UMD Full Ride or Georgetown University Full Pay

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I agree with you. In my way my goal is to pay for college. I didn’t say each kid has the same amount of $$.

My kids also know they will struggle financially when they grow older. I mean, you can graduate making $100k in DC, NYC, or SF and still be behind the 8 ball. And most aren’t making $100k.

In my house my kids won’t be even and I’m not sure which will get more or why. But both will be equal in love and opportunity.

Every family is different and we all have our own values but my god this is a lot of money. And this is only year one. Inflation. And many of these full pay also cover maymesters or other trips. My daughters does.

Good luck.

This kind of topic will always bring spirited debate.

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I believe the OP was talking about the BK at UMD…and yes, he said full ride. It’s even in the title of the thread.

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100 percent agreement with this

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I’m saying b4 you apply. They couldn’t have known when they applied they’d get it b4 they applied!!

If they were simply admitted with no merit the question never would have been asked.

He’s asking the question bcuz they got the $$.

Btw he could have mentioned the top accounting schools in the country. …Texas. Illinois. Wharton. The answer would still be UMD.

Neither of the two in question is near the top. But both are strong.

Us News rates neither top 12 and I don’t know what big4accountimgfirms.org is but they rate neither top 50. Both have similar top schools.

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I don’t believe the BK scholarship (that’s the full ride at UMD) has been awarded yet.

The OP is assuming his kid will get this money.

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46

Let me throw my 2 cents in. Especially if law school is the goal, save the money go to UMD, get great grades, study like crazy for the LSAT’s and she can get into GT Law. Then if she doesn’t get merit there she can use the money she saved on undergraduate and come out debt free.

Also be aware that if your kids do get scholarships you can give them the money out of the 529 directly without penalty and then they are paying taxes on the gain at their tax rate.

My D18 had a good merit scholarship at Clemson graduated in 3 years using her AP credits. She got a free ride to University of Florida Law School so the money I had left over in her 529 I am giving to her directly from the 529 in the amount equal to her scholarship at the end of each semester. I do believe you have to do it in the semester they get the scholarship. In other words you can’t just sit on it not distribute it and then try to do it after they are graduated. At least thats what my accountant had told me.

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47

The “accounting major” piece makes it harder to justify the expense to me, in some ways, from an ROI perspective…but , your kid is 18, they may get to college and pick a different path.

IF Georgetown is the better “fit” and the kid prefers it strongly over MD, and you have the money and are willing to spend it on college, then let the kid choose! We would never make one of ours take a free ride to a school that is a lesser fit if we could easily afford it and had not stipulated in advance of applying that scholarship-winning would change our decision. A family friend picked a tippy -top school at full cost over the Jefferson scholarship–the ivy was a better fit! They were willing to pay the $ (have plenty) and the kid is definitely in the right place for them. UVA would not have been an ideal fit.

So, I say let your kid decide based on fit. My answer would be completely opposite if you were taking out loans, etc.

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Ohhhh. So the question is way premature.

Fun debate. But. It’s not really a question yet then. And that’s a HUGE assumption to make.

Got it. Well I’ll come back after it’s official.

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@tsbna44 you have some time…

“ Banneker/Key Semifinalists will receive their interview invitation by March 1 and they will be notified of their final scholarship award by April 1 .”

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50

Will come back after BK is announced and we hear back from Dartmouth and Princeton. WVU and Miami offered her big scholarships, as well. We have also decided to visit UMD and Georgetown again. These are all other factors. Thank you soo much for all your great input! Everyone here has been amazing help and very kind!

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Be cautious here. Grad students are typically not subject to kiddie tax, whereas undergrads are. That could mean paying tax at the parent’s tax rate.

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It comes down to the value she (and/or you) perceives and what else she (you) will use the money for if you don’t pay for Georgetown. I understand that may be law school so the question becomes, if she goes to Georgetown would you still pay for law school and then what is the opportunity cost/trade-off (does she/you not get something else). For many here it seems straightforward. Perhaps since we are talking about an accounting degree it is moreso. But, I had this same decision (many years ago) - Georgetown (foreign service) full pay (and I was paying) or Rutgers Honors program full ride. I chose Georgetown. Yes, it was significantly less expensive back then but I have never regretted the decision. I went to a company post Georgetown that didn’t recruit at Rutgers. Would I have gotten an equally good job from Rutgers - no idea. Perhaps I’m too philosophical but I always say you can’t know the path you don’t take. Maybe UMD would be an awesome experience and she would be disappointed at Georgetown; or maybe vice versa. I do know that many of the choices/options that I faced after Georgetown probably would have been different had I gone to Rutgers - again, no idea if better or worse. Bottom line, you told her the choice was hers - I personally would stick with that. This way, she owns any satisfaction or regret from the choice. As the parent, I would discuss the opportunity costs and what each decision means - e.g., if she goes to UMD you pay for law school, if Gtown, no, or whatever the financial repercussions… FWIW - my husband got his accounting degree from Georgetown, went on to get both an MBA and law degree - both elsewhere - as well - plans change. Hard decisions. If you have any questions about Gtown - feel free to PM me - as I said, a long time ago but for me it was a great place to go to school.

