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Inspired by the Time article "Who Needs Harvard?"

2006-08-16 09:07:27 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference Higher Education (University +)

9 answers

Yes... depending on where you are going and what you are going for. My school, Ursinus, is about $40k a year, however it is worth it if you are going for biology, chemistry, politics, or international relations because you can do research starting your freshman/sophomore year in the sciences and have small Socratic based classes in politics and IR. These cause you to learn how to think in ways that you don't learn from public colleges and we end up succeeded in graduate school because of it. I think state schools are wonderful institutions, but smaller classes with professors that live to challenge you makes a big difference. I tend to do much more work and really learn the material in my classes well, while my friends at state schools learn a lot and can ace a test on the material, but they have no idea how to apply it to real life. A lot of state schools have multiple choice tests to make grading faster (which you need with hundreds of kids in a class), but my essay based exams cause me to study to learn, not study to memorize.

Going into mountains of debt isn't fun, but my undergrad was worth every penny.

2006-08-16 09:34:20 · answer #1 · answered by emp04 5 · 0 0

You can get a good education at any school, as long as you put in the time and energy. Having said that, I DO think that the private "pricey" colleges are more than worth it. I went to exactly the kind of school you are thinking of and had many friends who went to state universities. When I talked to them about classwork they had and classes they took, I truly felt that I was getting the better education (although I'm sure they were happy with where they went as well).

The other thing to keep in mind is that "pricey" is not always the case. I went to a school that started at $35,000 my first year and went up to almost $41,000 by the time I graduated. Still, I came out with only one student loan of about $10,000. (I'm about four years out and now only owe about $6,500). I came from a medium income family and was lucky enough to have my parents help me pay for school. I got a lot of grants from the school (money you are not expected to pay back) and earned some scholarships through the school and through independent scholarships I applied for. I worked about 10-12 hours a week for work-study and held jobs during the summer. Through those jobs I paid for all of my own books, bills, and expenses during my four years. Many people think they cannot possibly afford the private, pricey schools because they just look at the price tag. Often, those schools give out more money per student than state schools do. In my opinion, it was worth every single penny. Best of luck with your college search.

2006-08-16 18:49:58 · answer #2 · answered by mead 2 · 0 0

In my opinion it all depends on what you want as a career. If the career you want is one that typically does not have a large income then find a smaller less expensive university that is well known for that profession. Going to a large private school to be an undecided major is just a waste of your money and how are you gonna pay for the bills when you get out??? If your career path looks more like you could be making sufficient money(enough to pay off student loans) then why not go to a larger private school? Yes its a lot of money, but your chances of networking with rich alums who can pull a few strings for you are higher at an expensive private university...

Honestly- find a school you like and if your projected salary supports the student loan payments then its worth going to a school you love!

2006-08-16 09:30:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Nope. You can get just as good an education from a good public school as you can from private. Believe me, I went to a Private University and shelled out a lot of money, transferred to a Public school which is all paid for and still got a great job. But guess what, I'm still paying off my student loans from the private schools. Go figure. In the long run, it's just not worth it...

2006-08-16 09:14:33 · answer #4 · answered by jj_bao 3 · 0 0

It all depends on what you're looking for I guess. I went to Fordham University for my undergrad, and currently have about 38k in loan debt with isn't that bad considering that's about the price of one year. My department was great and has opened some doors for me. Additionally, the facilities available were pretty good...I think we had one of the largest college libraries in the city.
The expense of the school meant that all the buildings could look similar even though they were built at different times. Plus, almost all of the upperclassmen dorms had private bathrooms.
For grad school, I'm going to John Jay College because it has a great reputation in my field at an affordable price.

2006-08-16 11:14:43 · answer #5 · answered by ronnieneilan1983 3 · 0 0

I think going to a top school is worth it -- not just because you get a better education there, but because they open more doors for you and you are surrounded by smart students.

That being said -- Berkeley, Michigan, Virginia and UNC are all great universities -- and are not private.

There are some universities -- like Minnesota or Ohio State -- that have great graduate programs & where you can get a great undergraduate education. But because those schools are less selective than schools like Berkeley or Virginia, you don't get all the benefits that you would get from them.

2006-08-16 09:19:59 · answer #6 · answered by Ranto 7 · 0 0

It's better for networking and getting a job at places that care where you went to school (i.e. snooty places). If that's not what you're looking for, save your money and go to a public university. In the long run, it doesn't matter where you went, as long as you can do the job.

2006-08-16 09:46:03 · answer #7 · answered by spunk113 7 · 0 0

yes, and most of the people who go to Harvard get scholarship so it comes down to around the same price as the public schools

2006-08-16 09:14:15 · answer #8 · answered by infiniti1113 3 · 0 0

Not in my opinion. They are all about clout.

2006-08-16 09:14:54 · answer #9 · answered by egger46 3 · 0 0

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