Anonymous
01/01/2026 13:02
Subject: Re:Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:None. I say that with two full pay at Ivies.
University prices are outrageous.
Our in-state options shouldn’t be $40k and privates shouldn’t be $90k. It’s ridiculous and the history behind it is the federally funded student loans that took off in the 80s, allowing schools to spike tuition costs and put the students in debt. It’s when the tuition cost exponentially shot up.
When more federal aid is available, colleges can raise their prices because students have greater borrowing capacity to cover the increased costs. The former CEO of Sallie Mae, confessed that schools raise tuition "because they can, and the government facilitates it".
A prominent Federal Reserve Bank of New York study found that for every dollar increase in subsidized federal loan limits, tuition increased by about 60 cents.
For graduate students, who historically had no federal borrowing limits, a 2023 study found that net prices increased by 64 cents for every dollar increase in per-student federal borrowing.
Amenities Arms Race: The influx of money allows institutions to invest in non-classroom amenities (e.g., better dorms, recreation centers) to attract students, increasing perceived value and justifying higher prices, which creates a feedback loop for further increases
This. Everyone should be outraged at the price of college (all colleges) in the US.
Anonymous
01/01/2026 12:43
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:^ omg. UVA or any public is not worth $90k. The top 15 or so schools, yes.
No school, whether private or public, is worth $90k. That's just delusional.
I think that, for really bright, hardworking students who would be more comfortable at a small or midsize school, and who don’t have Virginia state schools as an option, schools like HYPSM, Cal Tech, Harvey Mudd, Emory, Vanderbilt and Wash. U. are worth the money for a family that could afford to send their kids there without eating into retirement savings or reducing their quality of life.
If you have a kid with the stats and activities to get into Tufts without help from a consultant, you can afford Tufts, and your kid would strongly prefer to go to Tufts rather than UMd., why would you nickel and dime your wonderful kid over college ROI calculations? Why not just send a check to Tufts and give thanks to God that you ended up with a kid who can get into Tufts and cares about getting a good education?
But, if you can’t afford Tufts, you can’t afford it. That’s life. You and your kid might need to accept that your kid will have to go to UMd., not Tufts, and try to learn to love UMd.
Tufts is well worth the money for a kid who gets enough aid or has plenty of cash, but, for a donut hole family who gets too little aid, it’s not worth selling a kidney or holding up a bank.
i and most people would choose umd along with a slew of other state schools over emory
You would have to get into Emory first which the avg umd students isnt doing that. Some people appreciate selectivity, thats why we would choose Emory over a slew of state schools.
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/10/mcps-students-college/
Just 10 out of 41 admitted chose to go to emory. suffice to say, the overwhelming majority of those who have a choice elsewhere agree with me.
Anonymous
01/01/2026 12:43
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
To us, schools with the greatest proportion of high-achieving, intellectually top 1% and most driven students were what we sought. That list was about 23-24: 18 ivy and close to ivy unis, and 5-6 top lacs.
In addition, we wanted schools which open all the doors to the most elite jobs as well as all tip-top MD, phD, JD programs. The latter list has been studied by many and coined ivy-plus: all 8 ivies plus Stanford MIT Duke and UChicago.
The dream was one of the 12, the good-enough was one of the 23. We have two attending ivies and the third is almost certain to get into one of the 23.
It has been well worth the 88-93k per year for each so far.
These schools happen to offer the best aid, such that families below 300k HHI often get at least some discount, and below 200k hefty discounts. Fewer than 45% pay full price and that % is dropping every year at our ivies, but the schools remain worthy of every penny. It has nothing to do with dorms or food, it is about doors opened, top peers, and endless opportunities (often funded).
In addition, we wanted schools which open all the doors to the most elite jobs as well as all tip-top MD, phD, JD programs. The latter list has been studied by many and coined ivy-plus: all 8 ivies plus Stanford MIT Duke and UChicago.
The dream was one of the 12, the good-enough was one of the 23. We have two attending ivies and the third is almost certain to get into one of the 23.
It has been well worth the 88-93k per year for each so far.
These schools happen to offer the best aid, such that families below 300k HHI often get at least some discount, and below 200k hefty discounts. Fewer than 45% pay full price and that % is dropping every year at our ivies, but the schools remain worthy of every penny. It has nothing to do with dorms or food, it is about doors opened, top peers, and endless opportunities (often funded).
