Do many people pick publics because of money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents did not pay for my college or grad school. I never considered any public universities in state or out of state. I am from NY. I applied to schools I was interested in, got financial aid and graduated grad school with loans and paid it off pretty quickly. I worked in investment banking and private equity in NYC so it was fast.

I’m surprised at how many people choose state schools in VA and MD.

Are students that afraid of debt?

All these families are better off financially than my family was when I was going to college. The cost of college was not a factor for me. I just knew I would pay it back.

Agree. I think that some people did not have the experiences that you and I had, so they are afraid of having to pay back school loans, OP. And absolutely yes, money is why anyone I know who has their kids attend publics, attend publics. Which is fine for them, we are grateful for more options.

I am not trying to offend anyone. I come from a humble background. My parents did not and could not pay for my education. It just seems strange to me that these UMC people who are much better off financially than my parents would have their kids attend a lesser school for money. I may never understand.

The issue is bang for the buck. A school that costs $360k has to be “superior enough” to justify the cost relative to a much cheaper state school.

People also anticipate having to pay for grad school.

Why is this hard for you to understand?

My husband makes several million dollars per year. Taking on 200k debt like we did to get an elite education doesn’t sound bad to me. I had full confidence to earn and pay back my loans.

Sure he does. How does someone in finance not understand a basic financial question? Has to be a troll.

I am not a troll. I was actually unfamiliar with UVA before moving down here. I knew exactly one person who went to UVA for undergrad and she went went to Yale for law. A few years ago, I stumbled upon this site and had mentioned that I had not heard of UVA and I got attacked, got called names, called a troll and that I was stupid. At least DCUM is consistent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents did not pay for my college or grad school. I never considered any public universities in state or out of state. I am from NY. I applied to schools I was interested in, got financial aid and graduated grad school with loans and paid it off pretty quickly. I worked in investment banking and private equity in NYC so it was fast.

I’m surprised at how many people choose state schools in VA and MD.

Are students that afraid of debt?

All these families are better off financially than my family was when I was going to college. The cost of college was not a factor for me. I just knew I would pay it back.

Agree. I think that some people did not have the experiences that you and I had, so they are afraid of having to pay back school loans, OP. And absolutely yes, money is why anyone I know who has their kids attend publics, attend publics. Which is fine for them, we are grateful for more options.

I am not trying to offend anyone. I come from a humble background. My parents did not and could not pay for my education. It just seems strange to me that these UMC people who are much better off financially than my parents would have their kids attend a lesser school for money. I may never understand.

It's not 1980. Education is vastly more expensive than it was when you were in school.

[Anonymous]

Well, this inane thread was 20 minutes I'll never get back...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents did not pay for my college or grad school. I never considered any public universities in state or out of state. I am from NY. I applied to schools I was interested in, got financial aid and graduated grad school with loans and paid it off pretty quickly. I worked in investment banking and private equity in NYC so it was fast.

I’m surprised at how many people choose state schools in VA and MD.

Are students that afraid of debt?

All these families are better off financially than my family was when I was going to college. The cost of college was not a factor for me. I just knew I would pay it back.

Agree. I think that some people did not have the experiences that you and I had, so they are afraid of having to pay back school loans, OP. And absolutely yes, money is why anyone I know who has their kids attend publics, attend publics. Which is fine for them, we are grateful for more options.

I am not trying to offend anyone. I come from a humble background. My parents did not and could not pay for my education. It just seems strange to me that these UMC people who are much better off financially than my parents would have their kids attend a lesser school for money. I may never understand.

You don't understand the gift that is graduating from college debt-free?? Ok...

I don’t understand the gift because I graduated with debt and paid it off promptly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has to be the most dense poster I've seen in a while. So happy for you that you can easily afford to pay 90k. WTF

I am more curious about the students, not the parents. Yes, we can easily pay for college and grad school. If we could not, I would still encourage my child to go to the best college he could go to. I would think the 200k debt would be worth it for my child to take on to go to a school like Penn.

This is idiotic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is probably a troll but also from New York where many people look at private options because the SUNYs are not as respected as the top public universities. The same was true in MD in my day. But if you live in CA, MI, NC, TX and other states with very highly regarded public flagships it's hard for many families to turn down in-state tuition because there aren't that many better private options.

