She can switch disciplines at UMD also.
I do think that since the parent here said he could fund Gtown when the kid applied, the kid should get to make the choice. But should wait until they know about the BK…and if they are selected what the BK perks are. They are plentiful.
Thank you for this response. This is a big concern. The horrid past two years have taken a toll on many students happiness.
It may be valid but there’s probably similar positions on both sides. My son, for example, had a better covid 2nd year than non covid first year.
I guess I’m saying sample size of one not enough.
The assumption is a smaller school may afford more freedoms in this crazy time. I imagine that’s school specific and also counts on kids staying safe vs causing an outbreak.
It’s just an unfortunate time.
I was making a joke.
To compare test scores between the two schools you might want to go back to 2020. I would anyway.
Maryland is a solid school. The caliber of student at Georgetown, however, is very different IMO.
For fun, someone should compare earnings for the first 5 years after graduation - and see if it covers the free ride that quickly.
Again, it would not be such an easy decision for me.
@michaelcollege does this apply to the Banneker Key Scholars?
I don’t know enough about it. In-state, it would have been $80k over 4 years for the family. So that is what a free ride really is - very significant, but worth considering GT.
27K in state UMD, 77K Georgetown for one year. She will attend for 3 years at either school due to lots of credits.
I’m not talking about the money part of the BK….but apparently there are some excellent perks these scholars get…plus a very strong cohort of fellow BK scholars.
That’s what I’m asking about.
@drgreen your older daughter has the BK, right? So what else does she get beside the money?
What are the BK perks? There is guaranteed housing for 4 years, but most students don’t want to live on campus for 4 years. There are a few social events, including a reception with President Pines. The original BK reception was lovely - I seem to remember being served salmon. But what are the other perks?
Perhaps the poster upstream who said this was a thing can comment. Or the OP because his older daughter has the award.
I would say the answer is a no-brainer. Take the scholarship and save the money. Someone just handed your daughter $200,000 to go to college. Seems pretty generous to me, rather than paying $400,000 out of my own pocket for the “privilege” of going somewhere. There isn’t any real benefit to GTown. That’s a lot of money you could repurpose for retirement. Accounting is ridiculously employable and UMD is a heavily recruited school. She won’t have trouble finding a job or having a gainful career.
$100k (in-state)
Understand your point though.
really thought $340K - Gtown is $82K + inflation vs. $28K at UMD.
It’s $100K or a little over in saving by the scholarship - but the opposite side is paying - $340K + over four years if you don’t take the freebie - just to put into perspective.
Someone wrote on another thread that 57% or whatever it is of Gtown is full pay. Tufts is 65% - even more.
But that does not necessarily justify it to the one paying in a specific case. Each example is its own.
My daughter was in similar situation two years ago. Full ride in UMD (Banneker Key - Tuition+Boarding+books) v/s Full Pay in Johns Hopkins Uni and Duke Univ both. Her intended major was BioEngineering and Johns Hopkins was No. 1 in US News list. My daughter chose UMD full ride. Her logic was there is no point in spending 320K for undergrad education. She will go to Hopkins if she decides to do masters. She is happy with UMD
Agree on that. Will be surprised if they choose UMD.
These threads always interest me because the party line is save the money and use it for “insert grad school here”. The reality is a large majority of the students don’t go on to graduate school even if that’s their “life goal.”
Or if they are aspiring to get into a competitive program (I.e. medicine) there is a greater chance they won’t get in than get accepted. So now you’ve saved an astronomical amount for something that might be penalized at a higher rate if never used for education.
Retirement is inevitable (unless something tragic occurs) so why not save to fund college with a reasonable goal and have a plan to manage a potential shortfall. Then maximize what’s set aside for retirement since you can invest on different time horizons thus increasing the likelihood of better returns.
In this case, if you are talking accounting, it makes zero sense from a prestige perspective. Even a less well known school than UMD makes the choice easy. Had it been SFS or McDonough, I would have no reservations about paying the difference.
But as I’ve mentioned before I live in North Carolina and my daughter attends UVA after being accepted at both…so I’m looked at as a fool on this board anyway.
You’re no fool if you have the loot and are willing to spend it.
The money is questioned when someone brings it up - because clearly they are torn - and that’s where the varying perspectives (some of which say do what your kid wants, some say save the dough) - but they come in when the question is raised.
If you’ve spent OOS tuition and you had the in-state equally prestigious option - that’s wonderful.
You had and made the choice that worked for your family - and in the end, what else matters?
Did the BK invite come through?
I agree. The boards always steer you to the cheapest alternative… in many if not most situations there is a reason that alternative is the cheapest and the reason isn’t that everyone paying for something more expensive is stupid. This may be good advice for people who genuinely can’t afford to pay more but I for one would have paid double for Georgetown (we were full pay there). Most kids don’t end up going to grad school even if they think they will. And grad school for less lucrative fields is generally free between the fellowships, TA jobs, etc. Do you all also always advise people to buy the cheapest house? Or best one they can afford?
Cheapest in a great neighborhood 