I am a pretty good student, doing pretty well. People are pushing me to apply to stanford, harvard, there “big name schools” and when I mention schools I happen to also find interesting, like Bernard and Bentley, I just get blank faces. It’s like “Igotbighair you have tried SO hard, you are SO good, you have to get into one that’s good because LOOK AT DAT ACCEPTANCE RATE!” But I reallly don’t care. For a long time I wanted to be a journalist, which I understand that in 2015 the school doesn’t matter…the pay sucks either way LOL but that was shot down because 'it’s not successful. it’s a dead career" and then I wanted to do finance I guess to appease the ivy-obsessed masses, but only because of the salary, which now I realize is a horrible route to go too. I would become miserable, but rich…I just don’t get excited for colleges, or the “whole college experience”. All I really care about is getting awesome internships, which is basically true in any college near or in a metropolitan area.
And now I have come to terms to wanting to become a forensics pathologist, a job where the school name is basically shit, because it’s the experience you get out of the school that matters. Residency y’all! Or just pathologists in general. It takes roughly 13 years to become one. If that doesn’t work, I’m becoming a death investigator, and I realize that I truly love these jobs. And within the research in the career fields I realize that undergrad really doesn’t matter. i don’t see the point. I just want to go to Arizona State, which sends plenty of kids to awesome med schools anyway. And I feel guilty. I feel horrible that I don’t give a shit about Stanford. But In the end, I can’t deny it, I really don.t
Am I disillusioned?
lol OP
Just go to a liberal arts college and try to figure out what it is that you want to do with your life.
I have a friend who turned down the ivies (more than 1) because they didn’t have a good journalism program and another school did (not an ivy). I agree that many people apply to ivies because of the name, although there are alot of people who like the campus vibe when they visit a school and decide to apply based on that. Undergrad matters for something like computer science or engineering, where you can get out with a bachelor’s degree and are out in the market for a job. That being said, experience is indeed key–both inside school and while working.
Top schools tend to offer real advantages. If the best thing about the school is a low admission rate, I don’t think it will be low for long.
Did you visit Stanford? If you did, and it wasn’t for you, that is fine. Find a school you like.
I like your mentality.
However,
“All I really care about is getting awesome internships”
the only thing I would say is that some of the higher tier colleges would be able to provide better quality and quantity in terms of internships because of their reputations and connections with companies.
Who is telling you that you should apply to HYPSM? Grown ups whose kids have been accepted to those places within the past five years, or somebody else?
If you have the profile to make you a viable applicant to HYPSM, but you aren’t interested in applying to any of those places, then don’t. You will save yourself a huge amount of time, trouble, and money for the application fees. Especially if you think you are headed down the pre-med/med school/umpteen years of residencies pathway. Med school is obscenely expensive, and there is almost no scholarship money available. It is almost certain that you will have to pay for all of that with loans. This means that you should use your HYPSM stats to get yourself into a college or university that will give you a ginormous amount of need-based and/or merit-based aid. Pre-med students are pretty much the same wherever you study. And if you head for the big-merit scholarship place, chances are your pre-med classes will be full of students just like you who also followed the money.
Run the Net Price Calculator at Arizona State, and if it is affordable, apply early so that you have the best chance of scoring any extras they might offer you (honors program, merit-aid, better dorm, etc.). If it isn’t affordable, pop over to the Financial Aid Forum and read through the threads pinned at the top, and follow the links to find places that are cheaper.
You are 100% correct. Don’t listen to the name pushers. Find a strong journalism program with good industry connections.
Based on what you’ve said, I’d highly recommend getting your undergraduate degree in journalism while also taking your pre-med requirements.
TBH I don’t know why they are pushing HYPSM. Both my D’s had higher stats than that and neither considered the Ivies. Find schools YOU want to attend.
If you get the opportunity, read “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be” by Frank Bruni. He debunks a lot of the myths nurtured by the “elite” universities. You will likely develop further substantiation for your feelings. I am certain many will not agree with me and I will not argue; I am simply suggesting that the book may help you with your frustrations.
If you think you’d be happy Arizona State, you can afford the net price, and admission is a sure thing, then that may be the only school you need to consider. Or … at least you’ve found a great safety school (which some people think is the most important one on your list.)
I agree with this. The advantages may be overstated in many cases. However, one of their most significant advantages is that they tend to offer excellent need-based aid. Would you not want to at least consider a cheaper college that also happens to have smaller classes, better facilities, more distinguished faculty, and some of the most talented students from all over America? If your parents earn less than ~$150K-$200K, you probably do qualify for need-based aid at many of these schools:
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need
(Stanford is just one of ~60 “full need” colleges on this list).
Don’t listen to the prestige pushers, OP! Follow your gut. I was a fairly high-flying student, but couldn’t quite put my finger on why the Ivies “felt” wrong to me–plus I wanted to study journalism, which most of them don’t even have UG majors for, and in hindsight I am super duper 100% happy I didn’t apply to/attend those schools. I found a school that was a really good personality fit for me and loved my major.
You mention journalism in your post–if you still want to major in that, I say do (happy to give you school tips)–but if you’re set on forensic pathologist now, you’re right–it’s all about grad school. Personally, since you’re not stuck on prestige, I think you should use that to your advantage. Find a range of schools–especially privates–for which your stats are above average and feel like they might be a personality fit (prioritize campus, geography, vibe, etc.) and apply to those–if you play your cards right, you could end up with a free undergraduate education, either by going to a state U (guessing Arizona is your local?) or by getting a competitive merit award (your stats would be competitive with some of the less hyper-elite privates). You can tell the prestige pushers that you’re smart enough to know you want to graduate UG debt free. That’ll shut them up 