A T25 school is not worth $80k over a R1 research university like UMCP, especially if you don't have the $80k on hand.

Vanderbilt, Emory, USC, Rice et. al are decent schools, but not exactly renowned in psychology or research. And as an overall institution - not just undergraduate - public universities that are ranked around 25 i.e. Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, are far more respected academically than Vanderbilt/Emory/USC/Rice because they are massive research institutions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 20K per year and at a T25 school, given the major, I would probably strongly consider the T25. She'll be able to pay that back. Coming out from UMD with a psych major is not terribly competitive for grad programs, BK or not. If you do choose UMD, your daughter needs to very consciously strive to be the #1 student in the program, or as close as possible.

I disagree. Some quick sleuthing shows us that T21 to T25 privates are: Emory, USC, Georgetown, and Carnegie Mellon. I would not take on $80,000 in loans to go to one of these schools for a psych degree. Congrats to your daughter!

Agreed.

And you can probably eliminate Carnegie Mellon from the possible schools identified above. Nobody goes there to study psychology. Not sure CMU even has a psych department.

Another caution: tuition goes up every year, so the amount you'll need to borrow will also go up, presumably.

UMD isn't a name that fills anyone with awe, but the price is right. Save your money for grad school (as long as its not for a degree in psych!).

https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/psychology/

CMU definitely has a psych department. It’s excellent.

Yes. The Dietrich School of the Humanities and Social Sciences at CMU. I seem to recall that in 2018 the Dietrich School mounted a year-long celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of Karl Marx. You can look it up. I believe it was called Marx@200.

Sounds like a place I'd want to go. How about you?

Marx@200 Events
“Karl Marx remains one of the most influential and controversial thinkers since the Enlightenment. On the occasion of his bicentennial, the Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University is offering a variety of perspectives on Marx’s ideas and impact. Through lectures, performances and an art exhibit, this programming will explore Marx’s critique of inequality and capitalism as well as his influence on political movements and political regimes, including totalitarianism.“

Yeah, actually does sound like somewhere I’d want to go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 20K per year and at a T25 school, given the major, I would probably strongly consider the T25. She'll be able to pay that back. Coming out from UMD with a psych major is not terribly competitive for grad programs, BK or not. If you do choose UMD, your daughter needs to very consciously strive to be the #1 student in the program, or as close as possible.

I disagree. Some quick sleuthing shows us that T21 to T25 privates are: Emory, USC, Georgetown, and Carnegie Mellon. I would not take on $80,000 in loans to go to one of these schools for a psych degree. Congrats to your daughter!

Agreed.

And you can probably eliminate Carnegie Mellon from the possible schools identified above. Nobody goes there to study psychology. Not sure CMU even has a psych department.

Another caution: tuition goes up every year, so the amount you'll need to borrow will also go up, presumably.

UMD isn't a name that fills anyone with awe, but the price is right. Save your money for grad school (as long as its not for a degree in psych!).

https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/psychology/

CMU definitely has a psych department. It’s excellent.

Yes. The Dietrich School of the Humanities and Social Sciences at CMU. I seem to recall that in 2018 the Dietrich School mounted a year-long celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of Karl Marx. You can look it up. I believe it was called Marx@200.

Sounds like a place I'd want to go. How about you?

$80k in loans is absolute madness and especially with an undergrad degree in psych, the difference will probably NEVER be made up. Especially if she wants to go to grad school. Which she will have to get any sort of professional position in the field of psychology.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 20K per year and at a T25 school, given the major, I would probably strongly consider the T25. She'll be able to pay that back. Coming out from UMD with a psych major is not terribly competitive for grad programs, BK or not. If you do choose UMD, your daughter needs to very consciously strive to be the #1 student in the program, or as close as possible.

I disagree. Some quick sleuthing shows us that T21 to T25 privates are: Emory, USC, Georgetown, and Carnegie Mellon. I would not take on $80,000 in loans to go to one of these schools for a psych degree. Congrats to your daughter!

Agreed.

And you can probably eliminate Carnegie Mellon from the possible schools identified above. Nobody goes there to study psychology. Not sure CMU even has a psych department.

Another caution: tuition goes up every year, so the amount you'll need to borrow will also go up, presumably.

UMD isn't a name that fills anyone with awe, but the price is right. Save your money for grad school (as long as its not for a degree in psych!).

https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/psychology/

CMU definitely has a psych department. It’s excellent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 20K per year and at a T25 school, given the major, I would probably strongly consider the T25. She'll be able to pay that back. Coming out from UMD with a psych major is not terribly competitive for grad programs, BK or not. If you do choose UMD, your daughter needs to very consciously strive to be the #1 student in the program, or as close as possible.

I disagree. Some quick sleuthing shows us that T21 to T25 privates are: Emory, USC, Georgetown, and Carnegie Mellon. I would not take on $80,000 in loans to go to one of these schools for a psych degree. Congrats to your daughter!

Agreed.

And you can probably eliminate Carnegie Mellon from the possible schools identified above. Nobody goes there to study psychology. Not sure CMU even has a psych department.

Another caution: tuition goes up every year, so the amount you'll need to borrow will also go up, presumably.

UMD isn't a name that fills anyone with awe, but the price is right. Save your money for grad school (as long as its not for a degree in psych!).

Anonymous wrote:At 20K per year and at a T25 school, given the major, I would probably strongly consider the T25. She'll be able to pay that back. Coming out from UMD with a psych major is not terribly competitive for grad programs, BK or not. If you do choose UMD, your daughter needs to very consciously strive to be the #1 student in the program, or as close as possible.

I disagree. Some quick sleuthing shows us that T21 to T25 privates are: Emory, USC, Georgetown, and Carnegie Mellon. I would not take on $80,000 in loans to go to one of these schools for a psych degree. Congrats to your daughter!

B/K for sure. No regrets whatsoever!

- A full B/K family

At 20K per year and at a T25 school, given the major, I would probably strongly consider the T25. She'll be able to pay that back. Coming out from UMD with a psych major is not terribly competitive for grad programs, BK or not. If you do choose UMD, your daughter needs to very consciously strive to be the #1 student in the program, or as close as possible.

Full ride! Congratulations to your DD!

Anonymous wrote:No brainer MD.

She will have to go to graduate school after 4 years. This should not even be a discussion.

Plus she could change her major more choices. Make sure to keep the GPA up.

+1 And congrats to your DD!

Don't do loans.

No brainer MD.

She will have to go to graduate school after 4 years. This should not even be a discussion.

Plus she could change her major more choices. Make sure to keep the GPA up.

Correction: we have retirement savings, just not college savings.

DD received a full-ride to UMD as a Banneker Key Scholar. She is interested in psychology. The alternative would be a T25 private university with an 8 billion endowment. Substantial financial aid was given, but we would still have to rely upon loans. (Yearly EFC is around $20K, which is a relative bargain). If your child attended UMD instead of a more elite private, any regrets?

Please don't criticize me for not having savings.