It is pretty crazy to turn down Princeton full ride. Go to Stanford for grad school. Life is about choices, and sometimes choosing a certain path is financially draining.

Paying off loans from college is no joke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can get help from grandparents or from Stanford to match, I'd go there.

There are a lot of kids turned away from Princeton who really wanted to go there, so you'd be making another kid's dreams come true in addition to your own kids if he goes to Stanford.

Stanford is also a dream school for many kids.

Yes, of course. I never suggested otherwise.

But OP’s kid prefers Stanford, and there are kids out there denied admission to Princeton even though it was their #1 dream school.

If OP’s kid goes to Stanford, maybe it doesn’t open up a slot off the waiting list. It may have just been factored into Princeton’s yield estimate when making admissions offers. But if it frees up a seat off the waiting list, that means there are two kids who might be ecstatic. If OP’s kid goes to Princeton, it sounds like he’ll feel like he is “settling” for Princeton, which is unfortunate, and it won’t potentially help another kid.

The experience at both schools is very different. If you can do stanford without damaging your retirement, I would find a way. Especially for a CS major who has already lost a parent.

Anonymous wrote:If you can get help from grandparents or from Stanford to match, I'd go there.

There are a lot of kids turned away from Princeton who really wanted to go there, so you'd be making another kid's dreams come true in addition to your own kids if he goes to Stanford.

Stanford is also a dream school for many kids.

Anonymous wrote:Princeton doesn’t offer free rides so this is an impossible question to answer.

Hahahaha! Snap!

Anonymous wrote:If it were any other major than CS I'd say Princeton for sure. But Stanford CS is going to open doors that Princeton won't. 23k a year is worth borrowing if needed for Stanford CS. That won't burden them when they graduate. And they will be in ground zero for all the tech opportunities that just aren't available from suburban New Jersey. It's a pretty good investment and there are millions of students that would take that deal in a heartbeat. In any event, it's a good problem to have.

That's nearly $100k in debt for 4 years. Is it worth an extra $90-$100k just to go to Stanford instead of Princeton? What if the kid decides CS isn't for him and switches career paths?

Princeton CS is still very prestigious and all the top tech firms will recruit at Princeton like they do Stanford. I certainly do not think it is worth the extra money for an economically insecure family.

Taking the free Princeton degree and pocketing the rest of the money is much smarter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Princeton doesn’t offer free rides so this is an impossible question to answer.

They offer full aid for need blind. Under $200k is free

Really? We are way under $200K with low assets and when we run the NPC there is no parent contribution but there is a student contribution, although it’s negligible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you really UMC if you are getting that much aid? We are full pay everywhere…ugh - but doing the Ivy. In this case, I’d do Stanford since he’s so set on it.

We have no real assets, live in an apartment, dad died 3 years ago. Our HHI is under $100k/year and we have a lot of help from the grandparents.

princeton.

its not just the 23000/year thats the problem. Its the cost of flights and life in san francisco. whats he going to do when all of his buddies go out and he cant afford to join them. i imagine dining is very expensive, and likewise dating. nobody wants to live on cafeteria slop.

If it were any other major than CS I'd say Princeton for sure. But Stanford CS is going to open doors that Princeton won't. 23k a year is worth borrowing if needed for Stanford CS. That won't burden them when they graduate. And they will be in ground zero for all the tech opportunities that just aren't available from suburban New Jersey. It's a pretty good investment and there are millions of students that would take that deal in a heartbeat. In any event, it's a good problem to have.

^ Agree you should factor in travel to the costs. So it’s probably more like $30k a year

Has your DS actually done the due diligence on Princeton (campus, CS major)? If so, I would have a hard time denying him Stanford if his heart is set on it, assuming the grandparents could cover the $23k or you could take out the loans.

Make sure he has some skin in the game - he needs to get an on-campus job to earn money. As well as internships or regular jobs over the summer.

If he gets a good job out of school and spends wisely, he should be able to repay the loans pretty quickly.

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind, that travel is another expense. Flying from the DMV to SF 4x/year (Thanksgiving, Christmas break, Spring Break, Summer Break) will be expensive and you'll probably need to spend at least $1200/year assuming that each round trip is around $300.

DC to Princeton, NJ would be a cheap train or bus ticket. Plus, if you want to make a quick visit or if he wants to come home for the weekend, it won't be a prohibitive expense.

Good luck with $300 round trip. Probably closer to $500 (or more), particularly for busy breaks when costs are higher. And I'm guessing most east coast Stanford kids don't bother coming home for Thanksgiving - as a kid I had cousins who lived on the west coast who went to school in the northeast and they came to us rather than flying home for a few days.

Plus one would assume the parent wants to visit the kid a few times - at a minimum to move in and for graduation, but ideally a few other times to see what their life is like, meet friends, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can get help from grandparents or from Stanford to match, I'd go there.

There are a lot of kids turned away from Princeton who really wanted to go there, so you'd be making another kid's dreams come true in addition to your own kids if he goes to Stanford.

I mean, couldn't this same exact thing be said for Stanford?

Sure, but OP's kid prefers Stanford. So if he goes there two kids are happier, not one.

Anonymous wrote:If you can get help from grandparents or from Stanford to match, I'd go there.

There are a lot of kids turned away from Princeton who really wanted to go there, so you'd be making another kid's dreams come true in addition to your own kids if he goes to Stanford.

I mean, couldn't this same exact thing be said for Stanford?

If you can get help from grandparents or from Stanford to match, I'd go there.

There are a lot of kids turned away from Princeton who really wanted to go there, so you'd be making another kid's dreams come true in addition to your own kids if he goes to Stanford.