Anonymous
01/01/2026 12:30
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure that MIT is worth 90K per year.
as an engineer, I agree. 90% of engineering jobs top out at a salary that has no foundation in where you went to college. it's like nursing in this way
if you're going into finance or startups etc, it's different.
If you find your co-founders like the Cursor guys or the Scale AI guys (or the countless other MIT founders)…then it’s worth it. Heck, if you dropout after two years, then it’s not even $360k.
Sure…you can claim you can find this at UMD…but there is a reason schools like MIT, Stanford, Harvard et al create nominally more companies than UMD (and of course, per capita it’s widely more). They attract a ton of like minded kids trying to find their people to do this.
Not doubting you, but can you provide us evidence here? Let's see the numbers.
DP. Here’s one example:
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/pitchbook-university-rankings
This is directionally quite accurate but doesn’t capture the number of startups of kids that are 20 or 21 because this would also include a 40 year old founder and then look at their undergraduate. It also doesn’t care if you found a tech startup or a bank or an oil & gas company.
If you look at the chart of most YC founders (so very young company founders) by undergrad school, it’s Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Penn…and down at 14 and 15 you have Michigan and Ga Tech which are the
Stanford - 784
Harvard - 482
Berkeley - 453
MIT - 425
Penn - 265
8 others
Michigan - 131
Ga Tech - 122
It’s interesting that Ga Tech is so much lower since it’s so tech focused and a large school…but it speaks more to the profile of kids that attend.
This is venture capital directly related. Schools like Georgia Tech and Michigan are certainly putting their graduates at the Top Engineering and Tech firms at a great clip.
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-engineering/
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-tech/
Ga Tech is great value even for OOS.
Michigan for OOS isn’t any cheaper than the other schools…$84k for fresh/sophs and $88k for juniors/seniors
Anonymous
01/01/2026 12:25
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure that MIT is worth 90K per year.
as an engineer, I agree. 90% of engineering jobs top out at a salary that has no foundation in where you went to college. it's like nursing in this way
if you're going into finance or startups etc, it's different.
If you find your co-founders like the Cursor guys or the Scale AI guys (or the countless other MIT founders)…then it’s worth it. Heck, if you dropout after two years, then it’s not even $360k.
Sure…you can claim you can find this at UMD…but there is a reason schools like MIT, Stanford, Harvard et al create nominally more companies than UMD (and of course, per capita it’s widely more). They attract a ton of like minded kids trying to find their people to do this.
Not doubting you, but can you provide us evidence here? Let's see the numbers.
DP. Here’s one example:
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/pitchbook-university-rankings
This is directionally quite accurate but doesn’t capture the number of startups of kids that are 20 or 21 because this would also include a 40 year old founder and then look at their undergraduate. It also doesn’t care if you found a tech startup or a bank or an oil & gas company.
If you look at the chart of most YC founders (so very young company founders) by undergrad school, it’s Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Penn…and down at 14 and 15 you have Michigan and Ga Tech which are the
Stanford - 784
Harvard - 482
Berkeley - 453
MIT - 425
Penn - 265
8 others
Michigan - 131
Ga Tech - 122
It’s interesting that Ga Tech is so much lower since it’s so tech focused and a large school…but it speaks more to the profile of kids that attend.
This is venture capital directly related. Schools like Georgia Tech and Michigan are certainly putting their graduates at the Top Engineering and Tech firms at a great clip.
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-engineering/
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-tech/
Correct…the point is you need to know why you are attending certain schools. If you know you want to work for a large /stable company and just aren’t the 20 year old startup type, then places like Michigan and Ga Tech are probably better fits.
Anonymous
01/01/2026 12:24
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
We can’t all be Matt Damon though. Right?
Anonymous
01/01/2026 11:51
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:No college is worth $75K tuition (or $90K+ once you add room & board) but ...
it's an experience, like traveling to a foreign country, and if you have the money and don't need loans, it can be justified. However, it's not because it's the only way to be well educated.
As Matt Damon (famous dropout from Harvard) wrote and said in the movie 'Good Will Hunting':
"You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you coulda' got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library".
+100
That line was gold. Especially since it was written by someone who attended and dropped out of Harvard.
Anonymous
01/01/2026 11:46
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
No college is worth $75K tuition (or $90K+ once you add room & board) but ...
it's an experience, like traveling to a foreign country, and if you have the money and don't need loans, it can be justified. However, it's not because it's the only way to be well educated.
As Matt Damon (famous dropout from Harvard) wrote and said in the movie 'Good Will Hunting':
"You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you coulda' got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library".
it's an experience, like traveling to a foreign country, and if you have the money and don't need loans, it can be justified. However, it's not because it's the only way to be well educated.
