Reply to Is it responsible to spend 90K/yr in education?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Northwestern is very different than UVA. It’s a top top Tier 1 research university. It’s not the Harvard of the Midwest anymore, it’s actually the MIT of the Midwest.

Its humanities program is very good, but UVA likely is the same or exceed.

I was FA at NU and unless my child wanted to study one of the sciences or engineering there,
I would have them go to UVA.  If it’s sciences, I would have them go to NU with a strong plan of how to engage their professors and get into an R&D lab.  I work in technology and R&D now and the Stanford and MIT folks see my degree and know I’m not to be trifled with on the technical front, which is awesome.  Maybe someday I can reach my full potential and sit on some tech or R&D heavy boards, and NU would play a role in that, but maybe not.

But if your younger son/daughter wants to be a lawyer or finance person, send him/her to UVA.[/quote]

I went to NU and can somewhat get behind this.  My spouse and I both majored in STEM, both got lab connections and both got second author on articles in good journals before graduating from undergrad.  I got to work on some really complex analytical equipment as an undergrad. My spouse still regularly talks to the professor from his lab and gets students sent his way for referrals.

However, my husband also has worked with kids from local schools like Maryland and Mason who he met through internship programs and helped them connect with jobs too.  So a motivated kid can do well anywhere.

If there's a specific program or professor, it's a consideration.  But I'm most concerned about families and students who'd have to take on a lot of debt.  Is it really going to be worth 400k, maybe more?  I just am not sure.  It's just a jaw dropping amount of money.  My kids are young but despite both of us being alums, we're a bit skeptical.

Interestingly the NU alumni who interviewed me when I was 17 similarly cautioned me and asked me to think about my state school as an option (he was a lawyer).  I got financial aid which made it easier.[/quote]

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