potential major, feelings on a core curriculum, urban/rural, size, and other factors are important.</p>

4

<p>The Institutional Methodology considers assets, though, so OP’s probably right that he won’t get much need-based aid.</p>

5

<p>Have you tried out a financial aid calculator? There’s a good one on this site, if you haven’t already done so. </p>

<p>If you do qualify for financial aid, Columbia and Penn eliminate loans for families making under $50,000 a year. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/06/09/lenfest.html[/url]”>http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/06/09/lenfest.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=925[/url]”>http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=925&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Stanford eliminates the EFC for families making under $45,000 a year.</p>

<p><a href=“You’ve requested a page that no longer exists | Stanford News”>You’ve requested a page that no longer exists | Stanford News;

6

<p>If you are highly motivated and capable of being an advocate for your own education, you will do well at the lowest priced school on your list.</p>

<p>There are courses that are not worth taking in every price range. </p>

<p>And some students get a very expensive four-year degree and still have a tough time finding employment on graduating.</p>

7

<p>Hmmm, I am not too particular about location. </p>

<p>All of the schools on my list are fine for me. I am not too particular about the exact specifics if the school is appealing to me overall. Yeah, Columbia is in bustling NYC and Cornell is in the middle of nowhere in a small town called Ithaca, but both seem fairly interesting and seem to be a nice change of pace.
I actually don’t like Stanford’s location at all. I hate it, but the campus is impressive in my opinion, very nice weather, and I like the Stanford feel. </p>

<p>I’m just curious which of my schools would probably provide teh best bang for my (or in this case my parent’s) buck cause i seriously don’t want to my parents to spend $200k on an education that is roughly equivalent to a 90k education at Cal.</p>