<p>Have been accepted to an amazing school but is not giving enough financial. However, the local university which is ranked in the mid-forties is offering a full ride. Should I forget money and go to one of the schools in the nation or just take in an investment and wait for a good graduate school? Ideas?</p>
<p>take the full ride, get to know the top profs and offer to do research for them, do great in your classes, and you will be in terrific shape to go on to a great grad school [ and you will also be able to sleep at night, knowing that you have NO UG financial obligations hanging over you after you graduate]
This is exactly the path DS chose 5 years ago when he made the decision to go to USC[ which was ranked around the mid 40’s back then] instead of going to Chicago, Dartmouth, Brown or Wash U.
He is graduating in 2 weeks, and will be starting his PHD in Sept at Cal Tech. No tuition to pay and a nice stipend to live on as well . Could not have turned out better.</p>
<p>You definitely want to take the full ride, especially since you already know you are going to grad school. Search the posts on CC and you will find many students who have had terrific success taking the State U route and then top ranked grad school. The key is how hard will you work to make yourself an outstanding student at your local U? Follow Menlo’s advice.</p>
<p>IMO, the biggest thing that Ivies and exclusive LACs offer is connections. If you are the type that is social out going and will be seeking a career that is heavily dependent on business contacts then exclusive privates will be worth it to you. However, if you will be going into medicine or a Ph.D. program or are an introvert then you definitely want your local U. </p>
<p>You should read CC post titled: “When will people realize that state flagships can be better than the Ivy League?” Lots of opinions from posters and research cited there.</p>
<p>Here’s another good one. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html</a></p>
<p>Long story short: I took a full-ride to an LAC ranked in the low 60s at the time and am currently doing my PhD on an NSF fellowship at a top 10 Ivy in my field.</p>
<p>The bottom line is, you don’t have to go to the most expensive or prestigious school to go to a good graduate school. If you do well and take advantage of the opportunities around you - including engaging in research, doing summer internships and research programs, building good relationships with your professors and developing your writing skills - then you can get into a top graduate program.</p>