In-State Public University vs. Expensive Private School?

[LSLGuy]

Something else to consider …

Several people have discussed the value of networking & “who you know” …

If the kid’s personality is such that he’ll graduate never having made any connections to anybody, then you can completely discount networking differences as a differentiator between schools.

I went to an expensive private school, the prestige networking school in my area. And 6 months after graduating could barely remember the names of my roommates, much less anyone in my department, student or faculty. I suspect not 5 people on a campus of 10,000 remembered ever seeing me.

IOW, I totally 100% wasted what was arguably the biggest single advantage of the school I attended. More like totally wasted the top 5 advantages of that school.

If that’s your kid, don’t spend money on something he won’t get value from. That might be RPI, or it might even be UConn.

And if that is your kid, you’re well advised to spend a lot of time & effort now educating him on what *really *matters at school. It sure isn’t partying, but it also isn’t just school as a solitary venture of studying, learning, & testing. Learning to accept the importance of networking, and developing some skill at it is arguably the single biggest value-add of any education at any institution.

[robby]

@Eiffel

…As a current Rice student, I laughed at their description of Rice: “Most often cast as a die-hard sports school first, Rice University students study hard as they cheer on the Owls.” I don’t know about in the past, but no current students are coming in thinking that they’re going to a “die-hard sports school.” Given our pathetic turnout at football games, we might not be studying that hard, either!

As a former Rice student myself, I agree completely. Things might have been different back in the 1940s and '50s when Rice was regularly winning the Southwest Conference in football (which is the era when Rice Stadium was built), but by the 1980s (when I attended), we went to games solely to watch the MOB.

@MsRobyn

Federal PLUS loans have a much lower credit threshold than private loans do. They’re also eligible for income-contingent payment plans and public service loan forgiveness if the parent works for a public service entity. (The federal student aid site explains all of this.) That said, there are no federal student loan programs where you would be a co-signer. You are responsible for any Parent PLUS loans you take out and your son is responsible for any loans he takes out. He can’t assume Parent PLUS loans after he graduates, and you can’t assume any of his loans. Payments for federal loans can be suspended under certain circumstances, such as unemployment or economic hardship, and they can be forgiven outright in the event of death, permanent disability, or public service.

On the other hand, private loans may have a lower interest rate overall, but their terms aren’t nearly as forgiving if you run into a financial hardship. Make sure you understand 100% what you’re signing for when you sign.

Federal loans are preferred whenever possible just because they are more forgiving.

Thanks for the info on this.

@Urbanredneck

I know here in the midwest the best school for engineering is a public school, the University of Missouri at Rolla. One would have to go to MIT to get better credentials.

But maybe back east is different?

It looks like you’re actually referring to the Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla, not the University of Missouri. For what it’s worth, Missouri S&T is ranked #138 for national universities, and #65 for undergraduate engineering programs by U.S. News.

For comparison, MIT is ranked #7 for national universities, and #1 for engineering programs. RPI is ranked #42 for national universities, and #31 for engineering programs. UConn is ranked #58 for national universities, and #73 for engineering programs.

As far as midwest schools are concerned, the University of Illinois—​Urbana-​Champaign, University of Michigan—​Ann Arbor, Purdue, Northwestern, University of Wisconsin—​Madison, and Notre Dame are all ranked higher than Missouri S&T for engineering.

@LSLGuy

Something else to consider …

Several people have discussed the value of networking & “who you know” …

If the kid’s personality is such that he’ll graduate never having made any connections to anybody, then you can completely discount networking differences as a differentiator between schools.

I went to an expensive private school, the prestige networking school in my area. And 6 months after graduating could barely remember the names of my roommates, much less anyone in my department, student or faculty. I suspect not 5 people on a campus of 10,000 remembered ever seeing me.

IOW, I totally 100% wasted what was arguably the biggest single advantage of the school I attended. More like totally wasted the top 5 advantages of that school.

If that’s your kid, don’t spend money on something he won’t get value from. That might be RPI, or it might even be UConn.

