1. Top colleges, especially HYPSMC, are definitely better if money is not a problem, period;
2. Money will NOT be a problem if admitted to HYPSMC and other top colleges. These colleges have large endowments and thus excellent need-based financial aid (FA). If you are rich, you can easily afford. If you are not rich, you get good FA. Either way, top college education will not break your bank. Money comes into mind only when you are relatively rich and can not get good FA from private colleges but get full ride merit-based scholarship from public colleges. You have to decide if you want to spend extra on a better college;
3. Cost of attendance in private colleges includes tuition (about $35,000/year), room and board (about $10.000+$5000=$15,000), travel (a couple of thousands) and book (a couple of thousands). For HYP, their FA are based on total cost (cost of attendance) so it DOES include room and board. Other private colleges can not afford this kind of FA so a lot of times their FA is much lower to the extend that FA is lower than tuition, which is why people think they do not include room and board;
4. Two years of community college will not waste time. Kids spend 2 years in community college and transfer to public college. The total is still 4 years. But, you know the quality of community colleges, don’t you?
5. ABCs are in a much tougher position to compete in this country. Do you have the resources and connections in this country comparing to the whites? You don’t. This is the major reason that Chinese parents want their kids in the better position in college education part to level the playing field;
6. Yes, if kids can get into top colleges, their parents do have something to brag about. But it’s NOT, at least not the main, reason they send their kids to the top colleges.
Depending on different people, American whites do brag about their kids, if their kids are doctors, lawyers, etc. Do you have any idea how many percent of Jews in HYP? A lot of there are paying full tuition;
7. The chances are for a large part of our middle class first generation immigrants, top college education is cheaper than public schools if we do not take consideration of full ride in the public schools. For some wealthier families, top colleges may be more expensive but they can easily afford. So it’s a MUTE question if anybody can afford or not.
8. For extra cost of top colleges, we have to think in long term. Top college students have many more opportunities in job market, graduate school application, etc.
9. There is an opinion in planning on under and graduate education to save money: go to a cheap public college and apply top university for graduate studies. I never buy it. First, if you graduate from a top public college or a less elite private college, you do have chance to get into a top graduate program but the chance is NOT going to be the same as those who graduate from Ivies. If you graduate from a third class public school, you can just image your chance of getting into top graduate programs. Also, when people talk about alumni, a lot of universities are talking about undergraduate education rather than graduate education. For some colleges, graduate students are not really in the circle.
10. I know a Northwestern faculty member who said to his 3 boys: If you can not get into the top five college then just stay at Northwestern since he has benefit as a faculty member. It turns out all of his 3 boys graduate from Northwestern. I never imply that Northwestern is not a good school. I do think it’s a great school and I like it a lot. It will be foolish if they do not go to Northwestern but to other top colleges other than top 5 and pay a lot of tuition expenses.
真妮,我一向很爱看你的文章,不过你这篇博文有点偏颇有以点带面之嫌。全美大部分大学是nedd based 的助学金机制,家庭收入在一定水平之下就可以得到学校的支助,包括学校直接给的助学金、work study和联邦贷款(低息)。注意这一定水平的标准是由各个学校自已制定,这就是为什么我们经常听说有人拿着一个学校的package去与另一个学校讨价还价。那些私立学校特别是名校藤校资金雄厚每年可以得到很多大企业、名人和富人的捐款,虽然他们用于给学生的只是其中很小部分,但也比公立学校和州立大学要好的多,他们的package要更吸引人。举几个例子:女儿如果上州立大学UVA拿不到一分资助自己的付学费加生活费约三万多(四年前的标准)而Dartmouth给我女儿资助大部分,自已仅付一小半,算下来比UVA要便宜,为什么不去Dartmouth?!同样女儿的同学(欧裔美国人)上加州理工大学要比上UVA便宜;另一同学上斯坦福比上UVA便宜。我们都是工薪阶层算是中产阶级。
东北老蔫儿 说得不错。如上几个顶尖大学并不会让你破产。都是根据家长收入 适量收费的。我女儿高中毕业前我就跟她讲好,父母的财力只能供你上州立大学。如你能拿到足够奖学金,天下大学任你去,否至就去州立大学。她拿到普林斯顿大学的录取单。根据收入, 我们所要求付的反而低于州立大学的费用。现在她马上要大学毕业了,我们也没有感到 have made a big dent in the bank.
