So here's the thing. School A has offered me a huge scholarship, around $100k over the course of four years. I'd end up paying only about $9k a year on average, including room&board, transportation, books, etc. which is really fantastic for US schools. Additionally, my parents are giving me what they gave my sister, which was around $25k a year, so I'd graduate with $64k in the bank. The school is ranked 61 by US News and its business school is ranked 30 by US News (I'm a business major). However, the school is 96% in-state, and very white, conservative, and religious. I'm verry out-of-state (literally from across the country), politically a liberal-moderate, and not religious at all. When I went down to visit everyone was extremely nice, but I felt pretty out-of-place. Additionally, the campus is huge, but not very pretty- a minor fact, except that there's basically no wireless anywhere. Ack. Oh, and their school spirit is incredible. Also, the town it's in is in the middle of nowhere. Two big cities, Houston & Austin, are about 2 hrs away driving, but other than that it's pretty much isolated. School B offered me barely anything, $8k a year, or $32k over the course of four years. I'd be paying about $30k a year, including R&B, transportation, etc. My parents will still pay for the whole thing, but I won't have any money when I graduate to pay for an apartment, MBA, etc. The school is ranked 53 by US News, and it's business school is ranked 16 by US News. It's Information & Technology Management program, my major, is ranked 6th, whereas School A's is ranked much much lower. I really really like School B alot more than School A. It's a three to four hour drive from home, which I think is perfect distance. The campus is big but the buildings are closer together, which is great since School A's are ridiculously far apart. The campus is gorgeous. The campus is wireless, yay, but that's a pretty minor thing. The school spirit is great, not as over-the-top as School A's, but definitely still substantial. The school has a good mix of in-state and out-of-state, good diversity, and is a short metro ride away from Baltimore, DC, and Annapolis. It's town is kind of scary, rather ghetto, but it's not terrible and it's not isolated at all. The people are nice, but as super-friendly as School A, but still nice. The weather's nicer, the people aren't so crazy-Christian, and isn't as conservative- I think it's moderate, or moderate liberal. Oh, and on top of all that, I already applied for housing, scheduled freshman orientation, was accepted to an Italy trip, and am talking to a possible roommate, all for School A, because I didn't get the scholarship offer from School B until after I did all that. If I were to cancel, I'd be out $375, though really that's pretty negligible. Hallllp. What to do?
Tough decision! I think I would go with option B... you are going to spend the next years there, so I think it's very important that you like the place and feel confortable. But of course, money is also important... I guess only you can make this choice, but I think I would go with B...
you should not be taking money into consideration for your decision. School B appears to suit you better, based on what it offers and the type of people there. You need to be comfortable in school to keep motivated. The worst thing would be you end up feeling like the odd-one out, isolating yourself and losing motivation to do anything. Take that into consideration rather than money... YES having money when you finish would be great to get a place to live etc - But thats what loans are for if you need one.. You're young, plenty of time to make money and buy something nice. Enjoyment > Money
I was in a similar situation when I was deciding what university to attend. I originally decided to go to a school close to home because of the scholarship and that was where most of my friends were going. Throughout the summer I really started thinking that I would prefer to go to a smaller school in another province. All in all I decided (in August) to switch to the smaller school in the other province over the larger school at home. I actually ended up doing this at the beginning of my second year too (I guess I am very indecisive) Anyways...moral of the story is that you have to go with what your heart tells you. If you really are leaning towards school B in your heart then you have to go there or you will be doing yourself a great injustice for your future as it will always be something you regret. One cannot let money rule the direction their life takes, although it is often a big decision maker. And another component would be which school offers the best program for what you are planning to study. I changed my major three times before I settled on one, and in doing that it allowed me to experience most of the courses available at my university. While that is not necessarily what everyone should do, I believe it goes a long way for finding what you are passionate to learn... But, go with your heart and don't sacrifice your happiness in the name of moolah
The schools sound pretty comparable in terms of how "good" they are (rankings and such) and if you are going for undergrad (which I'm assuming you are) then the department rankings actually don't matter too much. Anyway, if the quality of education at each of the schools is comparable, then you really need to go where you will feel most comfortable and will enjoy yourself the most. Sure, education can cost a lot of money, but it's worth it. And I'm sure you would be happier spending a bunch of money and enjoying your experience instead of spending no money and struggling to survive the 4 years. Enjoy college, enjoy the friends you make, study hard, do well. Undergrad really is the best time in many peoples' lives. Make sure you take full advantage of it.
In my opinion, I would choose school B. After weighing all the pro's and con's of both schools, school A has only one pro over school B. That is that you would have a decent stash of cash when you graduate. Whereas School B has an atmosphere that you relate to better which is real good to help keep college stresses down. They are also higher ranking all the way around which means better money in the short and long run after you get out. Also do not forget, you can get you a part time job and save that money while you are there to have a nest egg waiting for you when you graduate (albeit a smaller one). I would sacrifice the one time lump sum of cash for a lifetime of better benefits anyday.
Go with school B. Being happy and comfortable in a school is generally more important than anything else. It also happens to be better ranked. Most people don't have money coming out of college, so you would simply be in the same situation as every other college student. If you are planning on going to graduate school, with sciences in general, it is much more common to get money (I just got full funding for an environmental science masters program). There is also some chance that school B would increase your funding. You could try negotiating with them. Tell them that the other school offered you more money but that you really want to go to school B. I have been told that this is fairly common and can work. I just realized that I had a similar situation. School A gave me a full ride, but wasn't really my kind of school and wasn't as strong or well known and school B, a much higher caliber of school, gave me nothing (my parents paid for everything) and I ended up being very happy there. Either way, congratulations!
OK, THIS IS THE DEFINITIVE ANSWER TO YOUR COLLEGE DILEMMA: SCHOOL B The town its around might be kinda not-so-good, but if you drive just like 20 min north, you'll be in the most awesome towns. Very safe and fun place. :yup: PLUS, lots of my friends are going thar so I will visit during breaks! It'll be absolutely AWESOMESAUCE. DO IT.
Forget the scholarship. Go to school B since you will enjoy it there more. No point in going to a place where you won't fit in or if you don't even like those type of people. I for sure wouldn't go to the top school if I could pretty much learn the same exact thing at another school.
Personally I would go with School A. Mainly for the money saving factor, anytime you can save money in college is a definite good thing. While School B may be higher ranked, it may not mean you will learn better there, if you put your mind to it and just dig in, you can come out of School A with the same knowledge you would get from School B.
Yes money would be a good thing, but consider this, if you are not happy and feel overly pressured because you do not fit in, you will more than likely not be able to focus enough to get everything you can out of a class. Also while you may get more out of a lower ranked school, businesses looking to higher do not care if you learned more, they care about what rank the school was you went to. A schools rank could be the swaying factor when having to choose between applications.
AHHHHHHHHHHHH I picked School B! I already accepted School A, but I changed my NM first choice school yesterday- which means I'd lose the scholarship to School A. HOLY CRAP I'm freaking out! Also turned down Lehigh today, but I wasn't going to go there anyways
You will have lots of fun at MD and your not far from DC which has great museums, art centers, and theaters.