How would you do? (College Related)

So, I know this needs to be the most selfish decision of my life, but I need help, and opinions from my family are out (Soon to be further explained on the pit :))

Anywho, I’m down to a choice between too schools

One is a well known large state school… I’ve been excepted into the honors program. The school name is less prestigious and the education possibly a little bit lower level, but I am immensly more comfortable on campus and I feel at home there…

The other school is a top-tier private school of 2000ish people… Been excepted to the honors program as well. Speaking of academics, I would probably gain a bit more from here, and the name on the diploma is a bit more prestigious. However, I just do not get the right feeling while I’m on campus. So far as education, it’s great, but socially (I’m not a party person, but it’d be nice to have some people to hang out with :wink: ) it’s lacking for me. This school is also going to be around 10k more expensive per year, even with scholarships.

So, what would you do? I’m bouncing between doing a semester at the private school to see how I like it and find out if I can tolerate four years there… Except if I decide to switch I’ve missed out on the first days when you really meet new people.
Or I can go to the state school… I’m more comfortable, but there are obviously some disadvantages.

I apologize for any poor grammar or spellings, they won’t kill you :smiley:

Wow, in the topic no less.

That is obviously intended to be ‘what’ would you do?
:smack:

i’m in college myself and IMO i would say go to the state school where you feel more comfortable…if you’re going to be miserable at the private school then it will effect your performance there…i think overall you’d be better off at the state school but it’s ultimately up to you …good luck :slight_smile:

I would consider the private school - but consider it in terms of what a semester would do. Would you end up with large student loans to repay based on a single semester? If you took the first semester, then chose to transfer, could you still go into the honors program at the state school? (Don’t worry about meeting people at the state school - as long as you get involved in what you’re interested in, it’s not so difficult, no matter when you enter).

If you’re in the honors program at the state school, you’re likely going to get a similar education to what you would get at the private school (at least I’d assume so). Yes, you’ll have to put up with some much larger classes than you would have had to deal with at the private school, and if class size is important to you, you might want to look more closely at the private school.

Ultimately, this is your decision. I had a similar one 11 years ago, and I went with the private school. Despite the large student loans, I’ve never regretted it at all, because the experience was so different from my norm that it made me stretch myself, and do different things. If I was choosing now, after 8 years of loan repayment, I’d probably go with the state school.

Thanks for the comments. Seems I’ve got a lot of thinking ahead
And I just read through my first post and wow… My spelling and word usage are horrible.

Maybe I should read through next time? :wink:

My first reaction is to say go for the private school if it’s almost certain to give you an advantage afterwards, unless the money is a crippling issue. Remember that when you graduate you’ll be competing with all those other people for jobs, and any advantage you can get will help.

That being said, if you do think you might switch at some point, choose your first year courses very carefully, so that as many of them as possible will transfer over to the other program. And hey, you never know – you may come to like the place.

OTOH, there’s no shame in going to a state school either. I did, and I enjoyed it immensely.

I’ve been thinking.

Cons for the state school:
Big,
Doesn’t look as good post-graduation
Not sure about standards of education
People believe the only reason I want to attend is because my girlfriend happens to go there. (coincidence only, this is NOT the reason I’m thinking about going there)
Cons for Private School:
Expensive
I don’t think I’m comfortable there. Atmosphere doesn’t click with me.
Pros for state school:
I confident I’d be happy and comfortable there.
Plenty of opportunities to explore different activites and majors.

Pros for private:
Looks really good post-graduation.
Possibly a higher-level of education.
More opportunities after I graduate?
bleh :confused:

I would strongly suggest the smaller private school. Generally (IMHO) large public universities are pretty bad for undergraduate education. Grad students (some with limited English language skills) end up teaching a lot of the classes. At a smaller school you will have the attention of your professors, they will know your name and your interests, and not be ditracted by thier PhD candidates.

That said, 2000 is pretty small. You might feel confined.

I was faced with the exact same question when I was a senior: go to Duke, or go to the big but pretty good state school nearby that was offering me a full scholarship. An important thing to consider is whether you plan on pursuing a degree beyond your undergraduate years. One of my favorite high school teachers told me, “It’ll only be the school name on your last degree that will matter.” I knew I’d be doing something post-grad, so I took the full ride to the state school. It was absolutely the best decision I could have made. If I’d chosen Duke, I’d now be over $100,000 in debt for my four years since they were offering squat in financial aid. So I worked hard at my university, kicked some ass and accomplished a lot, and now I’m sitting pretty at one of the most prestigious universities in the world for my master’s degree – while several of my classmates in the same program can look forward to enormous undergrad debt because they opted for “name” schools, just to have ended up in the same place as me. Suckers! :stuck_out_tongue:

But even if I hadn’t pursued a graduate degree, there is no way the added value of the Duke name would have been worth $100K to me. Just give some serious consideration to how much you’re willing to be in debt for your education, since you can go far if you work hard at any state school.

