<p>Prestigious undergraduate schools are good and all, but as long as you do well and your school is fairly good, you can get into a good grad school (from what I have read). The key is doing well on the GRE, GMAT, having a good GPA, etc. If you go into debt simply doing undergrad at ND or Duke, then the options for graduate school are not only limited by acceptances but by the additional cost of MORE school.</p>
<p>The thing about MBA programs is that, from what I have heard, you really should have some level of job experience beforehand. You can apply straight out of undergrad, Harvard and Stanford even recommend it if you are so inclined, but I feel it’s a bit of a faux pas (or at least I would get experience before applying, solely so I can make sure business is what I want).</p>
<p>I am considering the step from engineering, eventually to an MBA to advance my prospects beyond “head engineer” or whatever title I might end at, so yes, I like that idea.</p>
<p>I think you also need to consider the prestige panic (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/232661-prestige-panic.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/232661-prestige-panic.html</a> and <a href=“http://www.newsweek.com/id/46422[/url]”>http://www.newsweek.com/id/46422</a>) that you have your head wrapped around. I have friends who went to Yale and MIT, and those who go to the local college back home. The ones back home talk just as much about grad school/med school as the ones at MIT and Yale and I am sure they can do it because they know ahead of time that’s where they are going so they are setting themselves up to succeed by being prepared. Sure, if you go to a cheaper college and slack off you won’t do as well as if you go to Duke, but if you try and have you sights set you should be able to get where you are going. The problem with a place like CC is that there are a LOT of kids here who are shooting for Ivies from the get-go and would accept nothing less. If you aren’t asian, have 2300 on your SAT’s and class president then you are doomed to failure because you won’t get into Harvard for undergrad. Prestige panic.</p>