<p>Hello fellow CC members,
How much does it matter where you do your undergrad if you intend to go to graduate school afterwards? As a graduating high school senior, I've applied to a vast majority of U.S. schools ranging from the Ivies to universites like San Diego State University and University of Nevada. </p>
<p>My SAT test scores are:
740 M
760 W
740 CR</p>
<p>GPA: 3.9-4.0 (unweighted) (if translated correctly, as I'm taking the Danish STX curriculum)</p>
<p>As you can see (not to sound arrogant), getting admitted to prestigious universities should not be a problem for me, but is it really worth paying +55k$ a year for a prestigious university if I can save a great deal of money by going to a +31k$ university? I mean, if the schools that I apply to are included in the top 200 colleges list from U.S. News, shouldn't I do just fine if I graduated from those schools?</p>
<p>Also, how closely are SAT and MCAT and GRE scores related? If I score high on the SAT test, will that automatically mean that I will do well on the GRE and MCAT test too? I always thought these tests were I.Q. tests.</p>
<p>Getting into a prestigious college may not be as easy as you think, so you may want to apply to some other schools as well. The top schools have many, many applicants with stats similar to yours. There simply isn’t room in the freshman class for all of the qualified applicants.</p>
<p>In my opinion, you can get a decent education at schools that are not the top tier. Some smaller private schools provide wonderful research opportunities and publishing opportunities with less competion for positions. My daughters thought it made a lot more sense to go to less expensive schools. And the less prestigious schools sometimes have more merit scholarship money available as well. </p>
<p>The MCAT has a lot of factual information and I think it is being reformatted.</p>
<p>Generally, it is the last university that you attend that gives you the “brand name”. For example, many people do not know that President Obama attended Occidental University prior to attending Harvard. It is the Harvard degree (his Law degree in particular) that people remember. That said, your stats are good but you will have competition as KKmama says. Since you are pretty focused on getting a good education and saving money, I’d definitely go to a great less expensive school and then, if prestige matters to you, spend the big bucks on a well-known grad school.</p>
<p>I suggest that you look at all the factors. Climate, political orientation, the local town, the campus itself, the specific department that you plan to attend, your intended major, cultural activities, clubs, sports, etc., etc. Then choose the best fit for you. My kid turned down UCLA, UC San Diego and several other top tier universities for engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and absolutely loves it. It was the perfect choice for him.</p>
<p>“Generally, it is the last university that you attend that gives you the “brand name”. For example, many people do not know that President Obama attended Occidental University prior to attending Harvard. It is the Harvard degree (his Law degree in particular) that people remember.”</p>
<p>Seems more like the most prominent college you attend is your “brand.” Everybody knows John Kerry went to Yale for undergrad…quick: where did he get his law degree?</p>
<p>Alright, thanks. But tell me one thing. Will it be more difficult for a person with a bachlor’s degree from a lesser-known university to get into a prestigious grad school in comparison top a person with a bachlor’s degree from a prestigious college? Also, how much does prestige matter in terms of employment? </p>
<p>Regarding the tiers, what colleges are in the 1st tier and what colleges are in the 2nd tier? Asked my American girlfriend about this, but she didn’t know.</p>
<p>* Will it be more difficult for a person with a bachlor’s degree from a lesser-known university to get into a prestigious grad school *</p>
<p>My son went to a mid-tier state flagship. He’s now in a PhD program at an elite school. He was accepted to EVERY PhD program he applied to. All with full assistantships that covered tuition and large stipends. His grades, his GRE scores, his LORs, and his research is what mattered.</p>
<p>regarding tiers…the mid-tiers (aka 2nd tiers) are usually the schools ranked 51 thru about 120. However, USNews has revamped the tiers and is now calling all schools that are ranked above around 200 as Tier 1. However, many of us still use the old system because it’s more clear.</p>
<p>In my Ivy grad program there were students from every conceivable academic background. Yes, you can get into a good grad/med/law school from NoName U. If money is a issue for you like it is for most students, it is OK to go to the inexpensive college for your undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>Many smaller, lesser known colleges (LAC’s) send more students to grad school than the larger universities. Since your applications seem done, I don’t suppose it helps to point those out. </p>
<p>Some smaller schools offer more access to professors and research as an undergrad. Some larger schools have Honors colleges that try to duplicate this environment with the resources of a larger university.</p>
<p>Don’t be so sure of acceptances from Ivy’s etc. The competition is very stiff, many fold that for overseas students who will only make up a small percentage of the class. All Ivy’s have something special to offer but many other schools do too. Get to know a bit more about each school once you gain an acceptance. See if it is strong in your area of interest. A strong showing in the top 200 should get you into a good grad school, but you may have to be more determined about getting opportunities on your own at some schools more than others.</p>
<p>SAT nor GRE is IQ test. GRE is just a minor hurdle, it won’t make or break your app, usually and it shouldn’t be hard to do a decent job, don’t think about it at this time. Know nothing of MCAT, other than it is WAY more important for med school than GRE is for grad school.</p>
<p>Alright. To BrownParent - what do you mean by ‘A strong showing in the top 200 should get you into a good grad school’? Should I interpret this as if the university that I plan to attend is in the top 200 list by U.S. News, then I shouldn’t be worried about the quality of the education which the institution offers? Also, how can I find out if the college that I intend to attend is strong at the particular field of study that will be my future major? All I can see on U.S. News is how the different colleges’ gradschool rankings are in various fields of studies. Is this an indication of how strong their bachlor’s program is in those fields of studies too? </p>
<p>Also, money isn’t an issue for me. I could afford to attend UCSD and UCLA without any scholarship, but if I can conserve some money by attending a cheaper university and without its name becoming a future nuisance, then I’d rather choose the cheaper univeristy. That was my point and question. </p>
<p>Also, is there any correlation between SAT scores and GRE and MCAT scores? If I score high on the SAT, will that automatically correlate to a high GRE score? </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone of you for all your very helpful inputs! I really appreciate it! :-)</p>