<p>Does anyone know people with regrets or no regrets choosing Pitt over an Ivy League school or similar due to scholarship?</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Hope this helped a bit!</p>
<p>Pittpanther - well said.</p>
<p>My son is also a freshman at Pitt. His heart was set on school in Boston. He did get into both BU and NEU with scholarships from both, but they still would have cost abot 35K a year each. </p>
<p>As he reminds me I shoved him in the direction of Pitt at the time. Actually what I said was go to Boston and come our of school with over 100K in loans or go to Pitt with full tuition and come out dept free.</p>
<p>In his own words he is very happy at Pitt. Went to visit friends in Boston a few weekends ago and I was waiting to hear “I should have gone to Boston” but not a word.</p>
<p>I felt from the start that Pitt would be a good fit for him, and he also feels that he made the right choice.</p>
<p>I turned down Northwestern and Johns Hopkins for full tuition at Pitt. I also was waitlisted by Rice and WUSTL, but chose not to remain on the waitlists. </p>
<p>I don’t have any regrets choosing Pitt. Look for the school that will provide the best opportunities for you as an undergrad as well as considering how much going there will affect your finances.</p>
<p>DS turned down several other full tuition scholarships for Pitt and he has no regrets. He has been employed as a Research Assistant and is participating in the Coop program. There are plenty of opportunities at Pitt, you just have to pursue them :)</p>
<p>Hi guys-I remember you from last year! My daughter was 1/385 with 33 ACT and was offered only 12,000 at PITT, but was accepted into Pharmacy. She loved PITT after we visiited, but took full scholarship at OSU and loves it there. I think that if money is a problem, and you choose using that as the deciding factor, you"ll probably end up happy anywhere, cause your experience is what you make of it.</p>
<p>No regrets here either. S turned down acceptances from WashU, Rice, Pomona, USC, Davidson, Washington & Lee, to mention a few of the most prestigious ones, some of which came with varying amounts of merit money. He’s very happy at Pitt and feels adequately challenged through a combination of regular and honors classes, all of which he’s liked so far. Also, there seem to be more than enough bright students to ensure a climate of healthy academic competition. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>It isn’t Pitt, but I think serves your question. My D chose full tuition at Tulane over 2 Ivies, Chicago and WUSTL, among others. New Orleans was a big part of the draw, so that part doesn’t overlap (although we lived in Pittsburgh for 10 years and it is nicer than a lot of people think) but she also liked the vibe of both WUSTL and Tulane a lot better than the Ivies. So with New Orleans and adding in the full tuition at Tulane, her decision was made.</p>
<p>Nope! I turned down Columbia, Cornell, Boston U, Northwestern, and a waitlist at Yale. I pretty much agree with all the reasons people posted here. But I will also add that it is SUPER nice to not be in debt to your eyeballs!!! People like to use the excuse that with an Ivy League degree, you can make up all that debt with the money you are making. While that may be true for some majors, it’s not necessarily true.</p>
<p>And in this economy, being in debt is simply awful. Especially if it’s all because you chose to pay a $200,000 more for a degree that can still get you to the same place in life.</p>
<p>Pitt is a great school regardless and it gives you the same opportunities as any other college could, if not more! So far, I have co-oped, done research, and I’ve even been to Canada and that was all before I finished my sophomore year! To be honest, I think I might be worse off at those Ivy schools, so I’m glad I chose Pitt.</p>
<p>I turned down UNC - Chapel hill to come to Pitt on a full tuition scholarship. At the beginning of the year, I did have a few regrets, but at the moment, I’ve realized how many opportunities I have with the full tuition. Now, my parents are more likely to pay for study abroad because they don’t have to pay for tuition. Not to mention the amount of spending money my parents are willing to give me. I’ve also found that when you put “Full Tuition Scholarship” on your resume when applying for internships or other program that people are more willing to set up an interview because they assume, as they should, that students on scholarships are very studious, reliable, intelligent, etc.<br>
The main advantage of having a scholarship is that I’m not as worried about how I will pay for graduate school. Think about it, if you go to a decent school instead of an Ivy league, you’re more likely to to better in your classes. If you’re more likely to do better in classes, you’ll be able to get into top-knotch grad schools. Let’s face it, now a days, it doesn’t matter where you go to undergrad, it matters where you go to grad school. Just think about that.</p>
<p>I am here on full tuition plus a 4k/year engineering scholarship and i STILL had to take out loans due to financial troubles with my family. so i definitely do not regret it. engineering is extremely challenging here!! i can’t imagine going to higher ranked school for it…i think i’d fail out or switch majors</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>My daughter, a sophomore, turned down Chicago and Georgetown and hasn’t looked back. She loves Pitt and is challenged and it is big enough to offer everything she is interested in doing.</p>