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The cheap state school or the expensive ivy?

Octarine

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What matters is that you have the degree and some relevant work experience.

Of course, in certain fields, going to particular colleges means you are much more likely to get those internships and positions where you get that relevant work experience.

The job market is competitive and you need to make sure you have a sufficient edge over your peers to avoid your resume being thrown in the bin. A prestigious college is obviously not the only way to obtain this.
 

INTPness

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Also, it's good to keep in mind that education isn't everything. Just like money isn't everything. There are so many other aspects of life. Education is just one slice of the pie of life.
 

INTPness

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We get it; you're closer to her than we are. From now on you can let her answer questions herself.

She's free to answer whatever questions she wants. I don't know the OP from a hole in the wall. It's just been very obvious from the outset that she isn't interested in giving out the personal details. Yet people continue to ask. If she wants to answer the question(s), then I'm sure she will. My apologies.
 
F

FigerPuppet

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She's free to answer whatever questions she wants. I don't know the OP from a hole in the wall. It's just been very obvious from the outset that she isn't interested in giving out the personal details. Yet people continue to ask. If she wants to answer the question(s), then I'm sure she will. My apologies.

Don't apologize. I misunderstood.
 

Jonny

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Ignoring all other factors here, what is your learning style? How significant are your peers in your learning experience? Are you someone who is driven by your past success? Does a challenge entice you to work hard and learn more? Does failing cause you to shrink from future challenges? Competitive?

University of Texas at Austin
SAT Critical Reading: 530 - 670
SAT Math: 580 - 700
SAT Writing: 530 - 670
ACT Composite: 25 - 31

Columbia University
SAT Critical Reading: 690 - 780
SAT Math: 700 - 790
SAT Writing: 690 - 780
ACT Composite: 31 - 34

As one can clearly see, those first year students attending Columbia score substantially higher on average than those attending the University of Texas. If one believes SAT/ACT scores to be correlated with intellect, classroom ability, drive, etc., then from these test results it would seem likely that you would be among a more intelligent, able, and driven group of students if you attended Columbia. This means you would be less likely to be a top student, but it also means that if you are one who learns well from peers, then you might have better resources at your disposal. Try imagining life among each group of people, and consider what things might be different between the two.
 

celesul

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So, first I will say to never set your heart on an Ivy or other ultra prestigious school. I was in the position where if I applied (RD, not ED) to maybe ten prestigious (defined as Ivy, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, UChicago) schools I was almost guaranteed to get into at least one. I got into two on that list as well as another ultra-prestigious school. For me, given that I didn't want to go to my state school, all of other schools were within $10 000 a year of each other (all $45 000 - $55 000) including scholarships. My safety schools (mostly U of Michigan), which I liked, offered me dreadful scholarships, so I had no motivation to choose them. This was, mind, when the recession was more of a worry. As a result, I didn't see any reason not to choose the prestigious school.

Now, I will emphasize what Ygolo said: you might be close to the bottom of your class. I had already known that I might not be near the top of my class in college, but I didn't realize that when everyone is a genius, suddenly you're taking home shitty grades. Fortunately, I want to go into industry (I'm in CS), so I just need to get out of here with a degree, and my GPA is irrelevant as long as I can graduate. (For the record, I went to an excellent, very competitive high school. I was in the top 10% of a class that contained Intel and Seimens semi-finalists, and where all of the top went to an Ivy, Caltech, MIT, UChicago, or else went to a state school that offered enough money that they ignored their acceptances to the previously mentioned schools. I thought that after surviving that sort of high school I'd be okay. Oops. I miscalculated). On the other hand, socially, I adore college. I don't have to deemphasize my intellect to avoid intimidating people (quite frankly, I'm nothing special here). If you are worried about a state school being subpar socially, just make sure to go to a large enough one. It'll have a group of Ivy level students.

As for the effect of going to an Ivy on your future, it depends on your path. If you want to go into medicine, go to the college that'll give you the highest GPA. If you want to go into CS, prestige is good, but the prestigious places are Caltech, MIT, Carnegie Mellon and some of the Ivies (Princeton for theoretical). Prestige is still non-essential though. Humanities, figure out what sort of job you'd like. Be aware that debt isn't worth it if you have a low expectation of 6 figures fairly soon after graduating (this is what makes debt acceptable for CS and Chemical Engineering, and the like). Debt isn't always worth it then, but at least it's rarely crippling given the salary. I'm unclear on the effect of prestige for business, but I suspect that if you network well, anything from a good state school and up would work.

I don't know what your financial situation is like, nor your academic prowess, but that will impact your scholarship situation. If you are in a really bad place financially, many Ivies will let you attend for almost nothing (particularly HYP), while a state school cannot offer as much. On the other hand, it's cheaper to begin with. If you are really middle class but truly incredible academically, the Ivies will offer you little money but the schools in the tier right below will be all over you offering money. If you are really middle class but less incredible academically, your state school will be the cheapest option.

Early decision is binding except that if you cannot afford the school, you turn them down. This is not recommended, but it is an option.

Edited to add:

The UCs are generally prohibitively expensive out of state. They offer bad aid, and for an out of stater, are really just not a good deal. I have a good friend who dreamed of going to UCBerkeley. She got in, and somewhat later found out that paying for it would have been prohibitive. She ended up at Harvard, which offered pretty good aid. If you cannot afford full tuition, the UCs are pretty much the worst schools to look at.
 

INTPness

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The tide is beginning to shift. Schools that can offer an affordable education are going to do well in the coming years because they are going to be in demand by students. Demand of the consumer (students) will drive prices back down to where they should be. 6-figure debt to get a degree is just silly in this day and age. Your brain is your asset, not a piece of paper on the wall that cost you a fortune.

This clip says it all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymsHLkB8u3s

Hint: You don't want to be the guy with long hair.
 

Rail Tracer

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I may have forgotten about mentioning unemployment. But that is a big issue.

Lots of people in this day in age that just recently got a degree, can't find a job for their "respective experience."

Many of them are unemployed for long periods of time, or that they have to take jobs that aren't even related to their field of choice (which can sometimes look bad to the employer.)

Some are forced to take pay a lot lower than they expected. And when this recession finally begins clearing, their pay will stay pretty low for quite a long time when you compare it to someone who will graduate when the recessions clears.
 

ICUP

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I would take the best school for the degree that I was accepted into, and I would incur debt.
Get out of Texas.
I took the easy road, and I am sorry now that I didn't get a more prestigious degree, and a better education. At the same time, in my shoes, I'm lucky I got a degree at all lol......
Don't worry that much about finding a job right now, just go for the best you can get........
 

Coriolis

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If you can get into a co-op program, that can help your job prospects by giving you work experience and contacts. Internships and just summer or part-time jobs close to your intended career field can help as well.
 
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