Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

What? I don't understand your point about DCPS.

They are out of state everywhere, so there isn't a big difference in tuitions between two different state schools.

Does your kid want to live in Chicago for the rest of his life? That would be a big consideration for me.

Anonymous wrote: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.

What? I don't understand your point about DCPS.

If your DC intends to stay in this region, VTech is fine. Nationally Purdue has a far better reputation for engineering.

I know many students who started as engineer majors but switched. I would never choose a school based solely on the premise that my 18 y/o has already figured out what he wants to do with his life. He may stick with engineering, he may not. Make sure you'll be happy with the school regardless.

If you are the op, you've answered your question.

Anonymous wrote:I would forgo a kitchen remodel, a newer car or second car. - that type of thing - to assure a better college "fit" for my children. I would not forgo retirement savings. I would not saddle them with the difference in the form of debt.

I'm already forgoing a kitchen remodel AND a newer car just to assure the state school. :-/

Anonymous wrote:Warning: the following is based on gut only and contains no pretension of logic or rationality. I think for me, the squeal point would probably be 15k per year. At 10k, I'd probably sigh and shrug, but anything over 15 (x 4 years) would probably feel like too much.

I like the notion of a squeal point, lol. Mine is lower, though, somewhere between $5k and $10k per year.

I went to a school that was focused heavily on engineering (not tech or Purdue). A lot of the engineering students took five years to get through the program, so it might be 125K that you're looking at for OOS.

I would forgo a kitchen remodel, a newer car or second car. - that type of thing - to assure a better college "fit" for my children. I would not forgo retirement savings. I would not saddle them with the difference in the form of debt.

^ these were all out-of-state

Why only 2 schools discussed? OP, maybe you are just trying to keep the conversation simple. DD applied to 10 fairly similar state U's. It ranged from her not getting in - to a few thousand dollars merit aid - to 1/2 tuition merit aid. I would throw more hats in the ring. We had made a list by descending cost. It was completely re-ordered once final results were in.

Would a $100K graduation gift for a condo or to start DC's own business make a difference to DC?

Warning: the following is based on gut only and contains no pretension of logic or rationality. I think for me, the squeal point would probably be 15k per year. At 10k, I'd probably sigh and shrug, but anything over 15 (x 4 years) would probably feel like too much.

Anonymous wrote:

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?

For engineering, btw VTech and Purdue, I'd go with IS school. Both schools will offer good education, it's matter of what your DC gets out of college exp rather than whether those two colleges are good enough (or which one is better in this case).