Did I make a mistake? (College Decision Woes)

[mulletJeb]

I've been on a waitlist at Oberlin College since early April. I visited after finding out my status, and enjoyed the school. The people were friendly, and intelligent. The school itself was well kept, had good resources, and a kickass art museum in town. The education is a fine one, and if I am to go there then I would have a shot at a fine 3-2 Engineering program where I would study at Oberlin for 3 years and transfer to a cooperating school for the final 2 years (one of the coop schools is Columbia University to which I'd love a shot at attending) .

Unfortunately, it's located in Ohio (I'm from NJ) and it's expensive (almost 30 grand in tuition alone). I'm currently enrolled for Rutgers Engineering which is local and costs 1/4 of what Oberlin would.

So, I got impatient, forced myself to make a decision and I told the admissions counselor that I was no longer considering Oberlin. My reasons for this were the above, and an acceptance of my situation at Rutgers which really isn't all that bad (it's not too expensive, the resources are vast if I work them right and I can get a decent education there).

So, tonight I got to thinking about the two days I spent at Oberlin, and how nice of a time it was. I also realize that I'll probably have good times at Rutgers too, but I haven't experienced that yet and so I'm beginning to wonder if I made the wrong decision. Is 4 years of education worth such an extravagant sum? I'm probably making the smart long-term decision here, but there's other stuff to consider: the liberal arts education I would receive at Oberlin, an extra year in school...

Does anyone have some experience to share? Am I right in weighing the factors of distance and finance against all the benefits?

[meepa]

It doesn't really matter where you get your degree as long as you make sure you are getting a good education. If you are a good student, you will learn just about as much anywhere because you will take it on yourself to fill in the gaps for any bad teachers you have. Once you graduate, as long as you have the skills, you will get a job and all is fine.

OR...

This other school has a better name and it will attract elitist jobs that are only grooming for the cream of the crop by diploma rather than achievements. You think spending all that money for tuition was bad, wait until you realize you're missing out on a 6 digit income because you didn't make the early hard investment that would pay off later. Also, you didn't get to meet who you think is the hottest girl in the world. She would have gotten a huge crush on you in philosophy class, you fall in love, get married, and your son is the first man on Mars and your daughter is the first woman president.

These are the two opinions you will get. If you ask me, the real answer is the first one. Don't sweat it and study hard

[Averett]

It sounds like you really liked Oberlin.

You should go to the school that fits you. If you liked it there, and you feel you'll get a good education, go there. The money will come. Sure, you'll be in student loan hell for the next 20 years, but that will happen anyway.

[onetime2]

Originally posted by mulletJeb

Does anyone have some experience to share? Am I right in weighing the factors of distance and finance against all the benefits?

I've got a little experience to share. I spent almost two years in the Rutgers Engineering program before realizing it wasn't the right path for me. Luckily Rutgers offers a wide range of options and I went the Economics route.

Anyway, Rutgers is an outstanding engineering school. I had a similar decision to make when I was choosing a college. I was accepted to both Stevens Institute and NJIT along with Rutger's school of engineering. I was also wait listed at Georgia Tech. I like the GT prospect but did not want to put off my decision until they figured out if I'd be welcome to join the next class. I didn't like NJIT that much so that was right out. Stevens offered me a good chunk of money to go there (enough so that it was exactly on par with Rutgers costs). I opted to go the Rutgers route even though I liked Stevens better because there is such a wide variety of people and subjects to take. Rutgers' name is well known (in both engineering and other areas) and it's among the best value in the country today in terms of quality of education versus costs.

If you have any specific questions about RU feel free to PM me. I honestly don't think you'll regret your decision but if you do, you always have the option of transferring after a semester or two at whichever college you finally choose.

[maleficent]

You can always transfer schools after a semester or two if you don't like Rutgers.

[absorbentishe]

I take offense to the "it's in Ohio" thing. What's wrong with Ohio? Other than it's a distance from home.

Here's my take, do what you feel suits you best. If Rutgers is more like what you want stay, but if you want to get away from home, spent 4x more for the same education, then run to Oberllin.

College is what you make of it no matter where you go.

[la petite moi]

Well, I'm doing the cheap thing. I am going to a junior college to get my general education out of the way (since gen. ed. is gen. ed. anywhere) and graduate with an AA in business. After that I'll move on to a big university. You might want to think about doing that.

[wonderwench]

Originally posted by mulletJeb

Does anyone have some experience to share? Am I right in weighing the factors of distance and finance against all the benefits? [/B]

I think weighing those factors is incredibly sensible. I'm not sure how you are paying for your education - but graduating with a hundred thousand dollars of student loan debt is quite a burden for a young person.

