<p>Is it worth the $$$ to attend a school that is considerably higher ranked and that I love far more than UT-Austin if it will cost the full sticker price over 2-3 years (80-120k) instead of UT (15-45k)? I’m a transfer student, so I’ll have saved 2 years worth of tuition…</p>
<p>What’s the Higher Ranked U.? How much money will you have to borrow to attend?</p>
<p>University of Chicago/Brown/UPenn/Wesleyan are the top ones I’m considering. And I’d be borrowing most all of the money.</p>
<p>What do you plan to do after college?</p>
<p>Something that makes a lot of money ;)</p>
<p>I’ll be going to grad school at some point (2-3 years later) but straight outta college I’ll go work somewhere in the business world that interests me. As of now, I don’t know the particulars since I haven’t had any internships/experience yet.</p>
<p>Most adults would tell you that borrowing $80+++ for an undergrad educatin is risky, at best. </p>
<p>Use this calculator
<a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp[/url]”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp</a>
to figure out how much you might be paying per month to pay off your debt.</p>
<p>Then try to estimate your housing, car, clothing, food, health care and fun (?!) expenses and see if you have any money left over to pay that loan. </p>
<p>Consider that you may very well still be paying the loan through marriage and the birth of your children…</p>
<p>It all depends on your personality. If you are motivated and utilize your ambitions properly in college, it is definitely worth it to take the 80k+ loan. However, if you want to party all the time and put academics 2nd to social life, then go to the state university. However, from the posts I have seen from you, your desires seem to reflect the former, and if you got into Penn/Brown/Chicago/etc, I would without question pick one these universities regardless of the cost. </p>
<p>Another poster also made a great post regarding your future job. If you are going to econ/finance/etc like it seems like you are leading towards and you want to live somewhere other than Texas, I would go OOS. However, if you love Texas and want to live here forever then go to UT.</p>
<p>Not worth it! Graduate from UT, save your money and loan obligations for grad school! Plus, transferring to a new school junior year may make it difficult for you to find your “people” and break into the social scene at a new school. JMHO! :)</p>
<p>thx grandpabuzz that’s helpful advice. I honestly can’t see myself turning down one of those top schools if I get in b/c I will be extremely focused while there (if I’m so lucky).</p>
<p>Can you do Plan II at UT as a transfer student? Wouldn’t that be comparable to the Higher Ranked U’s you mentioned?</p>
<p>Also, if you think you might want to return to Texas after graduation, would it be beneficial to have gone somewhere others here have heard of? You’re gonna get blank looks if you mention Brown or Wesleyan here, and Penn will be assumed to be Penn State.</p>
<p>I think you have no idea what a crushing debt burden you are considering.</p>
<p>You are right, I’m not really fully <em>aware</em> of the debt that I will incur. However, I plan on working during college so hopefully that’ll help contain it a bit. </p>
<p>As for the blank looks, I really don’t care what people think. I’m going to college for the experience and for my satisfaction, not that of others. Besides, my family and friends are well aware of the prestige of Brown, but not at all of Wesleyan. Like I said, I could care less a/b that part.</p>
<p>I could do Plan II but if I attend UT I will be a student of McCombs, which doesn’t do Plan II. They do have Business Honors, and if I could do that I’d probably be content with UT, but it’s only available for incoming sophomore transfers…not juniors.</p>
<p>brand 182, do you know that the top universities you mentioned offer excellent financial aid packages?</p>
<p>yes but I’ll be applying as a transfer student where funds are very limited, especially at Brown. If I ask for aid, my chances of getting in will drop considerably.</p>
<p>I applied to Washington University in St. Louis as a transfer student with a 3.5 GPA from Emory. Not only did I get accepted, but I also got a terrific financial aid package. Maybe you should look at such schools.</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d look for prestigious schools that offer good financial aid to transfers, such as Washu or Harvard.</p>