<p>I got a full ride to the UMD/Honors/Gemstone ( Tuition, room and board and book
allowance… I have applied to the Ivy leagues as well, come April I have to make a decision if I get accepted to those schools??? What would you do???</p>
<p>congrats on UMD! what i would do right now is…nothing. wait until you see if you got into the ivies, how much money you will get from them, and then decide.</p>
<p>Thank you Vanilea</p>
<p>check out this thread, if you haven’t already. btw, I believe the bottom line is that there’s no easy answer…(we haven’t found it yet!)</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=292650[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=292650</a></p>
<p>there is an easy answer, or answer(s).
-Financially, how are you? Whether u get into Harvard or Yale or whatever, if you dont get any scholarship money and dont get significant aid and are looking at going into debt 20-30k for 4 years, paying that off w/ the interest will be a huge burden. Alot of ppl getting out of the elite ivies generally dont make 6 digits as it is until a few years after working.
-Will you be going to grad school? If you are even thinking of going to grad school, the answer is easy: choose MD. The fact is, no one will really care about ur UG if u go to G school, granted which UG u went too will help u get into college, G school costs so much. Imagine going into debt TWICE and being in the hole 200 k w/o even getting ur first pay check yet.</p>
<p>We were in that situation in 2005 - my son turned down the offer and chose Oxford instead, which as a three-year degree was in our reach (with stretching). Harvard was out of our reach - four-year degree. I did inform my son that other than a backup parental stipend, he was on his own for graduate school - fellowship, TA, or RA would be required. </p>
<p>If your family’s finances are in good shape, then when you get all your offers, ask yourself - putting money aside - which is your first choice? Would you feel crestfallen and cheated if you didn’t attend? If you do attend an expensive college, and you aend up on your own for graduate school, are you willing to do that? And if you take the full ride, would your parents help out with graduate school (that’s what I agreed to do if he chose UMD).</p>
<p>I will say, as many (but not all) parents on CC would agree, that if you are a confident individual, it is very exciting to be in a place where the average level of academic talent is high - it pushes you and stimulates you. It is not the same at UMD - there is a percentage of interaction that is individualized and advanced, but for many of your classes, you’re just in with the crowd at a very very big place. For some students, it’s just fine - for others, not preferred.</p>
<p>I have quite a few friends who got into Ivies (or comparable schools) but ended up choosing the UMD full-ride/honors/gemstone programs. They seem like they don’t regret the decision, but I’d go with whatever made you happier. If you can’t deal with College Park’s atmosphere and prefer a smaller school, then don’t force yourself to go because of the money…But try to take into account what your family can afford, too.</p>
<p>Thank you so much . I want to major in Neuroscience and want to prepare myself well for med school like Harvard! I certainly like the challenge but at the same time want to have a reasonable social life.</p>