<prompt> Human: Hello, to set some facts straight: I am 18; graduating high school this month; I will be solely responsible for college debt; I 10037; want to go to into business, but whether I am absolutely set on doing only finance I am not one hundred percent sure; I receive no financial aid but still come from a position where I have to shoulder the debt so that my parents can retire any time soon.At the moment, as late as it is in the college admissions process, I am still deciding between two schools. One school is Vanderbilt, where I would major economics-- this school is in the South, has an amazing campus, great professors, and the happiest students really anything that you can ask for from a top a school. As many people have made the mistake of doing, I have fallen in love with this school. The problem is that my debt would be 280k.Why am I not crazy for considering this option? Taking out a public loan at 637; rate would mean I have monthly payments of 2000 which I can definitely meet with a job, then I can refinance not sure what the correct term is the loan and pay it a 2.737; rate with a private company SOFI, paying around 20k total a year in loans and 500k overall loaninterest.Some other factors that I am thinking about are: I am only 18-22 once, as someone who is really into business I understand that big risks CAN payoff greatly, I want to be surrounded by people smarter and better than me, and of course, the big, ego-stroking factor of prestige. I have heard the argument thousands of times, but I still cannot deny that prestige sells.My other option, is a businessengineering school which will end up costing me around 70k total. This school is top 400 in the nation, private, and at this school I would be right across from Wall Street and focused on finance. Somethings about this school: it is only 40 minutes away which I hate, it is 3070 girlsboys which you might find stupid but the ratios are important to me, an okay campus, and the professors are completely average. That being said, it is still a good school which provides really good opportunities for people looking to work directly in finance.If you have read this far, thank you. I would love to hear some input from you guys and would truly appreciate any advice whatsoever on my decision.THANK YOUTD;LRDeciding between a 280k top university and a 70k decent finance school extremely close to home, for both of which the debt would be absolutely mine.Assistant: Hell no. Vanderbilt isnt a top school. This isnt Harvard or Princeton. Walk away. Best decision of your life. Even for Harvard Id walk away, but at least there might be a conversation to have in that case.Human: My thoughts exactly. Im sure Vanderbilt is a good school but outside of Tennessee, no one cares, especially for undergrad. Do great in a cheaper undergrad and go to a top tier grad school. You maybe surprised on how plans change in the 4 years that youre not racking up incredible debt. Good luck. Assistant: Thanks!  <response>: One more thing to consider. My brother got his PhD from Vanderbilt. Generous stipend and free tuition. Maybe you could get your undergrad somewhere else and go to Vanderbilt later. He did love going there. 