I worked at full and jobs pay for both of my degrees, from public universities. Having a strong aversion to debt, I decided I would rather pay as I go. It took me an extra year to complete my undergrad; I did my grad program at night school over the course of four years. I have never regretted this approach.

[dy156]

Go the cheap route for undergrad, and focus on making good grades.

That's my advice. Rutgers is big enough that you can find a place to fit in and be happy, but save the big money and trying to get to a stretch school for graduate school, if that's what you intend to do. I got into great eastern schools, and was crushed when my parents basically told me that they couldn't afford to help out at all financially, and so I'd have to go in state. (Well, not a state school, it wound up being an in-state private school w/ a great scholarship) In retrospect I'm so glad I did that, because I have less than half the debt I would have had if I had gone to a $30K/yr undergrad school.

p.s.
Interestingly, I saw a survey a few years ago about perception of degree values, and in Texas, Rutgers was way above where it "should" be, because everyone here thought it was a private school and not a state school.

[Dawson70]

Binghamton University (State University of New York) is a great school. The Thomas J Watson School of Applied Sciences is where I received by BSME. It's a great school, reasonable in price yet small enough to cater to your needs. Also, fairly close to NJ.

[hilbert25]

Get good enought grades in hard enough courses your first few semesters, and you could probably transfer to anywhere you want. In terms of admission, I went to one of the highest rated schools in the country, but yet they'd take people from anywhere as transfers as long as they had close to 4.0.

Now with that said, Rutgers is a cool school, and as long as you can take classes that you like and meet people that you can stand, that's all you need in college.

Sidenote: 30K in tuition? Is that for real?? Guess I'll stop complaining about my 5K a year....

/Sidenote

[Paq]

yeah, $30K seems average per semester for a private school. between 25 and $38K, i think bennington in vermont is currently the most expensive school right now.

At any rate, just remember a few things.

1. you gotta love where you're going to school, or at least like it enough not to think you'd be better somewhere else. If you think yo'ure better off somewhere else, go, otherwise, you'll be second guessing yourself for years to come....
2. if you're going into engineering, then your choice of undergrad is not nearly as important as your choice of graduate school. this applies for almost any going into higher degrees, MA/Ph.D, MRS (for the ladies), etc. just remember to actually Do something where-ever you are. a lot of graduate schools look that you have good undergrad grades and have accomplished something. If you're at a less exclusive school, then you will probably 'look' better on paper with your 4.0 and published works that are a bit easier than your 3.5 and working your ass off bc you're in debt from harvard.

3. there was a recent survey done that tracked people who went to ivy league schools vs people who met the requirements for ivy league schools, but chose state schools. They found that the people performed almost exactly the same in salaries of jobs and social status after graduation, basically showing htat the drive and ambition and sheer brainpower helps more than most people give credit. One thing they did note, however, was that slackers gained MUCH more from having the ivy league name on the degree. Namely, they were able to use the contacts and the name of the school to get a job that they wouldnt' have had if they went to, say..college of charleston or somesuch.

anyway, i liked graduating without being in debt. It allowed me some time to do whatever without feeling like i have to pay back the world. On the other hand, sometimes that pressure helps you obtain employment more quickly.

whatever you do, try to enjoy it as much as you can. Seriously, though, if you feel like you want to be elsewhere, then transfer if possible, just remember that not all classes will transfer and you'll probably add at least another semester on everytime you change schools. Sad, but true.


One last bit of advice: While Gen eds are just Gen eds, i found that I enjoyed them much more in a university than a community/tech school. I also found that i really learned more and actually persued more things than i would have if i didn't have those classes in a university. Anthropology taught by someone who majored in english vs someone doctored in anthropology are two totally different things and it does come across in class.

wow, that was longwinded. Basically, do what you wish right now that is most comfortable. Also, columbia is a great school, just remember that it's near harlem, so the surrounding few blocks are kinda drty, but safe go 20 blocks (about a mile) south and everything is happy and different, go another 20 blocks south and you're in a different world every 20 blocks after that...
anyway, enjoy

[Glava]

To be in big debt is never good. I would do the financially prudent thing in this case and remain at Rutgers, and save shitloads of money, while being closer to home.

[repeater]

30K is definitely right on for a small liberal arts school. I go to another school in Ohio really close by to Oberlin. I also looked into going there though. I agree that you get more out of what you put into the school. If you try to enjoy and challenge yourself at your school then you'll do that, it doesn't seem that either place would really be a clear cut "right choice".

Also my experience with kids from Oberlin has been pretty disappointing. From my experiences they tend to be a bit stuck up and just annoying. It's also an incredibly liberal school, so that could be either a plus or a minus based on your own beliefs.

I would just say don't sweat it. Find people you like at whatever school you go to and you'll have a great time.

[tooth]

Would you have gotten 4x the education and/or 4x the job offers and/or 4x the salary for 4x the tution cost?