As Matt Damon (famous dropout from Harvard) wrote and said in the movie 'Good Will Hunting':
"You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you coulda' got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library".
Anonymous
01/01/2026 11:39
Subject: Re:Which college is worth $90k?
None. I say that with two full pay at Ivies.
University prices are outrageous.
Our in-state options shouldn’t be $40k and privates shouldn’t be $90k. It’s ridiculous and the history behind it is the federally funded student loans that took off in the 80s, allowing schools to spike tuition costs and put the students in debt. It’s when the tuition cost exponentially shot up.
When more federal aid is available, colleges can raise their prices because students have greater borrowing capacity to cover the increased costs. The former CEO of Sallie Mae, confessed that schools raise tuition "because they can, and the government facilitates it".
A prominent Federal Reserve Bank of New York study found that for every dollar increase in subsidized federal loan limits, tuition increased by about 60 cents.
For graduate students, who historically had no federal borrowing limits, a 2023 study found that net prices increased by 64 cents for every dollar increase in per-student federal borrowing.
Amenities Arms Race: The influx of money allows institutions to invest in non-classroom amenities (e.g., better dorms, recreation centers) to attract students, increasing perceived value and justifying higher prices, which creates a feedback loop for further increases
University prices are outrageous.
Our in-state options shouldn’t be $40k and privates shouldn’t be $90k. It’s ridiculous and the history behind it is the federally funded student loans that took off in the 80s, allowing schools to spike tuition costs and put the students in debt. It’s when the tuition cost exponentially shot up.
When more federal aid is available, colleges can raise their prices because students have greater borrowing capacity to cover the increased costs. The former CEO of Sallie Mae, confessed that schools raise tuition "because they can, and the government facilitates it".
A prominent Federal Reserve Bank of New York study found that for every dollar increase in subsidized federal loan limits, tuition increased by about 60 cents.
For graduate students, who historically had no federal borrowing limits, a 2023 study found that net prices increased by 64 cents for every dollar increase in per-student federal borrowing.
Amenities Arms Race: The influx of money allows institutions to invest in non-classroom amenities (e.g., better dorms, recreation centers) to attract students, increasing perceived value and justifying higher prices, which creates a feedback loop for further increases
Anonymous
01/01/2026 11:13
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure that MIT is worth 90K per year.
as an engineer, I agree. 90% of engineering jobs top out at a salary that has no foundation in where you went to college. it's like nursing in this way
if you're going into finance or startups etc, it's different.
If you find your co-founders like the Cursor guys or the Scale AI guys (or the countless other MIT founders)…then it’s worth it. Heck, if you dropout after two years, then it’s not even $360k.
Sure…you can claim you can find this at UMD…but there is a reason schools like MIT, Stanford, Harvard et al create nominally more companies than UMD (and of course, per capita it’s widely more). They attract a ton of like minded kids trying to find their people to do this.
Not doubting you, but can you provide us evidence here? Let's see the numbers.
DP. Here’s one example:
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/pitchbook-university-rankings
This is directionally quite accurate but doesn’t capture the number of startups of kids that are 20 or 21 because this would also include a 40 year old founder and then look at their undergraduate. It also doesn’t care if you found a tech startup or a bank or an oil & gas company.
If you look at the chart of most YC founders (so very young company founders) by undergrad school, it’s Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Penn…and down at 14 and 15 you have Michigan and Ga Tech which are the
Stanford - 784
Harvard - 482
Berkeley - 453
MIT - 425
Penn - 265
8 others
Michigan - 131
Ga Tech - 122
It’s interesting that Ga Tech is so much lower since it’s so tech focused and a large school…but it speaks more to the profile of kids that attend.
This is venture capital directly related. Schools like Georgia Tech and Michigan are certainly putting their graduates at the Top Engineering and Tech firms at a great clip.
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-engineering/
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-tech/
Anonymous
01/01/2026 11:11
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure that MIT is worth 90K per year.
as an engineer, I agree. 90% of engineering jobs top out at a salary that has no foundation in where you went to college. it's like nursing in this way
if you're going into finance or startups etc, it's different.
If you find your co-founders like the Cursor guys or the Scale AI guys (or the countless other MIT founders)…then it’s worth it. Heck, if you dropout after two years, then it’s not even $360k.
