If I get a huge scholarship for a school that’s kind of below me, would it affect me negatively if I attended? Would it look good if I had a high GPA at a lower ranked college? I would have to pay very little, and student loans wouldn’t bother me as much, while as most my other schools I have less scholarships and would have to pay off loans for much longer.
What are your post-graduate plans? This is a very important factor
Currently, I don’t plan on doing a graduate degree. I’m majoring in graphic design and want to go into that straight after my bachelor’s degree.
It is a huge gift to graduate without a lot of debt. You will be able to consider jobs based on what you’ll learn and what you like rather than on money alone, for example.
If a more expensive school gives you a different educational experience, you need to decide if it’s worth the difference in price. Sometimes it is, often it’s not.
I would guess - but don’t know - that your portfolio would be what most interested potential employers rather than the name of the school or connections. Is that right? If so, how would the experience at each school impact that?
At certain very expensive colleges, roughly half the students are supported by families who assist in paying full expenses. So, people with lots of options do pay more than they’d have to in many cases. I’d infer from this that they think they should pay more for a top quality education as well.
Graduating debt free definitely gives everyone more options—the student and parents. It gives the student the option of considering grad school and jobs where they’ll learn a lot but might not get paid as much. It gives families the option of helping their student as needed after graduation—secure a place to live, relocation expenses, maybe even help with living expenses if the job market is very bad.
It really is a bad idea to think of colleges as “beneath” anyone. There are great students and teachers at most Us—one just needs to find/create their tribe.
In Oct. you said you have a 3.0 unweighted GPA. What’s the average GPA of the accepted students at the school you’re considering?
You can only borrow ~$5500/year, so your total loans can only be ~27k. But if you found a school with a program you like that reduces your debt load then I’d seriously consider it.
What exactly do you mean when you say a school is “below” you?
Does it mean that you’re somehow superior to the other kids who go there? To all of them? To the kids in the Honors program, to the validictorian at graduation? To the Grad students? To the Profs who teach the couses?
I think it might be a good time to re-evaluate some of your opinions. At the very least, you’re setting yourself up to make a lot of enemies from all those “less than” people you’ll come across in life.
Or, as my mom would say, “Get off your high horse.”
Funny since ALMOST every state public has NMF/NMFSF kids and 35/36 act 1500+ sat kids…at those “inferior” schools.
I didn’t mean to say I was better than them. My ACT is just 12 higher than their typical scores, and the school in general is known for being a school that people go to when they don’t want to try. I in no way believe I’m smarter or better than the people that go there, it’s just that I don’t know if I should push myself higher than that.
The devil is in the details. How much would you have to take out in loans for the “better” college? How different are the two colleges in your area of interest? What are the job prospects from.both colleges in your major? etc. You don’t provide nearly enough information for anyone to provide meaningful advice other than you should not take on a ton of student debt.
How does your GPA compare to their typical scores?
Umm, you’ll be quite a lot smarter than the typical kids who go there. 12 composite ACT points is huge.
Of course, that being said, there are amazing and smart kids at every school, and if this is a large one you will find your group there. If you’ve got the right people skills, and initiative, you could get a tremendous amount out of your time there. Good luck!
You should compare the income prospects for your chosen major vs. the amounts of student loans to see if taking on more loans is going to be too much of a burden. Do you qualify for some sort of selective honors program at the school where your scores are far above the average? Perhaps try to visit the school and talk to faculty members in the area that interests you. Would they let you get involved in projects that could actually lead to better study experiences than at the more competitive school? Also, consider what kind of help the school can give you in terms for relations to the industry and internships.
I don’t think you’re on a high horse or think you’re superior - you’re asking a valid and important question. The truth is that that ACT difference is huge and there is a good chance you wouldn’t be a fit for that school. Also, your job prospects might not be as good. However, if your planning on grad school, it could make a lot of sense to save as much as possible on undergrad.
My S also got a very generous merit scholarship for a school he is very uncertain about for the same reasons.
You need to really look at the numbers and weigh debt versus fit - only you can make that decision. Can family help? Maybe your GC? Good luck.
For graphic design, it’s the strength of your portfolio that gets you jobs, not the reputation of your school. And even witth school reputation, it’s in no way, shape or form about the reputation of the school as a whole/its academic rep - it’s about the reputation of its design department. Graphic design employers are looking at your portfolio, and want you to have had strong internships in the field (which also helps with your portfolio.) The portfolio and work experience far outweigh the academic reputation of the school. Likewise, most GD employers don’t ask about your college GPA. It’s about the portfolio/work experience.
Generally speaking, so long as the school you go to has the strength of coursework to give you a strong portfolio, and professors with deep connections in the field (which they normally have in a decent GD program no matter where you go, as most professors in the field are practitioners), you are fine.
To speak beyond these generalities, I’d need to know exactly which schools you’re talking about. If you’re arguing, say… RISD versus East Nowhere State U which doesn’t have a strong GD department, then depending on the amount of loans you’d need to take out, I might send you to RISD (if RISD is $240k in loans, I would not.) But if you’re talking RISD versus MassArt, and MassArt requires far less loans for you, I’d send you to MassArt.
- there HAS TO be another alternative - don’t tell me you only applied to two colleges. If you did, give us your stats and budget we’ll help you find colleges still accepting applications.
- how good is the GD program? A strong program (professors with an extensive network, excellent record of professional placement) is essential - if the degree leads nowhere it won’t have saved you money.
College A is not a good fit. A 12-pt difference means the classes’ pace and depth won’t work for you. In most cases of similar mismatch the high scoring student had too few if any peers and couldn’t handle a class where classmates wouldn’t show up for exams, where the readings were explained rather than discussed in class…and left. Transferring, they couldn’t get the scholarship they would have had as freshmen if they had picked a better fit that still offered scholarships.
Sometimes, the cheapest offer isn’t the best value. If you think of a car, if you can’t afford the brand new 25k model, you’re better off with a used 14k version than with a 1k clunker because the clunker will leave you stranded by the side of the road instead of reliably (if less comfortably) taking you where you need to go.
It would help to know the schools involved.
In another thread, you shared that your ACT was 30. That means that the average ACT score is 18 at the school which has offered you a scholarship. The ACT range seems to be too wide, in my opinion. Do you have any other affordable options ?
I have more than two options, I was just considering my highest choice school vs. the one that would be cheapest. I’m going with a more expensive one (U of M) instead. The highest was RISD, which is really expensive, and the lowest was a nearby University of Wisconsin school.
I posted this as part of my response to another thread, but it’s quite relevant here too— Would like to hear your thoughts on the article below.
The study seems to show that students who graduate from a higher tiered college make more money after grad school—up to 60% more than a student who attended the same elite grad school but who had attended a lower tiered school for undergrad.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/education/edlife/why-you-cant-catch-up.html