Why pay $90K for a less competitive private vs. far less $$ for a less competitive public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because the $45k is not significant to them, and it doesn’t come into play when making the decision. Kind of obvious, no?

Yup. One kid selected between 2 schools, ranked about 10-12 different. Both costing ~$85-90K. Very similar schools for our kid's major. Kid had $42K/year merit award at the "lower ranked" school. We let them select the best school for them. They are at the full pay $90K+. They selected well---it's a better fit for them. But kid is well aware that 99% of kids would have been told to attend the school with merit and not leave $164K on the table.
But for us, the money is in the 529, we are UHNW so more $$$ available to fund more education if needed. So we let them pick the best school for them. The extra $42K per year is not significant in our finances

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC graduated last month from Bucknell at the cost of over 320k in four years, and is still unemployed. Just saying…

Hope your DC finds something soon. What was his/her major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're considering this, can you help me understand your thinking?
Rising senior twins here and we're trying to hammer out lists.

Why pay $90K for Syracuse or Bucknell vs. paying half this for Pitt or Penn State?

You still don’t know this?

Some rich people (not all) send their kids to expensive private schools so that they won’t have to deal with poor kids as often.

We are a full-pay, money is no barrier for an expense like this family. Both DCs are at privates. DC1's friends are nearly all on financial aid, some near all FA. DC2's friends are more varied - two of the friends are similar to them and the others more varied. Even if not on FA, they need to hustle up jobs for spending money during the school year and have paying jobs in addition to their internships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC graduated last month from Bucknell at the cost of over 320k in four years, and is still unemployed. Just saying…

Hope your DC finds something soon. What was his/her major?

and most importantly, when did they begin their job search and do they have internships? You cannot expect that a job will magically appear on your lap, especially at a school like Bucknell. I'm sure in 3-6 months, they will have a perfectly fine job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bucknell is competitive and sends a ton of grads to The Street -- way more than Pitt or Penn State on a parentage basis. Syracuse also has some competitive programs like Newhouse (though I'm not sure I'd recommend journalism as a career in 2024).

This is an adorable mommy who clearly has no idea what she is talking about. "The Street", LOL!!

I think PP was using this as an example not the be all and end all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it would depend on the major, location, and special connections the school has with certain industries. For example, GW vs UMD. If kid wants to major in international relations and wants internships at State Dept or other federal agencies, I might pay for GW (but would love it if kid got scholarship so I don’t need to pay full price). If they wanted to major in something like math or computer science, I wouldn’t be willing to pay the larger price tag.

UMD is a much better, higher ranked, and harder to get into than GW. Take UMD in a heartbeat. Take the metro to your DC internship.

[Anonymous]

Yep. UMD ranked 46 and GW ranked 67

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/george-washington-university-1444

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the $45k is not significant to them, and it doesn’t come into play when making the decision. Kind of obvious, no?

I’m someone who may make a choice like this - more like choosing between Towson and Wooster or something. Our HHI is $225k, so the difference is significant. But also…you can’t take it with you, you know? I’d rather spend the money on my kid’s college of choice than on house repairs, a new car, or vacations. Our retirement is planned with 4 years at an expensive college baked in. We’ll be able to retire in our late 60’s with enough. We’ve decided “more than enough” isn’t important to us.

Vacations are fun!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the private was actually much more reputable in the major my kid wanted.

You aren’t bright are you?

You aren’t a good person, are you?