Would you go to a "less competitive" ivy for better FA?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>I’m strongly considering two schools mostly because of their engineering strengths.</p>

<p>Set 1<a href=“%5Bi%5Dmore%20competitive%5B/i%5D%20and%20%5Bi%5Dfar%20worse%20FA%5B/i%5D”>/u</a>:

  • UC Berkeley <a href=“from%20%5Bi%5DOut-of-State%5B/i%5D”>Engineering Undecided</a>
  • Cornell Engineering <a href=“from%20%5Bi%5DOut-of-State%5B/i%5D”>Engineering Undecided</a></p>

<p>After some research into their financial aid policies, I will probably be graduating with a load of debt if I attend either one.</p>

<p>I also have:</p>

<p>Set 2<a href=“%5Bi%5D%22less%22%20competitive%5B/i%5D%20and%20%5Bi%5Dfar%20better%20FA%5B/i%5D”>/u</a>:

  • Upenn SEAS
  • Columbia SEAS</p>

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<p>Both of these schools have new financial aid policies, and I’ll graduate with considerably less debt. However, neither of these schools seems to be as competitive as the other two, and I’ve heard that employers really consider the individual program an applicant comes from.</p>

<p>So,</p>

<p>Should Set 1’s engineering strength take precedence over Set 2’s financial benefits?</p>

2

<p>it depends on what you want to do.</p>

<p>if you’re dead set on engineering, cornell/berkeley is better.</p>

<p>if you’re unsure/inclined towards finance columbia is the way to go. It’s a much more balanced school imo.</p>

3

<p>you will make a lot of $$ coming out of berkeley and cornell. i can’t see columbia and penn giving you a LOT less than cornell though. if its more than 20k then go with columbia, but i really dont think it will be a huge difference. PM me if you have numbers and want me to really look at it.</p>

4

<p>What is the difference b/w Cornell’s new FA policy and the FA policies at Columbia/Penn?</p>

5

<p>Do you have any ballpark estimates of what kind of financial difference there will be between the two schools?</p>

<p>If it’s only a couple thousand, might be worth it to suck it up and go to berkeley or cornell.</p>

<p>If it’s going to be 100k or more over 4 years, you might want to go to the cheaper places.</p>

6

<p>Isn’t less competitive ivy something of an oxymoron? Go to the more affordable school. Your interview after school will determine whether you get a job or not - NOT your school.</p>

7

<p>All top-level colleges. Go with the best financial offer if all other things are equal. Can’t imagine an employer saying, “Oh, he only went to Penn” or "Crap, I thought he was smart in the interview, but he only went to Columbia.</p>

8

<p>As has already been mentioned, it really depends on what your ultimate goal is. If it’s to be a practicing engineer, Berkeley and Cornell obviously are generally superior and no doubt offer better placement opportunities than Columbia or Penn. Of course, there are some exceptions to this in specific fields, such as bioengineering and nanotechnology, in which Penn is a national leader.</p>

<p>If, however, your goal is to go into business (investment banking, consulting, etc.), then Penn and Columbia are probably better suited. For example, at Penn, engineering students interested in business careers benefit greatly from the presence of Wharton, because of the Wharton courses they can take, and because of the recruiters Wharton attracts to campus who also interview and hire Penn engineering students. To get an idea of how Penn engineering students fare in career placement, take a look at the recent career surveys of graduates found here:</p>

<p>[Career</a> Services, University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/seas/surveys.html]Career”>http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/seas/surveys.html)</p>

9

<p>I’m not attracted to any single major, so I can’t use that to decide.</p>

<p>As for financials, I haven’t received Berkeley’s and Cornell’s financial packages yet. For Cornell, I’m expecting that I’ll be taking the $3000 loan cap for 4 years, resulting in 12k in loans + interest. I have no idea what to expect from Berkeley. And finally, Columbia and Upenn have that sweet no-loan policy.</p>

<p>That’s the deal. 12k debt doesn’t actually sound so bad, compared with the 50k+ debts that I’ve heard about, but I don’t have the experience to assert this with credence. Of course, 0k debt is even better.</p>

<p>But sacrificing the engineering program for it? I don’t know… and that’s why I’m here.</p>

10

<p>All this over 12k? 12k debt is nothing.</p>

11

<p>^ I’m expecting Berkeley to be the big fish in terms of debt. Cornell… not so much. But 0 is still much less than 3k/year, and all this is assuming the EFC I get from Cornell is within range. Having financial pressure over your head can really suck… or so I’ve heard.</p>

12

<p>We’re talking about Cornell engineering vs. significantly worse engineering programs. That’s where the difference lies. A 3k difference in FA is nothing.</p>

13

<p>Dartmouth also supposedly has an excellent engineering program.</p>

14

<p>

Sorry, but at this level of school, I have a hard time believing that any program is “signficantly worse.” The differentiations are so small as to be statistically insignificant.</p>

<p>Go where you feel most comfortable and believe that you can do your best work.</p>

15

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<p>I forgot to mention, the 3k/year debt is counting only the federal stafford loans. I’ll have to take out many times this amount over the next years since there’s no way my family can pay the EFC.</p>

<p>I don’t know if Columbia and Upenn would be any different in this respect though. But I’ve had limited experience with these matters.</p>

16

<p>The truth is a great majority of Ivy engineers go into consulting or finance (where after 10-15 years you’ll be making a seven figure salary) vs. engineering which tends to not be as lucrative. For a high finance job or consulting job Penn and Columbia are actually better. For pure engineering Cornell and Cal are better, but as I said most choose not to actually become practicing engineers.</p>

17

<p>I think you posted this prematurely. You don’t really know yet what your financial aid offers are. Let us know when you get the aid offers from Cornell and Berkeley.</p>