Beyond asking yourself what $100k means to you and your family, I think the rest is looking into a crystal ball. Our DD chose the expensive private school over the many other, all much less expensive options. But first, DH promised her she could go where she wanted to go and he'd pay for it. Second, there was absolutely that "aha, this is it" moment when she set foot on the private campus. To her, everything about this school was better, head and shoulders better, than any other college. If we didn't have the means, and she knew she could only go where she could get loans to pay, I feel she would have liked the state schools just fine.

Anonymous wrote:The "line" is different for every family. Depends on how much you make, spend, number of kids, your life style, savings...etc. You draw the line where you don't feel comfortable. Everyone has different thresholds.

Where is your line?

Anonymous wrote:If the schools in mind weren't VT or Purdue, where is the line crossed in this instance?

OP here- yes. this is my question and why I did not say which schools on my OP- and should have kept it that way. I didn't want it to become a debate between the two schools.

Forget about the two schools listed above and academics aside. How much are the other things worth? The feeling of this is where I want to be. The vibe from the student body. The connection with one or more of the professors. Liking the set up of the campus- seeing how it would work. Liking the dorms and the food options. Liking the way the school helps freshmen adapt to college.

The "line" is different for every family. Depends on how much you make, spend, number of kids, your life style, savings...etc. You draw the line where you don't feel comfortable. Everyone has different thresholds.

If the schools in mind weren't VT or Purdue, where is the line crossed in this instance?

I'd go for in-state. VT is a great school for engineering. $100K is a whole lot in the end!

My child attends a DCPS HS, therefore we aren't faced with this issue. I would however, want my child to attend a schools that's the right fit vs it's cost.

Honestly, VT is fantastic for engineering and I would not go to Purdue just for being ranked 10 spots higher than VT. If you look at the individual engineering majors, VT is top-25 ranked in all of those as well. I am a VT alum (not eng'g) and have many eng'g friends who found jobs way before graduating. Either school is great for eng'g, but I would not pay $25k/year extra for Purdue because the differences in the education received will be minute, if any.

Last year Purdue gave an average of $8049 to the 705 students who were awarded aid that was not need based. 3156 others received need based aid and this was all in a total class of 6319, so roughly 60 percent of all incoming freshmen got some money. The gap may be smaller than $20k. Guessing you don't qualify for need-based. Also engineering is a tougher admit than others so probably want to apply to both to keep options available.

Anonymous wrote:What I have heard from those in engineering is that if you are planning on going on to a Masters, it's better to just go state school and save money on the undergrad.
Who will pay for grad school if he goes? Will that "extra" money make a difference later on?
Otherwise, I think it is totally up to you, as you know your child best.

This, I would say instate for a $20,000 difference with that money going to graduate school. I would not count on employers paying for a masters. Many companies are far less generous than the past. If you can afford to pay it all, the go for out of state. Otherwise, instate.

What I have heard from those in engineering is that if you are planning on going on to a Masters, it's better to just go state school and save money on the undergrad.
Who will pay for grad school if he goes? Will that "extra" money make a difference later on?
Otherwise, I think it is totally up to you, as you know your child best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on how many siblings there are, how much debt we already carry, current earnings, how resilient your DC is, and what field it is.


what is the field, what are the schools, and what does he want to do post graduation?

For instance if he is majoring in bio/chem and wants to go to med school - i wouldn't pay much extra for an OOS.

If he is majoring in econ and wants to work in consulting/finance - i might depending on how big the recruiting gap is between the two schools (for instance penn is 5-10 spots over cornell, but penn recruiting is a lot better for jobs).

One sibling. There would be no debt to carry. Engineering. Intends to get Master's - hopefully paid by first employer. Virginia Tech and Purdue.

My question is how much is "fit" worth.

Anonymous wrote:It depends on how many siblings there are, how much debt we already carry, current earnings, how resilient your DC is, and what field it is.


what is the field, what are the schools, and what does he want to do post graduation?

For instance if he is majoring in bio/chem and wants to go to med school - i wouldn't pay much extra for an OOS.

If he is majoring in econ and wants to work in consulting/finance - i might depending on how big the recruiting gap is between the two schools (for instance penn is 5-10 spots over cornell, but penn recruiting is a lot better for jobs).

One sibling. There would be no debt to carry. Engineering. Intends to get Master's - hopefully paid by first employer. Virginia Tech and Purdue.

It depends on how many siblings there are, how much debt we already carry, current earnings, how resilient your DC is, and what field it is.


what is the field, what are the schools, and what does he want to do post graduation?

For instance if he is majoring in bio/chem and wants to go to med school - i wouldn't pay much extra for an OOS.

If he is majoring in econ and wants to work in consulting/finance - i might depending on how big the recruiting gap is between the two schools (for instance penn is 5-10 spots over cornell, but penn recruiting is a lot better for jobs).

DC is has narrowed down his top two choices for college. His 1st choice is OOS. OOS will cost about $25k more per year. The OOS is a top ten school for his major. The instate school is in the 20s. The OOS school will cost $25k more per year if he is not offered any merit aid. For many reasons, the OOS is the better fit (more collaborative and less cutthroat, better employment opportunities, liked feel of campus better, liked "vibe" of students better...) . How do you quantify fit?

If there is no merit aid, the obvious choice is the instate school- but where is the line? How much aid would make you change you mind about your first choice? If you had to pay $10k more, $5k more?