Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Ivies cheaper than some state schools

Thanks Bostonian and ABCQMom. Lottery as in funded by the lottery. We were sold the concept of the state lottery on the same premise, that the funds raised would be used for education. Our legislators treated this promise more as a mere suggestion than a binding rule when the money started coming in though.

I just wanted to point out that Ivies and State Schools are not the only options. More than 25 years ago when I was graduating from high school, it ended up costing me less to attend freshman year at a small, private liberal arts college known for its per capita Rhodes Scholar numbers than it would have to attend the state university that offered me financial aid. I'm not just talking about out-of-pocket expenses, I'm also talking about student loans vs. scholarships and grants.

One of my classmates was 15 as a freshman, took the full four years for college, joined a fraternity, dated a handful of women, married one of them, and got a PhD from an Ivy about the same time his age cohort was graduating from college. Now he's a professor at another liberal arts college, the one that would have been his first choice as a student, but ours offered a better scholarship.

I know that many gifted students are underachievers, can be kind of intense in their personal lives, and may not know what they want to do. Liberal arts colleges can be the perfect environment for these students, too! Another of my classmates thought she would major in art, couldn't afford the paints, studied biology until she encountered organic chemistry, then became a star in political science and a high ranking government official who traveled on a diplomatic passport.

You gotta consider liberal arts colleges!

Well, to be fair, public schools are extremely expensive in CA. I'd have to double-check, but I believe my (good) state university's tuition and room/board is still under 15K/year for in-state students. They also offer handsome scholarships for students with min SAT and HS rankings.

A private university (Ivy, etc.) costs $50,000 a year (roughly). UC-Berkeley or UC-San Diego cost with housing $35,000 a year (my friends who have kids there are paying that), but you many graduate in 5-6 years because not every class is offered every year due to budget cuts, etc.
So 4 years x $50,000 = $200,000.
5 years x $35,000 = $175,000.
6 years at $35,000 = $210,000.

As a poor high school student applying to colleges, I was only accepted to the best college I applied to (the one everyone at the time told me would never accept me). It never made sense to me until I realized that top tier schools with large endowments are able to make their acceptance decisions blind to the applicant's ability to pay, while other schools aren't. I received a $20,000 dollar a year grant from the school to make attendance possible, and paid for most of the rest with loans.

I definitely doubted myself, and only applied to that school because a "stretch" school was recommended by the guidance counselor. It's hard for a poor child from a broken home who never received any accommodations from his public school to find the confidence to believe they belong at an expensive top tier private university. I guess the diploma on my wall says I did.

It's certainly important for applicants to look past the price tag and consider what each school will actually ask them to pay based on their financial situation.

And if each extra year in college means one less year of mid-career earnings, maybe one should add $200K to the cost of attending a school where one graduates in 6 rather than 4 years. Having more earning years is also an argument for acceleration.

ALOT of kids at the University of California schools cannot graduate in 4 years due to budget cuts. We had a babysitter at Berkeley who was really bright and driven, pre-med, etc. She waited 2 years to get into Organic Chemistry because it was full! It's not that she forgot to sign up or was lazy, it was full. She would audit the class and the lab for 2 weeks, sitting in the aisle of the auditorium where lectures were given, and she wouldn't get in.

Beckee- thanks for pointing out what I was going to say exactly!

As a California high school student, I looked out of state because it was cheaper. I ended up at a very expensive, private liberal arts college because it was CHEAPER than public university in CA. I was able to graduate in 3 1/2 years, they accepted my AP class credits, allowed for credit transfer from the local junior college and were generous with financial aid. While my friends in UC and CSU schools were still trying to cobble enough units together to graduate, I was working.

I had several friends who also applied to pubic universities in other states, moved there and took up 'residence' early on so they would be eligible for in-state tuition. Two went to Alaska where the tuition and living expenses were dirt cheap in comparison.

You also need to consider that most students don't pay the "sticker price" with Ivies (and many schools). Financial aid (need-based) is significant.

An interesting point though is the achievement gap. I went to Cornell, which was the perfect choice for me, and although I was GT and worked my tail off, I graduated with a 3.2 in Economics. Had I attended a lesser school, I would have likely gone pre-med and wound up probably attending an Ivy medical school. I half-joked about this with my sons' pediatrician, who went to Yale and Harvard Med, and he concurred - that I probably could have done quite well at Yale or Harvard for med school even though I couldn't come close to cutting it in pre-med at Cornell.

If you're considering post-grad work, it may pay to go to a top research school that isn't as competitive as the Ivies.

We're in Florida which currently offers "bright futures" scholarships for resident students who attend State Universities. Our (mildly GT)daughter earned a "full ride" through this program, but opted to accept a full ride athletic scholarship to an out of state University (Maryland), instead. In addition to her athletic scholarship, she was a "presidential scholar" at the University and was actually able to bank $1000 per semester all four years at school. She had considered the Ivy's (Brown, Dartmouth and Princeton came calling), but because they don't offer athletic scholarships, their financial aid packages only covered about half of the $50,000 yearly undergrad fees. That didn't make sense to her, hence her decision. Anyway, she's in grad school now...at the University of Oxford. Her entire Masters degree, from OXFORD, will cost $42,000...that number includes a lovely on campus flat with weekly housekeeping, dining hall, tuition and books. A much better deal than American Ivy's...and even most American small liberal arts schools (the one in our town costs $50,000+ per year and no one outside of our area has ever even heard of the school!) And, Oxford is a terrific place for her family to visit (just home from a lovely trip...our son (highly GT nine year old) is inspired. Heck, undergrad is less than $20,000 yearly...we have a few years...but maybe we'll look into it when the time comes. Take home message...reasearch ALL options...start early...and find the best fit for your student and your family.