Any regrets choosing full tuition scholarship over elite school?

PittPanther34
Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:31:10 +0000

Hi! I’m a current freshman at Pitt on a full tuition scholarship. I applied to UNC-Chapel Hill, UVA, and William and Mary, I was waitlisted at all 3. I chose not to remain on any of the waitlists, but based on who got taken off the William and Mary waitlist from my high school, I probably would’ve been accepted there. I chose not to remain on the waitlists because I knew the schools would not be giving me any financial aid, while Pitt would only cost me (well my parents) room and board.

I’ve been at Pitt for nearly 3 months and I in no way regret not potentially going to a more elite school. While my friends at top tier schools that cost between $40 and $50 K a year (or more) are thinking about loans and paying them off after graduation, I know I will emerge from college debt free. That itself is enough of a reason for me to be here. Yet Pitt is a challenging school, even for those students who have above-average stats. I work hard for my grades in classes, and those grades are not all As like they were in high school. Even though it was hard at the end of high school to be the only member of the top 10 in my class to not be going to an elite school, I think about how I will not be paying off hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans after I graduate and I know I made the right decision.

Some schools do not get the recognition they deserve, and I think Pitt is one of those schools. The research opportunities available to freshman are awesome, there is so much to do, and I cannot picture myself anywhere else. I think when faced with a choice between a top-tier school and a lesser-recognized school such as Pitt one has to evaluate their finances and figure out which school is best for him/her, his/her major and personality and all the other criteria. I feel like some people pick based purely on rankings and reputation and then end up at a school with no one else like them.

Hope this helped a bit!