Berkeley vs Minnesota

[KLD3]

I've narrowed my choices down to Berkeley and Minnesota. I would appreciate opinions!

 

Minnesota awarded me a scholarship covering 100% of my tuition for both years and health benefits. Berkeley will waive most of my tuition if I can get an assistantship, but I would still end up paying around $30k with other fees. The cost of living is much lower in Minnesota, and I'd actually have a higher salary while still in the program, since I'm not obligated to work on campus. That allows me to work part-time in my previous field and save a pretty good amount of money. 

 

After I graduate, I plan to work for a non-profit. I'd rather not get into the specifics of my focus, but I don't expect to earn very much more than 50 - 60k. Because of this, do you think it would still be worth it to go to Berkeley and owe the extra 30k? It's possible having Berkeley on my resume would help me get more appealing or slightly higher-paying jobs, but it's difficult to predict.

 

Money aside, I'm much more excited about Berkeley. It would be a more inspirational learning environment for me, and I'm excited about the faculty and the city itself (especially the warmth!). I just don't know if it's so much better that it's worth thirty thousand dollars. 

 

Clearly I'm running out of time, so I would love your input!

Edited April 15, 2013 by KLD3

[Kitten]

Having the pressure of paying back debt can be a real emotional burden. Debt may also limit your ability to pick up and move to the location with your dream job at the drop of a hat.

However, there are great non-profits in the Bay Area and Berkeley is such a nice place to live. It comes at a high cost though. Have you calculated living expenses realistically?

I faced a similar situation while considering several schools and I chose the debt-free route. I want to graduate feeling like the world is open to me and I am unburdened to make my next move. This will also speed up the process of finding a place to settle down and buying a house.

[MPPgal]

I would take Berkeley, I think 30k is not that bad as far as debt go, I chose the free option because they gave me all this perks and the other option meant 100k, but 30k and especially working close to a professor is very beneficial and can give you a heads up to get a great job, plus that much money realistically can be paid in 2-3 years by just geting an avergae 60k a yr job and not spending too much!

[Hopefulodi]

Hello. I just want to point something out. How easy is it to get an assistantship at Berkeley? Do you have any promise you would? Have you started looking for one? Are you an alternate for one? Because (knocking on wood) if you end up not getting an assistabtship, you will end up drooling in debt. It is something you might want to consider. Best of luck, Berkeley sounds exciting and you seem excited about it but you need to play out every scenario. I know that in some universities, if the assistantship is not with the Graduate schoool you are attending, the tuition reduction is not huge. I don't know much about Minnesota (I am not from here) but I guess they have something that made you apply there in the first place. Best of luck.