Advice Forum

[d0cj0nes]

I am choosing between UW Seattle and UC Irvine. My COA would be ~109k for UW and ~65k for UC Irvine. I prefer Seattle and have connections in Washington state from undergrad, but would it not be smart to pay over 40k more? I do not need BL, but I would like to have a 6 figure salary at graduation and do copyright/trademark work.

[crazywafflez]

These are peer schools. The question is: Would you rather be in Washington or SoCal? It seems WA/Seattle. I would go to UW if that is your goal. That is pretty pricey though. I personally have a mediumish tolerance for debt- so for a lot of T1 schools like UCI, UW, Illinois, Minnesota, Arizona, etc.- I'd feel comfortable going around 60-90ish in debt (this would include living expenses and tuition). This means basically getting 2/3 scholarships at these kind of schools or at least half rides (like you have for UCI). Some folks may have more or less tolerance- I get real squeamish after passing that 90-100k mark cause you're just going to be paying back a lot of money plus interest and you just aren't even close to guaranteed a 6 figure salary post grad.
Is UW at 109k total COA for 3 years the end of the world? No. But it is a hell of a lot of debt. UCI is worth it for that cost, but it doesn't seem you want to be in SoCal, so kinda moot.

[d0cj0nes]

These are peer schools. The question is: Would you rather be in Washington or SoCal? It seems WA/Seattle. I would go to UW if that is your goal. That is pretty pricey though. I personally have a mediumish tolerance for debt- so for a lot of T1 schools like UCI, UW, Illinois, Minnesota, Arizona, etc.- I'd feel comfortable going around 60-90ish in debt (this would include living expenses and tuition). This means basically getting 2/3 scholarships at these kind of schools or at least half rides (like you have for UCI). Some folks may have more or less tolerance- I get real squeamish after passing that 90-100k mark cause you're just going to be paying back a lot of money plus interest and you just aren't even close to guaranteed a 6 figure salary post grad.
Is UW at 109k total COA for 3 years the end of the world? No. But it is a hell of a lot of debt. UCI is worth it for that cost, but it doesn't seem you want to be in SoCal, so kinda moot.

Thank you. I wasn’t set on being in Seattle in the beginning of this cycle, but being left with these 2 schools made me realize I rather be in Seattle if the schools are equal. I feel like UW is a “better fit”, but I don’t know if 45k is a big enough difference in debt where I just need to suck it up and go to UCI. If my quality of life is going to be noticeably better by taking on less debt, then I rather go to UCI.

[Wubbles]

What kind of background do you have for copyright and trademark work?

Either way, making 6 figures at graduation out of either of these schools could be an uphill battle.