OT: 22 of 30 most expensive colleges are in the Northeast; 5 in Calif.

[Class of 67]

Tuition, room and board exceeds $61k for all 30. Furthermore, the U. of Chicago, which is the second most expensive, has just an 8.4% acceptance rate!

Colleges

 

[justnitts]

Some of these expensive schools are "worth it".
I went to the most expensive one on the list, Harvey Mudd College. I grew up between coal mines in Cambria County, near Johnstown.
My father was on disability when I was 15. My mother finished 10th grade.
Harvey Mudd gave me scholarships for essentially a free education.
They probably still do the same if your grades/SATs qualify but you can't afford it. But if your parents can, you have to pay premium.
Despite the costs to go there, most years Harvey Mudd gets ranked as the best return on investment of any college in the US.

 

[dawgduice]

The "BIGGEST" problem with many higher ed programs and degrees is the disconnect between the "degree" and the REAL world !! No one holds the "schools" accountable and the "system" provides loans for just about anything. Especially if you are looking for a degree in Blacksmithing

Why no one has sued a school for this "disconnect" is beyond me. I guess the answer is "the student chose the program" ????

 

[CoastFan]

My son was on the "final, final" wait list for Harvey Mudd several years ago (high school class of 2007). They said his academics were fine but he was wait-listed because he didn't have an extra curricular activity which showed (their words), " ...a high level of passion." We translated that to mean that while he had extracurricular actvities, there wasn't one in which be excelled. Also, there was another kid from his high school who was accepted. With the overall size of the Mudd freshmen classes being very small, they like to spread the acceptances around.

I wish I could locate a chart I saw severals ago, which showed average starting salaries for Mudd graduates along side those of Cal Tech and MIT, to name two of the schools compared. Mudd was # 1 with a starting salary around $82,000 at the time.

That's one of the big reasons why it ranks very high on the, "Is it worth it?" scale.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

Why is that surprising, those are also generally the most expensive areas to live, have the higher incomes than most other places, and the highest prices for other things too.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

Originally posted by dawgduice:
The "BIGGEST" problem with many higher ed programs and degrees is the disconnect between the "degree" and the REAL world !! No one holds the "schools" accountable and the "system" provides loans for just about anything. Especially if you are looking for a degree in Blacksmithing

Why no one has sued a school for this "disconnect" is beyond me. I guess the answer is "the student chose the program" ????

What would be the basis for a lawsuit? Someone didn't have a successful career, and blames a school they graduated from years ago. It makes no sense. It would get laughed out of court.

 

[BoilerBulldog]

What industries do Harvey Mudd graduates perform so highly in to justify the cost of tuition? I've worked for 20 years in engineering in very large companies and have never met one.

 

[dawgduice]

I guess one could argue that the school did not fulfill the contract to prepare someone for a future. Sure it would be laughed out of court. Oh well, we do need more Vikings The "system" really does NOT work.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

Originally posted by dawgduice:
I guess one could argue that the school did not fulfill the contract to prepare someone for a future. Sure it would be laughed out of court. Oh well, we do need more Vikings The "system" really does NOT work.

The "system" has no guaranteed path to anything. A college degree is one step in a long process. From the moment of graduation, it is up to you to the individual to build on it, and nobody owes them anything. I've worked with people who went to Ivy League schools and aren't impressive at all, and people who went to a SUNY campus I never heard of that are amazing. Going to a prestigious school might increase your chances of success, or alums of those schools might be more likely to be ambitious, but it is really 99% what the person makes of their own situation.





This post was edited on 3/28 1:43 PM by fairfaxlion2