Howard (20K/year) vs Illinois(Sticker) Forum

[Shot007]

I am an African American URM (Male)...
Which option do you think I should accept:
Howard at 20K/Year basically works out to 60,000 over the course of three years.

Normally Howard is 25,000 per year, so I will be only paying 5K per year on Tuition. I would personally not mind living in DC, and I think I will enjoy the environment

or Illinois, the thing is Illinois is a lot more prestigious, and highly ranked. Chicago is a good city to work in, and the administration at Illinois seems great.

Just tell me which option you think is better for me, all things considered.

FWIW, I don't care about the city, I would love to live in Either Chicago or DC...I care more about what option is better overall

Thank You

[You Gotta Have Faith]

Since you are URM, I'd probably go with Howard, especially at that price. But if you were non-URM, then I'd say UIUC.

Of course that isn't concrete. If you like Chicago a lot and want to be placed there more easily, then UIUC is a great option. And likewise, Howard probably places more people in DC than UIUC.

Just weigh your options, but lower debt is never a bad thing. Of course, by the time you factor in COL... well, Illinois is noticeably cheaper.

[Shot007]

Its difficult to decide because Howard is giving me such a better position in terms of dealing with finances. Whereas there is so much recognition in Illinois. Its a tough decision

[Thirteen]

Would you be paying in-state tuition at Illinois? Paying OOS sticker of at least 40K seems pretty steep.

EDIT: Have you tried to negotiate with Illinois? Howard isn't a peer school, but it never hurts to ask. Illinois has 10 African-American 1L's in the class of 2012, so you might have more leverage than you think.

[Shot007]

I would be paying OOS @ Illinois, and no I have not considered negotiating, thats a great idea, that I hadn't considered