And if that is your kid, you’re well advised to spend a lot of time & effort now educating him on what *really *matters at school. It sure isn’t partying, but it also isn’t just school as a solitary venture of studying, learning, & testing. Learning to accept the importance of networking, and developing some skill at it is arguably the single biggest value-add of any education at any institution.

An excellent point. My son is pretty quiet. And while I went to a top-ranked university myself, I didn’t get much out of networking, either, because I went into the Navy for 10 years, then settled down in the Northeast where Rice is not as well-known.

[LSLGuy]

@robby

… An excellent point. My son is pretty quiet. And while I went to a top-ranked university myself, I didn’t get much out of networking, either, because I went into the Navy for 10 years, then settled down in the Northeast where Rice is not as well-known.

Pretty much my story as well. Doing the USAF thing for 8 years then going primarily into a career unrelated to my major would have mostly erased any networking value I might have built up.

Then again, part of why I went USAF was I wasn’t seeing brand name recruiters beating the path to my door as I’d expected from such a sterling academic and side-work career, utterly anonymous as it had been.

[sinjin]

RPI graduate alum here. RPI is a research institute, great for grad students not so great for undergrads. It is in a vile upstate New York town with crappy weather and not much to do.

I went to a virtually unknown cheap in state school for undergrad and got a full ride scholarship to RPI all the way through my PhD. Go to an in state local school for undergrad and a “Name” school for graduate work. No one cares where you did your undergrad work. I give this advice to everyone and almost no one follows it.

[Dewey_Finn]

@sinjin

It is in a vile upstate New York town with crappy weather and not much to do.

This is true, but Albany is not far and has some interesting places to go. But remember that the OP’s son’s other choice is UConn, in the cow town of Storrs, Connecticut.

[Blue_Blistering_Barnacle]

@robby

…

Funny you should ask. My son was in fact admitted into UConn’s honors program. While I don’t believe it’s engineering-specific, he can do this program in conjunction with an engineering major. If he goes to UConn, he will likely do this program.

I did an Honors program at a state school (MSU) 30 years ago. At the time, we all joked about the Honors College, and didn’t take it very seriously.

BUT, I lived in the Honors College dorm for my first 2 years, and that is where I made my friendships. I found that my peers pushed me harder than my professors.

Looking back on it all, aside from cache and social networking, I think that the best advantage elite schools offer is elite peers, and that Honors College is a way that state schools can erase that difference.

The name will be more important coming out of grad school, if he does that.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@Dewey_Finn

This is true, but Albany is not far and has some interesting places to go. But remember that the OP’s son’s other choice is UConn, in the cow town of Storrs, Connecticut.

Storrs itself may suck balls as a town but there are 18,000 students there. That should probably be enough to keep the kid entertained. Having said that, if he wants to have fun and enroll in a decent engineering program he might want to think about UCF. It’s in Orlando, so there is more to do than pretty much anywhere, it’s highly ranked (#85 by USN, a few places behind UConn), and it’s cheap.

[robby]

@Dewey_Finn

This is true, but Albany is not far and has some interesting places to go. But remember that the OP’s son’s other choice is UConn, in the cow town of Storrs, Connecticut.

My son is actually perfectly happy with the prospect of going to school in Storrs.

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

Storrs itself may suck balls as a town but there are 18,000 students there. That should probably be enough to keep the kid entertained. Having said that, if he wants to have fun and enroll in a decent engineering program he might want to think about UCF. It’s in Orlando, so there is more to do than pretty much anywhere, it’s highly ranked (#85 by USN, a few places behind UConn), and it’s cheap.

UCF is relatively cheap for Florida residents, but it’s about $37K/year for a non-Florida resident living on campus.

Regardless, all of his applications were in and done months ago. He applied to nine schools (including a few safety schools), and has heard back from and been accepted at seven of them. He’s still waiting to hear back from his last two “reach” schools (which both have extremely low acceptance rates).