Go with the state college, an ivy league degree offers no real benefits in the financial world. The benefits come from being qualified enough to get into an Ivy League school (which you’ve done) not graduating from it. 40k would be better invested in real estate or mutual funds than an ivy league education IMO. Plus the socialization is better at the State school, as you said.

http://www.ncpa.org/pi/edu/pd110199f.html

http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~mcguire/worth_college_leagues.html

http://www.mslaw.edu/LTV/excerpts/krueger.htm

http://www.asianweek.com/2000_05_11/biz_trendtrack.html

How confident are you that you know in what you will major? I went to a large, public school, because I had no real clue and I wanted the choice. There are also some fields, such as education, in which there is very little to be gained by attending a more expensive school. In fact, unless you plan to major in business or the liberal arts, the public school might well make more sense. It is my experience that you can get a fine education at a good public school, but it is also easier to slide through without learning much of anything.

There is also some debate amongst economists as to the economic value of the expensive private schools. The mere fact that there is a debate should indicate that you should first decide why you want to go to college, then pick the college. Are you ok with large, faceless lectures? Would you prefer a chance to really get to know your professors? (You likely will in your major, at either school, but not in topics outside of your major.)

That’s the important part, really.

Honestly. You will still be able to acomplish all sorts of wonderful things coming out of a state school. I don’t know about you, but I am far more productive and radiant in n environemnt I like.

Depending on what you are doing, I have to respectfully disagree with Hello Again. I chose the state school and have been able to do wonderfully personalized things with my education. Currently, I’m organizing a Product Design course with the head of the Chemical Engineering department, who is teaching it for the first time in the fall.

The huge amount of resources at a big school can really pay if, if you find a niche and use it. For me, it was my honors college. The people there can tell you what you need to know to do anything you want. Even though my school has lots of people, the vast majority of my classes have fewer people in them than my high school classes. I did this on purpose, crafting my schedules with class sizes very much in mind because I don’t do well in mass learning environments.

If you feel comfortable there, and you are assured that the administration can take care of you, go to the state school.

Well, if the larger university happens to be University of Maryland, youi should definitely go there :wink: .
I’m at a big school, and I absolutely love it (Go Terps!). But then, I’m the kind of person who would go crazy at a smaller place. If it seems like the state school gives off a better vibe, then go for it. It’s not like state college=unqualifiedly bad or anything.

Go with the place you’re more comfortable with.

The most important part about being at university is having a great time while your there, discovering yourself as a person…at least that’s my experience.

So what if it’s a name school? I turned down an Oxford offer to go to a lesser known place cos I prefered the atmosphere here and I have never regretted it. Be happy! Rule number one :slight_smile:

I went to a small liberal arts school and it was absolutely the making of me.

But I wanted to be there, and I loved it there.

If you feel better about the big school, go there.

Remember, you can always transfer if you find you’ve made an error.

I did my undergrad degree at a large state school (not in the US), and am in a grad program at a pricey and well-respected private university here in America (on fellowship - i could never afford the fees otherwise). Given the way you feel about each, i’d go for the state school and save money.

With any university - small or large, state or private - you really get out what you put in. Many state schools have incredibly good faculty (partly due to the bad academic job market), and if you’re willing to put in the time and effort you can really learn a lot from them. Also, once you get past the large freshman survey classes, there are often plenty of opportunities for one-on-one contact with your professors.

(Disclaimer: my experience is in the humanities and social sciences; i can’t speak for the “hard” sciences, engineering, etc.)

It could have been worse: you could have said ‘who’ :smiley:

Don’t know what to advise.

Check what you know - the education might easily be just as good, but one has a better education. OTOH, maybe not. And maybe there are people you’d like at both schools, you just didn’t meet them straight off at one.

Good luck,

Thanks for the input

I’ll drop a note once I’ve made a final decision, just in case anyone cares :wink:

Considerations for my major at the moment include Information Technologies, Journalism, and History.
shrug we’ll see. I’ve certainly gained some perspectives on both sides of the issue here :smiley:

Like someone mentioned upthread, if you’re more comfortable at the state college, you’ll do better there. Also, since you’d be in the honors program, that designation will be on your degree, which will carry a bit of weight, and make your state-school education carry that much more water.

Another thing to consider is that since you’re not set on a specific major, the larger insititution will give you more latitude to explore and find something you like. I’m glad I landed at a large school, because I ended up in a major I love, but that I’d never have heard of, much less had a chance to explore, if I’d gone to the smaller liberal arts school up the road.

Go to the place you’ll be more comfortable in. Most of the time, the prestige of a college has little to do with your job career (and it becomes even less important as time goes on). Employers are more interested in your experience than where you got your degree. There may be a slight disadvantage if you go to grad school, but even that shouldn’t hurt you if you have good grades in a challengins program.

But if you’re not going to be comfortable, you’re not going to learn all that well. Why be unhappy for four years?