College Debt

I'm curious as to what you don't like about UH. Do you really think that UCLA will be any better?

 

Fiscal considerations notwithstanding, my fellow Cougar alums need to give it a rest. U of H, at best, is the fifth most prestigious school in a southern state. Going to UCLA will put OP in a better position to work and live in a global city and get more diverse and interesting opportunities, like it or not. As I said before, if you care more about your education and long-term career opportunities than you do about being able to upgrade your car and house every five years (as if student loans are the only excess debt there is), then spend the extra $48k.

 

I don't know what kind of money Philosophy majors make, but I imagine a $50k tuition debt + cost of living in Cali is hard for most people to get out of.

 

I read double major in Philosophy and Finance. Halfway decent writing or communication skills, with exposure to accounting/budgeting, I would think the media/film capital of the world would be a good enough place for him to get some decent opportunities: even if they're not lucretive, at least more fulfilling or enjoyable than most of the opportunities in Houston. Over the course of an adult life, people rack up a hell of a lot more than $48k in excess, long-term debt (10 -15 years) just on impractical home, home improvement, car and vacation expenses alone.

 

Go West, young man. You have an opportunity to attend one of the finest public institutions in the nation, and from the sound of things, you're not digging the UofH experience. UCLA (more prestigious, better job placement, deeper alumni base, located in a vibrant area with more fulfilling opportunities) will open more doors for you down the road, and catapult you in to a more prestigious graduate program, should you choose to take that route.

Just out of curiosity, did you apply to UT Austin? FAR cheaper tuition, very similar to UCLA in terms of academics and urban environment.

 

why UCLA? that's they key issue.


What area of philosophy?

DO you intend on getting a phd or just a masters?

WHat do you intend on pursuing in your career?

There is no real need to put yourself in significant undergrad debt if you intend on going to more education.

 

You could also say that UCLA is the fifth most prestigious school in California.

 

Hell, you could probably say it's the tenth. But, guess what, California has markedly better schools than Texas. Stanford, Berkeley, CalTech, Pepperdine, Occidental, USC. Those are all just private, California still has the best public university system in the country. As for Cullen Teacher's College, five years of construction projects don't make up for 25-30 years of state neglect and average admissions standards - and that's not national average, that's average for a part of the country that basically banned a third of its citizens from any kind of real education for a damn century.

 

if you go to ucla and determine its too much, you can always be a key grip in the p*rn industry.

 

2 years of enjoying college more is not worth the 5-20+ years it might take you to pay off the debt.

 

The only schools I would put before UCLA are Caltech, Stanford, Berkley at least in terms on name recognition.

 

Stay at UH bro.

 

IMO, the best thing he can do, given that he got into UCLA, is see if he can transfer to UT Austin, just my opinion

Now I'm not arguing that UCLA is not a better school, and I've already said if he can do the dual degree in UCLA it might be worth it as it does get his foot in the door (and usually inside a better company) due to the name recognition which will help him down the line in terms of grad school and professionally.

But to dismiss $150K for an undergrad degree as trivial is also dangerous. If he's bright, want to specialize in business, tell me just how many B schools with his UH degree he can't get into if he gets a 740+ GMAT that he would get into with an UCLA degree?

Do you think the schools we're talking about (the top 5) would weigh a UCLA degree that much more than an UH where his work experience/GMAT score wont make up? On the other hand, if he has a crushing debt 5 years after graduation from undergrad, he might have to delay his B-School plans which would actually have a bigger impact on his professional development down the line.

 

Is UCLA $100,000 better "debt-wise" than UH?

 

The wikipasta below isn't really a rebuttal of this but just more about the others on my mini-list and Cali colleges in general.

 

I read $48,000 extra, but even if it's $100,000, over 10-15 years I would think it is. Considering the job and career opportunities in an area like LA and indirectly in SF, particulary for a Liberal Arts AND Business/Finance major, that could be offset by potential earnings or just job satisfaction. Career opportunities out of U of H are great for Energy and Accounting, probably decent for the health sector and communication, and okay for everything else, but the internship recruiting is pure garbage.

 

My mistake on the $48,000. But even at $100,000, assuming he's doubling up on the Philosophy AND Finance degrees I still put UCLA/Los Angeles/California over U of H. He gets into the right business or law school in the LA job market he could be looking at $100k - $200k per annum salary by 30, he gets into a media job I don't even know what the money is there.

 

UH. Free ride should be a no brainer. go network so you arent so miserable. Go live at midtown or something.

 

You may very well be right, however the only fact we know (as opposed to conjecture and speculation) is that he will have to pay around $100,000 tuition to UCLA and zero to UH. In two years he is definitely $100,000 ahead by staying at UH.