5 ms·

But..you can get a six figure salary with an in-state public school too.

will4274 7y ago
Sometimes. The fancy consulting firms place a huge premium on those elite private schools and pay huge salaries. University prestige matters for jobs and salary, even if it doesn't matter for how much you learn.
- mennis16 7y ago
  Yeah but the truly elite private schools are pretty good at aid, I think it's the "borderline" elites where one would end up with substantially more debt than staying in state (on average anyway). I don't have any data but I would guess the fancy consulting firm recruitment potential drops off at a similar rate as the aid amounts do.
helen___keller 7y ago
Agreed but the host of smaller concerns that dominate high school college choice advice (eg pick a place you feel you fit in, yadda yadda) make a lot more sense if your debt is a tiny fraction of your future income. FWIW I went to CMU (non-CS) for some squishy reason, like it "felt right". I realized I needed a better degree for taking on 30k debt partway through freshman year and transferred to CS. The education was rock solid. If anything it was too good - I spent so much time learning and working that I did very little else. Debt has not really been a concern post graduation, compared to cost of buying a house where I want to live it's barely worth mentioning.
- akhilcacharya 7y ago
  > I spent so much time learning and working that I did very little else Funny, I did the same thing (+ applying for internships/jobs/research) and had zero debt and 4 internships under my belt. And yet...I only got into 2 state schools (my safeties) and went to the easier one. I guess I'm not as good because I couldn't get into a CMU-tier school?
  - helen___keller 7y ago
    > I guess I'm not as good because I couldn't get into a CMU-tier school? That's not my suggestion, any I'm sorry if you took my post that way.
    - akhilcacharya 7y ago
      I'm not sure what your suggestion is then? I don't see why people would choose to go to the effort if they didn't see that way.

Sometimes. The fancy consulting firms place a huge premium on those elite private schools and pay huge salaries. University prestige matters for jobs and salary, even if it doesn't matter for how much you learn.

mennis16 7y ago
Yeah but the truly elite private schools are pretty good at aid, I think it's the "borderline" elites where one would end up with substantially more debt than staying in state (on average anyway). I don't have any data but I would guess the fancy consulting firm recruitment potential drops off at a similar rate as the aid amounts do.

helen___keller 7y ago

Agreed but the host of smaller concerns that dominate high school college choice advice (eg pick a place you feel you fit in, yadda yadda) make a lot more sense if your debt is a tiny fraction of your future income. FWIW I went to CMU (non-CS) for some squishy reason, like it "felt right". I realized I needed a better degree for taking on 30k debt partway through freshman year and transferred to CS. The education was rock solid. If anything it was too good - I spent so much time learning and working that I did very little else. Debt has not really been a concern post graduation, compared to cost of buying a house where I want to live it's barely worth mentioning.

akhilcacharya 7y ago
> I spent so much time learning and working that I did very little else Funny, I did the same thing (+ applying for internships/jobs/research) and had zero debt and 4 internships under my belt. And yet...I only got into 2 state schools (my safeties) and went to the easier one. I guess I'm not as good because I couldn't get into a CMU-tier school?
- helen___keller 7y ago
  > I guess I'm not as good because I couldn't get into a CMU-tier school? That's not my suggestion, any I'm sorry if you took my post that way.
  - akhilcacharya 7y ago
    I'm not sure what your suggestion is then? I don't see why people would choose to go to the effort if they didn't see that way.