Definitely a troll. But I’m guessing Jersey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents did not pay for my college or grad school. I never considered any public universities in state or out of state. I am from NY. I applied to schools I was interested in, got financial aid and graduated grad school with loans and paid it off pretty quickly. I worked in investment banking and private equity in NYC so it was fast.

I’m surprised at how many people choose state schools in VA and MD.

Are students that afraid of debt?

All these families are better off financially than my family was when I was going to college. The cost of college was not a factor for me. I just knew I would pay it back.

Agree. I think that some people did not have the experiences that you and I had, so they are afraid of having to pay back school loans, OP. And absolutely yes, money is why anyone I know who has their kids attend publics, attend publics. Which is fine for them, we are grateful for more options.

I am not trying to offend anyone. I come from a humble background. My parents did not and could not pay for my education. It just seems strange to me that these UMC people who are much better off financially than my parents would have their kids attend a lesser school for money. I may never understand.

You don't understand the gift that is graduating from college debt-free?? Ok...

I don’t understand the gift because I graduated with debt and paid it off promptly.

There are clearly many things you don't understand, OP. Maybe try learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has to be the most dense poster I've seen in a while. So happy for you that you can easily afford to pay 90k. WTF

I am more curious about the students, not the parents. Yes, we can easily pay for college and grad school. If we could not, I would still encourage my child to go to the best college he could go to. I would think the 200k debt would be worth it for my child to take on to go to a school like Penn.

This is idiotic.

It is idiotic to go to Wharton? You can call me idiotic. Right back at you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is probably a troll but also from New York where many people look at private options because the SUNYs are not as respected as the top public universities. The same was true in MD in my day. But if you live in CA, MI, NC, TX and other states with very highly regarded public flagships it's hard for many families to turn down in-state tuition because there aren't that many better private options.

Definitely a troll. But I’m guessing Jersey.

I already said I am from an affluent suburb of NYC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m paying $50k for high school and I don’t want to pay $80k for college.

You should have saved the money to pay for the better school. Anyone who claims UMD is better than or the same as MIT is ignorant or lying.

You're wrong, it's not so black and white. MIT has one of the best math and physics education in the world. It's also a cut-throat pressure cooker self-esteem wringer. And is it worth that price differential? That will depend on people's financial situations, OP and PP. Not everyone qualifies for financial aid, and people's goals are all different. It's ridiculous to send a Humanities or Business kid to MIT, since they need top-level math and physics to graduate, and presumably might not graduate with the best GPA.

It's all in the details, people. You can't make sweeping statements like idiots.

Ok, to clarify MIT programs in sciences, physics, math, every kind of engineering, neuroscience, computer science are their strengths as opposed to liberal arts and other BAs. The people in these fields that rise to the top typically went to MIT or CalTech or a couple others. Most people know nothing about UMD and that makes a difference. Everyone knows MIT.

If a person can’t afford MIT then a state school is the best option. But don’t try and kid yourself that the educational standards or the research or the resources are similar. I went to a public university and it was a D3 in sports and academically 2nd tier. But it’s what we could afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m paying $50k for high school and I don’t want to pay $80k for college.

You should have saved the money to pay for the better school. Anyone who claims UMD is better than or the same as MIT is ignorant or lying.

You're wrong, it's not so black and white. MIT has one of the best math and physics education in the world. It's also a cut-throat pressure cooker self-esteem wringer. And is it worth that price differential? That will depend on people's financial situations, OP and PP. Not everyone qualifies for financial aid, and people's goals are all different. It's ridiculous to send a Humanities or Business kid to MIT, since they need top-level math and physics to graduate, and presumably might not graduate with the best GPA.

It's all in the details, people. You can't make sweeping statements like idiots.

Ok, to clarify MIT programs in sciences, physics, math, every kind of engineering, neuroscience, computer science are their strengths as opposed to liberal arts and other BAs. The people in these fields that rise to the top typically went to MIT or CalTech or a couple others. Most people know nothing about UMD and that makes a difference. Everyone knows MIT.

If a person can’t afford MIT then a state school is the best option. But don’t try and kid yourself that the educational standards or the research or the resources are similar. I went to a public university and it was a D3 in sports and academically 2nd tier. But it’s what we could afford.