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@CUandUCmom the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown is quite unique and isn’t offered elsewhere.

This student wants to major in accounting…and can do that at many many schools.

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In my particular educational and career experience, where you went to college and grad school matters a great deal. I am a little biased toward going for the more “prestigious” option. The truth is that over the course of a 30-40 year high end professional career, the savings by going to a less elite university for undergrad and grad school can be (but obviously not in every case) a drop in the bucket compared to the monetary and subjective benefits of attending an elite university.

Having said that, I don’t think the perceived prestige difference between Maryland and Georgetown is great enough to justify choosing Georgetown in the scenario that has been described. I would take the UMD option. If you were describing Maryland versus Harvard business or Penn/Wharton business/accounting, I would choose the latter.

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My Son is the doing the Smith 4 +1 at UMD as an accounting major. He will finish this program in 4 years- He entered UMD with 34 credits. He is able to use his merit aid for the 4th year.

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First, you have to see if your DD is actually offered the BK. It’s more random than people think. Next, if your daughter is attracted to private colleges but you want to save some money, I would have had her apply to schools like Emory, Washington & Lee, and U of Richmond that actually award merit money. The choice does not have to be between $0 and $70K per year. Heck, she would pay something in between at the London School of Economics.

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Don’t underestimate the non-monetary value of these cohort scholarships, which typically give far more personalized support and opportunities to those students than you will get even at an expensive tippy-top private school. There’s a reason B/K students are often Rhodes Scholars etc. D’s freshman year roommate just won, which she attributes to the huge amounts of attention and opportunities lavished on her over the prior 2-3 years.

Turning down the Jefferson scholarship for an Ivy or B/K for Georgetown is pretty short sighted when you understand what these scholarships provide in terms of long term career benefits.

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Getting BA/BS from Georgetown will not necessarily give you a leg up on getting into their law school. Go to the cheaper school and shine there for way less money. Use the $$ saved towards law school.

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Agreed. No way would I recommend turning down Jefferson for an Ivy at full pay.

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People make this decision all the time, and sometimes go for the more expensive option. Size of the schools is not the same. Some want the religious aspect of the school.

We have a very desirable public high school just a few miles from me. It’s in a wealthy suburb. Some people choose to move to that district (and specifically that school’s zone) just for that school, or try other ways to get in like using another address, renting an apartment - those things don’t work. It has about 850 kids per grade, offers almost 30 AP courses, 5 or 6 foreign languages, all the science and math classes you could want. It also has every sport and sends about 100 athletes per year to colleges, many with full scholarships. I know it has GC just for athletes and other that are very knowledgeable about top 20 admissions. It is the country club of public schools.

And yet some parents send their kids to the two fancy private schools in the area @$35 grand per year (and I know others send them to boarding schools that cost even more). Why? the other schools have graduating classes of 100-150, even better sports facilities (although not more competitive teams), have the fit and feel these students want.

Still other parents split the difference and send their kids to the private catholic or christian high schools at $15k to $20k. Nice schools, about twice the size of the elite privates, but more competitive in sports.

Why are these parents spending $15k to $35k when there is a perfectly good high school down the street with many more classes than the smaller schools could ever offer? That’s how they want to spend their money. They may think those private schools are a better size, a better fit, for their children. Sometimes it’s because that’s where the kids want to go because their friends from the riding club or ballet are going there.

And some parents do both. John Elway had 4 kids and I think 2 went to the public school and 2 went to the expensive private school.

My own kids would be going to UMD for free because that difference is too much for me to afford, and my kids love a bargain as much as I do. The OP said she can afford it so that family has the luxury to weigh their options.

OP, is your daughter wanting you to make the decision and ‘force’ her to UMD? Can her sister throw some info light on the situation, like that she’s so happy she has her pot of money for grad school and how many of her friends are limited in their next step, either grad school or career wise, because of spending their 529s (or loans)?

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