天上下着毛毛雨 发表评论于
In a faculty party a few weeks ago, the only "non-faculty" (家属除外)the manager of the program in a top ten hospital told me her story: My parents were only able to affort my elder brother to go to Harvard and had no money left for me to go to Duke, where I had been accepted. That's my life-time pain. I am sure I will have a better career if I went to Duke. I told my girls: Just work hard and excel in your academy. I will let you girls go where ever you can go. (All nine faculties in this program were graduated from the top schools in the states, both undergraduate and postgraduate shcoools.)
Another story: a friend graduated from a MBA program in Stanford U., took a job in a firm as a manager, with 20, 000-30,000 higher starting salary than those from less top schools. "Why? No fair."My friend said his colleague were upset, "But what else they can do? I am in the club, but they are not."
Of course, I am talking about those kids with academic ambitions.
If it is talking about "gaining face" for either the parents or their kids, I would say: forget about it. Use those money for something else, e.g. enjoy a better quality of life, NOW.
简而言之,中国的教育是英才教育. 受教育是为了出人头第. 日本的教育是全民教育. 美国的教育是选择性教育. 第一代移民的选择只不过反映了他们的教育背景.
It is not that Americans do not want to go to very good schools. They generally would like to choose the best school they can afford to go. There are some Americans around me they all studied in some college I never heard of. 1. These colleges offered them athletic scholarships. 2. Ivy League Schools have no Athletic scholarships. Their sports are crappy. 3. They tend to choose colleges with a decent major they want to study not only the name of the school. However, they all studied in very decent graduated schools with top leveled education related to their major.
lxc20 发表评论于
回复胜因院的评论:
EE major. It was a hard decision I guess; decided to take Ivy in the morning and changed it in the afternoon. He is now a junior. Looking back, not a bad decison - doing well from a learning standpoint and very happy and confident, planning to go to a top graduate school.
I think 真妮 may not know the whole story. Most 长春藤名校 have very good $ to support students. I know few kids went 哈大, 普大, 家里 only pay 10% of 学费. 家庭年入 over 200K, only 15K (t+r+b) a year, not a big deal.
I think most people in the 文学城 are 1st generation. If we ask our self, how many friends do you have, who are they? 80 - 90% are Chinese, right? To send your kids to 藤校, you help him/her to create a network of people which is his/her classmates. This kind network
老外朋友 already have it. I know a boy has been accept by a 藤校, and 州大给了他四年全奖, and CMU. For all 老外朋友 who has the kid at 10th - 12th grad, tell him go to 藤校. There is one 老外朋友 tell him go to CMU because CMU program is best for him.
Give some advice to kids is also important. If you let your kids decide their future at age of 18, they got to be prepared very well. Kid of our friend got 4-year full president scholarship from a top liberal college 8 years ago and she decided to go to Duke against parents' suggestion and sby pending parent's tens of thousand dollars. Kid told parents that it is for kid's own future. Total opposite case you present here.
东北老蔫儿 发表评论于
耶鲁是“need blinded admission, need based financial aid”。根据家长收入和负债情况决定是否给财务补贴。其原则是不能因为孩子上耶鲁导致家长生活水平的下降。当然这是指的基本生活水平。因此,只要孩子能被录取,家里经济不会更宽松,但也不会更紧张。藤校多数如此。如果我没记错的话,家庭收入8万刀以下,上耶鲁哈佛几乎是免费。然后财务补贴根据家庭收入上涨递减。好像到14-5万以上就要自己全出了。
Go to top ten colleges is all about establishing a good network for kid's future. Asian kids are definitely at some disadvantage naturally to compete the tough job markets. But graduating from top ten will give kids a better change to find a good job and have better life. Also graduating from elite colleges will give kids a better chance to get in professional graduate schools such as medical, law, business, etc. All hope is to get some good return in the near or medium future for 4-year college investment. It is so obvious if you just see short term investment return. As chinese parents like our parent and grandparent generations, we never expect investment return from our kids.
我先ding,再讨论。这的确是个难题,当我6-7年后要面对时,我想我会用一个准则,那就是凡事都要有个balance. 也许是自私点,但是我不愿倾家荡产就为孩子可以上个长春藤名校。像文章里的那么好的州立学校还全额奖学金,我会让女儿慎重考虑,但尊重支持她的选择。如果真的要去长春藤名校,她也必须帮助她自己,包括贷款打工。You have to live with your decision, right?