I knew a guy at MIT who went to UMD for undergrad. He often mentioned how he was in the honors program and how he went there because it was tuition free. I don’t think anyone cared but he felt the need to explain himself. He was brilliant. Boston is full of school snobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents did not pay for my college or grad school. I never considered any public universities in state or out of state. I am from NY. I applied to schools I was interested in, got financial aid and graduated grad school with loans and paid it off pretty quickly. I worked in investment banking and private equity in NYC so it was fast.

I’m surprised at how many people choose state schools in VA and MD.

Are students that afraid of debt?

All these families are better off financially than my family was when I was going to college. The cost of college was not a factor for me. I just knew I would pay it back.

It makes sense for investment banking, since public universities are not loved on wall street. If you majored in anything else, public u would serve you just as well. You'd pay those loans even faster.

Wall Street loves Michigan, Indiana, UVA , and Cal grads. All public.

The top “feeder” schools (adjusted for size of school) for Wall Street are …

1 University of Pennsylvania
2 Harvard University
3 Columbia University
4 University of Chicago
5 Willams College
6 Dartmouth College
7 Georgetown University
8 Yale University
9 Middlebury College
10 Princeton University


All private universities. That’s only the top ten though and it varies depending on how specific the job, but there are plenty of jobs on Wall Street for graduates of other colleges public and private schools to do well in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m paying $50k for high school and I don’t want to pay $80k for college.

You should have saved the money to pay for the better school. Anyone who claims UMD is better than or the same as MIT is ignorant or lying.

You're wrong, it's not so black and white. MIT has one of the best math and physics education in the world. It's also a cut-throat pressure cooker self-esteem wringer. And is it worth that price differential? That will depend on people's financial situations, OP and PP. Not everyone qualifies for financial aid, and people's goals are all different. It's ridiculous to send a Humanities or Business kid to MIT, since they need top-level math and physics to graduate, and presumably might not graduate with the best GPA.

It's all in the details, people. You can't make sweeping statements like idiots.

Ok, to clarify MIT programs in sciences, physics, math, every kind of engineering, neuroscience, computer science are their strengths as opposed to liberal arts and other BAs. The people in these fields that rise to the top typically went to MIT or CalTech or a couple others. Most people know nothing about UMD and that makes a difference. Everyone knows MIT.

If a person can’t afford MIT then a state school is the best option. But don’t try and kid yourself that the educational standards or the research or the resources are similar. I went to a public university and it was a D3 in sports and academically 2nd tier. But it’s what we could afford.

I knew a guy at MIT who went to UMD for undergrad. He often mentioned how he was in the honors program and how he went there because it was tuition free. I don’t think anyone cared but he felt the need to explain himself. He was brilliant. Boston is full of school snobs.

Once he was at an MIT graduate program nobody would care where he went to undergraduate school. But MIT is known worldwide and is one of the top research universities in the world.

World University rankings for 2024 included almost 2,000 universities around the world and their methodology is impressive.

The top five are -

University of Oxford, United Kingdom, Stanford University United States
Massachusetts Institute of Technology United State, Harvard University, United States
University of Cambridge United Kingdom

There are public and private US universities listed in the top one hundred but the US world class scientists and their research are still in Cambridge Massachusetts and California.



https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2024/world-ranking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You really don’t grasp how much more expensive college is than we most of the people on this board attended. My college was about $20k/year. It’s now about $90k/year. While I loved it, it’s absolutely not worth the cost differential over a public school, especially when VA has such amazing public schools.

And, thankfully, my kids have no interest in going into a socially useless job like investment banking. Money is not their primary motivator.

THIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP-you made $$ in IB, went to great schools. Are you really that dim? You can’t comprehend that a) most people will never make IB type of money and therefore 1) can’t pay off student debt quickly and 2) can’t shell out $$ for their kids to attend $$$ private schools? That’s why the whole debate of private vs public school results is not accurate. “Results” (where kids actually end up vs where they get in) are a product of parental SES more than anything.

+1 OP isn't very bright for being in IB.

Does OP recall that the taxpayers just paid off billions worth of student debt.

There is a kid we know who chose UVA over Harvard. It is hard for me not to understand. While I don’t know the financial circumstances of this family, they seem like an UMC family. Would they be full pay? Probably. I’m sure there are many students who could have gone away to college and decide to stay in state. These are people who live in nice homes, vacation, drive luxury cars and appear to have money.

It was money or the student’s need to stay close. People who drive luxury cars and have nice cars do not always have money in the bank.