University of Miami with Merit money vs. UVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out some current UVA student social media accounts. Do the same for Miami.

Really? That is strange

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out some current UVA student social media accounts. Do the same for Miami.

Really? That is strange

It is a live update on what campus life is like, not your/mine memories of stories from friends who attended either University 20 years ago. Also better than what current students tell their parents who then further filter it when they tell you. Look, the worried parents with the 529 don't need to do this, but the prospective student really should. Oh and FB dead, use Instagram or other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what's the major? Is grad school a pretty standard path forward (law, MBA, etc.)?

Honestly, I would go to U Miami. Not having student loans is so liberating, and grad school is pricey!

Some grad schools are free - engineering, Econ, etc? They pay your tuition and give you a salary to go in exchange for 10-20 hours a week of work or some get fellowships.

What will his major be?

I wouldn’t take the pile of money if uva is a better fit. You saved 529 money for him to go - send him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son was admitted to UVA as an OOS student. We have saved for his 529 over the years and have enough money to send him there without him taking on any loans. Last night he was admitted to his "safety" school University of Miami who unexpectedly gave him a hefty amount of merit money. DS will go back to both schools for admitted student days but thinks he has a preference for UVA mostly because it is ranked much higher and has the prestige value in looking for jobs and applying to grad school. While he really liked the vibe at U of Miami (what's not to like with the warm weather and palm tress), he feels like he may always find himself having to explain to people that he attended Miami because they gave him a lot of money. While we definitely see the benefits of UVA, we also like the idea of having some money left in the 529 to partially pay for Grad school. Plus we've heard that Miami is on the rise. We don't want to influence his decision so we're going to try and stay on the sidelines on this one.

Would love to hear from people's who have been in the same situation. How did your kids make a decision to select or decline a lower ranked school that gave merit money?

Again, our son would not graduate from UVA with loans but it's not entirely clear whether we would be able to make a significant contribution to his grad school if he went down this route.

This is something you have to tell him, and tell him clearly.

Grad school is again, typically paid for for good students. And - he won’t necessarily go.
Let the kid go to the school that is the best fit for him.
Why are you even on a website asking strangers?

[Anonymous]

If he got into U Va OOS why is U of Miami the only other option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has to be an extraordinarily good reason to turn down UVA. This is not such a reason. Don’t be a sucker.

Paying full freight as an OOS? $65k? There would have to be an extraordinarily good reason and well-funded 529. Otherwise, don't be a sucker.

We paid full freight for an OOS school. I hated knowing that no one was paying more than we were for DS to go there. But, it was the best choice for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I turned down a lot of money from UMiami for grad school. Most of the time I have no regrets. Every winter, I wonder if I made the right choice.

Here is what concerns me in your original post, you say: "he feels like he may always find himself having to explain to people that he attended Miami because they gave him a lot of money"

If that is how he feels, I don't know if he'd be happy at Miami, then. ???

My guess is he wouldn’t feel like that internally. It is the next 6 months of everyone asking “where are you going?” and I get that but it is not worth $85K

He can always transfer in to UVA sophomore year if Miami isn’t his thing. He will never get that merit aid offer again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son was admitted to UVA as an OOS student. We have saved for his 529 over the years and have enough money to send him there without him taking on any loans. Last night he was admitted to his "safety" school University of Miami who unexpectedly gave him a hefty amount of merit money. DS will go back to both schools for admitted student days but thinks he has a preference for UVA mostly because it is ranked much higher and has the prestige value in looking for jobs and applying to grad school. While he really liked the vibe at U of Miami (what's not to like with the warm weather and palm tress), he feels like he may always find himself having to explain to people that he attended Miami because they gave him a lot of money. While we definitely see the benefits of UVA, we also like the idea of having some money left in the 529 to partially pay for Grad school. Plus we've heard that Miami is on the rise. We don't want to influence his decision so we're going to try and stay on the sidelines on this one.

Would love to hear from people's who have been in the same situation. How did your kids make a decision to select or decline a lower ranked school that gave merit money?

Again, our son would not graduate from UVA with loans but it's not entirely clear whether we would be able to make a significant contribution to his grad school if he went down this route.

This is something you have to tell him, and tell him clearly.

Grad school is again, typically paid for for good students. And - he won’t necessarily go.
Let the kid go to the school that is the best fit for him.
Why are you even on a website asking strangers?

Because she knows throwing 85K more away for the same exact degree and he still has to go to grad school, is terrible. Once he hits grad school, no one will care where his undergrad was from.

[Anonymous]

Certainly $80,000 is a lot of money, but it would be worth it to me for my kid to go to the school he really wanted to spend an extra $20,000 a year. If you have already saved $250,000 in his 529, maybe you can help with grad school more than you think, if he needs it? And I’m from Michigan, love UMich, and consider UVA comparable to Michigan in terms of prestige, especially if he is in the Honors College. No bad or wrong choices here.

[Anonymous]

OP If I were you I would lean towards UVA over Miami. My folks always advocated getting the best education possible in the most prestigious places, investing in real estate in the most prestigious places. They were always right on both counts.

His degree from UVA will open up more graduate options for him than any degree from Miami which by comparison is a little half-baked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son was admitted to UVA as an OOS student. We have saved for his 529 over the years and have enough money to send him there without him taking on any loans. Last night he was admitted to his "safety" school University of Miami who unexpectedly gave him a hefty amount of merit money. DS will go back to both schools for admitted student days but thinks he has a preference for UVA mostly because it is ranked much higher and has the prestige value in looking for jobs and applying to grad school. While he really liked the vibe at U of Miami (what's not to like with the warm weather and palm tress), he feels like he may always find himself having to explain to people that he attended Miami because they gave him a lot of money. While we definitely see the benefits of UVA, we also like the idea of having some money left in the 529 to partially pay for Grad school. Plus we've heard that Miami is on the rise. We don't want to influence his decision so we're going to try and stay on the sidelines on this one.

Would love to hear from people's who have been in the same situation. How did your kids make a decision to select or decline a lower ranked school that gave merit money?

Again, our son would not graduate from UVA with loans but it's not entirely clear whether we would be able to make a significant contribution to his grad school if he went down this route.

This is something you have to tell him, and tell him clearly.

Grad school is again, typically paid for for good students. And - he won’t necessarily go.
Let the kid go to the school that is the best fit for him.
Why are you even on a website asking strangers?

Because she knows throwing 85K more away for the same exact degree and he still has to go to grad school, is terrible. Once he hits grad school, no one will care where his undergrad was from.

He might not go to grad school

Grad schools care where you went to undergrad too.

They are not the same degree, not even close. Miami is a no name school with mostly average students, not the same experience at all.

[Anonymous]

Miami is not a no name school. That's utterly effing ridiculous. Everyone has heard of the University of Miami.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Miami is not a no name school. That's utterly effing ridiculous. Everyone has heard of the University of Miami.

In Miami, yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Miami is not a no name school. That's utterly effing ridiculous. Everyone has heard of the University of Miami.

In Miami, yes.

umm, everywhere. I am a European and I heard of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Certainly $80,000 is a lot of money, but it would be worth it to me for my kid to go to the school he really wanted to spend an extra $20,000 a year. If you have already saved $250,000 in his 529, maybe you can help with grad school more than you think, if he needs it? And I’m from Michigan, love UMich, and consider UVA comparable to Michigan in terms of prestige, especially if he is in the Honors College. No bad or wrong choices here.

An extra $20K per year is a lot of freaking money for some people. What is your family income?