Sure…you can claim you can find this at UMD…but there is a reason schools like MIT, Stanford, Harvard et al create nominally more companies than UMD (and of course, per capita it’s widely more). They attract a ton of like minded kids trying to find their people to do this.
Most startup founders are engineering or other stem majors these days. Top consulting firms target these majors too, particularly from these schools, and industries partner with professors at these schools and look for promising undergrads. The top kids in these areas are at MIT stanford harvard penn CMU UCB and a few others. Being with a large group of like minded highly driven peers has no price tag.
Anonymous
01/01/2026 11:07
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure that MIT is worth 90K per year.
as an engineer, I agree. 90% of engineering jobs top out at a salary that has no foundation in where you went to college. it's like nursing in this way
if you're going into finance or startups etc, it's different.
If you find your co-founders like the Cursor guys or the Scale AI guys (or the countless other MIT founders)…then it’s worth it. Heck, if you dropout after two years, then it’s not even $360k.
Sure…you can claim you can find this at UMD…but there is a reason schools like MIT, Stanford, Harvard et al create nominally more companies than UMD (and of course, per capita it’s widely more). They attract a ton of like minded kids trying to find their people to do this.
Not doubting you, but can you provide us evidence here? Let's see the numbers.
DP. Here’s one example:
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/pitchbook-university-rankings
This is directionally quite accurate but doesn’t capture the number of startups of kids that are 20 or 21 because this would also include a 40 year old founder and then look at their undergraduate. It also doesn’t care if you found a tech startup or a bank or an oil & gas company.
If you look at the chart of most YC founders (so very young company founders) by undergrad school, it’s Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Penn…and down at 14 and 15 you have Michigan and Ga Tech which are the
Stanford - 784
Harvard - 482
Berkeley - 453
MIT - 425
Penn - 265
8 others
Michigan - 131
Ga Tech - 122
It’s interesting that Ga Tech is so much lower since it’s so tech focused and a large school…but it speaks more to the profile of kids that attend.
+1
good list
Anonymous
01/01/2026 11:04
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have decided that state flagship is the only way to go after spending years working in higher ed (public and top 15 private).
If can get admitted into a top major at a Top 10 Public is the best deal. IMHO
Only in state. I don't buy in OOS Public.
Depends on the OOS public and the major my friend.
And merit. OOS public’s will give merit money to OOS students.
Some do but several don't. I find the Top 10 Publics are less likely to give merit to OOS admits. Because they simply don't need to as they attract thousands upon thousands of apps per year.
Top publics don’t because they don’t need to. Most are full-freight. That’s why they are admitted.
Anonymous
01/01/2026 10:35
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure that MIT is worth 90K per year.
as an engineer, I agree. 90% of engineering jobs top out at a salary that has no foundation in where you went to college. it's like nursing in this way
if you're going into finance or startups etc, it's different.
If you find your co-founders like the Cursor guys or the Scale AI guys (or the countless other MIT founders)…then it’s worth it. Heck, if you dropout after two years, then it’s not even $360k.
Sure…you can claim you can find this at UMD…but there is a reason schools like MIT, Stanford, Harvard et al create nominally more companies than UMD (and of course, per capita it’s widely more). They attract a ton of like minded kids trying to find their people to do this.
Not doubting you, but can you provide us evidence here? Let's see the numbers.
DP. Here’s one example:
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/pitchbook-university-rankings
This is directionally quite accurate but doesn’t capture the number of startups of kids that are 20 or 21 because this would also include a 40 year old founder and then look at their undergraduate. It also doesn’t care if you found a tech startup or a bank or an oil & gas company.
If you look at the chart of most YC founders (so very young company founders) by undergrad school, it’s Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Penn…and down at 14 and 15 you have Michigan and Ga Tech which are the
Stanford - 784
Harvard - 482
Berkeley - 453
MIT - 425
Penn - 265
8 others
Michigan - 131
Ga Tech - 122
It’s interesting that Ga Tech is so much lower since it’s so tech focused and a large school…but it speaks more to the profile of kids that attend.
Anonymous
01/01/2026 10:27
Subject: Which college is worth $90k?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have decided that state flagship is the only way to go after spending years working in higher ed (public and top 15 private).
If can get admitted into a top major at a Top 10 Public is the best deal. IMHO
Only in state. I don't buy in OOS Public.
Depends on the OOS public and the major my friend.
And merit. OOS public’s will give merit money to OOS students.
Some do but several don't. I find the Top 10 Publics are less likely to give merit to OOS admits. Because they simply don't need to as they attract thousands upon thousands of apps per year.