If you had $100K to spend, would you go to a UC school or Excelsior?

Seems like a no-brainer, but it's not. If you had a $100K college fund would you spend the entire sum on a bachelor's degree at the University of California? (UCLA, UCI, UCSB, Etc.) Or, would you go somewhere economical, like Excelsior, and save the rest of your money for an advanced degree or maybe a down-payment on a house?

 

Put it on the Undergrad! I bought a home, me and my wife saved so so much money to put down. I wish we never bought it, keep renting it's cheaper.

 

If the money was already put aside for school, I would spend it on the best school I could afford.

 

Good idea, MC. Done.

 

Generally speaking, employers are going to have more interest in where your terminal degree came from than where your undergrad was completed. So if you get an Excelsior undergrad and then do a 2 year masters at a UC, I would think that would be a lot more bang for the buck than just an undergrad from a UC.

There's also the Cal State system, which might be a nice middle ground, as my understanding is it's considerably less expensive. Perhaps you could do an undergrad there, start making connections and see if you can get a graduate assistanceship which will cover some or all of your tuition costs.

Finally, on the housing issue, I just read an article in which Zillow, which probably has more accurate data on real estate values than just about anyone, is predicting a collective loss in US housing values of 1.7 trillion dollars in 2011. By contrast, it was just over 1 trillion loss in 2009, so if you think about the loss that has already occurred, a 1.7T loss is potentially going to be an even larger percentage of a given home's value, since it will be a larger total sum out of homes that have already declined in value. Of course, not all areas will be affected the same amount, and who knows how accurate Zillow's data is, but they've been pretty accurate so far.

So even if you don't invest it in school, I'd put it somewhere else (at this stage, under your mattress sounds safe!)

 

Take heart, my friend. You will be glad about your house in the years to come. We have lived in the same house for 30 years and now have it paid off. What a great feeling that is!

 

Thank you. Yes, there are no really safe investments anymore, if there ever was. In the investment world, I think safe is just an illusion that we believe in when things are going well.

 

I'm 3 credits from having the Excelsior degree but if I were asked this question 3 years ago I would choose economical undergrad but possibly not EC, then spend more on a masters.

Phillip

 

You just have to keep me feeling like an old man, don't you?:irked:

 

I can't wait to feel that feeling! My wife and I purchased when the market was high (STUPID-right?). One more year and it will be paid off and I will be happy.

 

How about this one - put the $100K down on a house, take out an equity line for $50K and use it to go to a school that is somewhere in between the two choices.

 

You'll have it paid off in a year. Security and no more house payments! Even if you did pay too much, that's not stupid in my books.

 

Very interesting alternative idea. That's why I love to post questions here; somebody will always come up with something clever.

 

That is what I am looking for - security.

 

Dang old' timer...My mom and dad had not even met yet!

 

If I had to do it over, I'd just major in education for my undergraduate degree at the same school I attended. (I had a full scholarship).

If I had to pay for it all out of pocket, I'd have done the first two years at a community college, then I would have transferred to a local state university to finish the education degree.

 

Mind your manners, sonny, or I'll hit you with my cane. :cussing: