If you had the choice, and money was not an issue, which would you choose?
Stanford…of course
Mom2collegekids
Thanks! Tell me why
It’s widely recognized as one of the best universities in the world. Morehead is ranked like 50th as a regional university. Since you haven’t given us any more to go on, that’s how people are probably going to answer.
Sorry - I meant UNC as a Morehead- Cain Scholar vs Stanford. If my daughter were to get Morehead (she is finalist). She wants to major in CS so she thinks Stanford is better choice, but some are telling her she should consider UNC
If you are talking about the Morehead-Cain Scholarship at UNC, I remember a few years back a local kid turned down Harvard for this. http://uncnews.unc.edu/2014/04/25/morehead-cain-foundation-announces-57-new-scholars/
@toadtop‌
The reality is that money is always an issue. For everyone. It’s all relative. For CS, I would choose Stanford hands down. Location, location, location. However, I do understand the choice of free v. paying full-freight. We chose full-freight. It IS a sacrfice even if “money was not an issue,” as you say. It’s irrelevant what others have chosen to do. Some are more driven by money than others.
We know a young man who turned down Stanford for McDermott at UT-Dallas. Not as prestigious as the Moorhead, but the family was free v. full-pay. The issue is what is best for YOUR dd and YOUR family as a whole. Is money really not an issue? For most folks, sacrificing $250,000 is an issue.
Good luck with your decision-making. If your dd is a finalist for the scholly at UNC, I am sure she has other offers which will be free as well.
It’s difficult.
UNC’s location at the Research Triangle is not bad, even if Stanford’s location at Silicon Valley may be better.
$250,000 is a lot of money.
Stanford’s CS and EE departments are very strong, with great depth. Further they are recognized as ones of the best. A CS degree from Stanford would often lead to job offers from top companies, with premium salaries.
Proximity to Silicon Valley mostly matters with the smaller startups, which have neither the resources nor needs to recruit everywhere. The GAFAM-type big companies recruit widely and have sites in many places, so the school location advantages are much less. For example:
https://www.google.com/about/careers/locations/chapel-hill/
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2508851/data-center/apple–google–facebook-turn-n-c–into-data-center-hub.html
http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/offices.aspx#US_Charlotte%2C%20NC
If money is really not an issue, then definitely Stanford. In what ways is UNC better? If the money was equal, would you pick UNC over Stanford? That would be hard to justify. Especially for a CS major.
However, how much do you make for money to not be an issue? If it’s 7-8 figures annually, then sure, money’s not an issue.
The Morehead scholarship comes with a number of additional benefits. I am not certain posters who recommend Stanford fully understand what winning the Morehead or McDermott really mean.
Search the posts of EaDad for a bit of insight. Obviously, the decision has to come after both acceptance are in the bag.
Since OP is a parent, I would assume it means a great deal financially to the parent if the kid is fullpay at Stanford.
If she did get into Stanford and it is financially feasible, I would still recommend Stanford. 
@xiggi: The Morehead definitely does come with benefits.
So does attending Stanford (even more so for a CS major).
If the money was equal (or I had so much that I didn’t care), I would still take Stanford.
In my current situation, I would take the Morehead. Possibly even the McDermott.
This is too easy. Stanford all the way.
Unless the family is quite affluent, Stanford would likely give some or a lot of aid. We need to know how much S would cost the family.
the title was changed to indicate that the school is UNC.
Anyway…few people outside of the SE would know that the UNC program is prestigious. Everyone knows that S is prestigious.
@xiggi‌ - I think I have a pretty good handle on McDermott. The young man I know who received it is a good friend of my son, and I am good friends with his mom. It is an amazing program, but it is so very different from Stanford. The McDermott Scholars are such a small cohort on what is basically a commuter campus. The opportunties presented and the support they have with events/experiences, etc. above and beyond their classes is fantastic. But I think it is very different from what many here refer to as “the college experience.” That would NOT be the case with the Morehead, of course. It depends on what the student wants. While I think this young man is enjoying the McDermott program, I wonder if he has regrets about not choosing Stanford. He is already talking about wanting to attend graduate school there. The good news for him is, that by choosing McDermott for undergrad, his parents will pay for grad school for him. Had he chosen Stanford (where they would have been full-pay) they would not have.
Ha ha - I know you know all of this @xiggi - I’m just putting out one person’s experience for this thread. I don’t think McDermott and Morehead are apples to apples though, because of the different types of campuses on which they are found. The Morehead would be much more tempting, I would think, esspecially if one were seeking that college experience thing.
@toadtop. In the past month, I have seen HYPOTHETICAL “this” vs “this” if majoring in CS…which would you choose. Without the “golden ticket” in hand from both Stanford and the UNC full Morehead Scholarship…this is all moot. And if you are fortunate and lucky enough to have a decision to make in late April between Stanford and UNC Morehead…outside of being a “premed” (to save money for medical school)…it would be foolish to choose any other school than Stanford for Computer Science…not only for the great education…but the close friendships, connections, networking, and close proximity to Silicon Valley/Bay Area where prominent CS/Tech jobs are…
…the following article may shed some light:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/which-college-and-which-major-will-make-you-richest/359628/
…you might want to know that Stanford students are constantly being recruited on campus by major companies and tons of startups (not listed) that are only through word of mouth/friends…
http://forum.stanford.edu/affiliates/index.php
…and you did say if money was not an issue…
Hope this helps.
If you think there is value in the Outward Bound experience (which Morehead features), then participate in OB before you go to Stanford, or seek out an outdoor program when you get there. I would think many Stanford undergraduates find benefits comparable to what you’d get from the other Morehead enrichment programs.
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Ha ha - I know you know all of this @xiggi - I'm just putting out one person's experience for this thread. I don't think McDermott and Morehead are apples to apples though, because of the different types of campuses on which they are found. The Morehead would be much more tempting, I would think, esspecially if one were seeking that college experience thing.<<<
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HG, it so happens that classmates and very good and close friends made similar choices. I pointed to EaDad posts as he shared his son decision to forego Yale for UNC. He described it more eloquently than I could. In the same year, a student decided to stay home at UTD. The first one is in a very competitive medical school program. The second graduated from … Stanford Law School a couple of years ago. Parallel stories are numerous. Right here, one can read Evil Robot and Curmudgeon stories about foregoing years in New Haven.
All those decisions were personal and are not guidelines for others. I do, however, believe that one should scratch the surface and dig well below the name of the school to make the right decision. As well as ascertaining that a certain major is as promising as it is rumored.
In this hypothetical exercise, finances are said to be equal, but that is rarely the case. If it truly were, I would also look at The Farm, but not before visiting UNC. Visits have a knack in stealing some hearts!