Is free college better than prestigious schools?

DreamSchlDropout
Mon, 25 Jul 2016 18:53:13 +0000

In more detail, it depends on many factors:

Is your parents's objection to you going OOS based on tuition costs or do they have other reasons for wanting you to stay close to home?

Where can you get scholarships OOS, and would you willingly go to those schools? Some of these can be quite prestigious. The guaranteed merit aid schools are generally not high-prestige, but some prestige schools do have competitive merit aid.

Will your parents pick up any of the difference if you want to go to an OOS school that costs more?

If not, are you willing to get a part-time job?

What is your intended major, and intended post-graduate plan? For some paths (e.g. law school) the prestige of your undergraduate institution will be of minimal significance. For others (e.g. I want to be an elite Wall Street investment banker), prestige and network can be very significant.

Would gaining admission to an honors program (such as Barrett at ASU) change your feelings about attending an in-state school?

To sum up, the decision is very much about you, your parents, your plans, and your circumstances. There’s no one size fits all answer.