I don’t know if I should attend a really expensive, but prestigious undergrad school now, or if I should attend a cheaper, less prestigious school for undergrad in order to save money for grad school. I heard that the name of your undergrad school doesn’t really matter for grad school. What should I do? Is paying $15,000 dollars more a year now worth it? I don’t want to be in so much debt before I even go to grad school.
<p>Uh, depends on the schools.</p>
<p>My choices are:
Wash U- $48,000
Grinnell-$32,000
Iowa State U.-$25,000
McGill-really cheap, not sure how much
Saint Louis University- $22,000
St. Olaf, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Lawrence- in the $20,000's</p>
<p>It also depends on the grad school. Several of my classmates got through their PhD programs without taking out a single loan.</p>
<p>does the name and prestige of the undergrad school matter? is it better to have an A average at a state school, or a C average at a more prestigious school?</p>
<p>go to twin cities, its better to have the A at the state school</p>
<p>I am struggling with the same decision. I am choosing the presitgious university because that is where I will have the best undergraduate experience. Also, dont count out the amazing opportunities at those top colleges! Internships, research programs, and the connections you will make will be amazing. Again, it may be more practical to go to the state school, but if you can make the prestitigious school work for you financially, go. And of course you can get great opportuinities at state schools, but it is not the same. But, good luck and you dont have a lot of time to make your decision my friend.</p>
<p>I suggest you go to McGill if you like Canada and French folk. I don't remember how much it costs, but I believe it's on the lower end of the price range. However, its quality of education is high. While its 'prestige' isn't high, it's better known than Iowa State or St. Louis I believe.</p>
<p>It really depends on the type of grad school. For law school, there's stats that show undergrad school matters. Med school only GPA seems to matter, so I'd choose the school with the most grade inflation.</p>
<p>Most interestingly, a recent Business Week article shows that an MBA is no longer neede for some key jobs, like investment banking, that it used to be essential for. In this case I'd definitely go for an ibank feeder school.</p>
<p>I'm considering going to Law School or Business School, definately nor Medicine though. Does that change anything?</p>
<p>I vote for Grinnell...a school that will totally support your future and do what it takes to make you very attractive for grad schools. That price tag is still high for Grinnell but the payoff will come. Great student teacher contact and mentoring. Have you seen the stats on how well they do in PhD production? They do very well, and you can leave there with real options and friends for a lifetime. Just my thoughts on best money spent. Save the large schools for your graduate work when you know more about who you are and what you want. I was perusing the new USNWR ratings on Grad schools today and many top ten lists for graduate work are large univerisities. That means sometimes it is best to get the personal attention now...you will likely work hard for teachers you know well and garner good recommendations when you graduate. Best wishes</p>
<p>My nephew chose a free ride at his state university over more expensive undergrad schools, did extremely well, and just accepted an offer (from among several others) for a PhD program at Yale.</p>
<p>Wash U - $48,000?</p>
<p>Don't tell me that. I thought it's $42,000!</p>
<p>If you're planning to go to grad school then your undergrad degree wont matter as much as you think it would. Say you attended Harvard Law/Med/Business school, do you really think that your boss cared that you went to joe schmo U for undergrad? It's like judging a college grad on the high school he attended. </p>
<p>Also the undergrad doesnt matter as much as you think. It matters in the sense that an A at a top school looks better than an A at an average school. But thats why there are those standardized tests.</p>
<p>i think there is a lot more money going around for grad school in terms of scholarships (also $ as a ta, with research, etc.) than there is for undergrad.. so you might not have to pay for that anyway!! but really, if you do well, you can get into prestigious grad schools from just about anywhere.. my dad went to colorado state and got full ride for his phd at cornell, my brother miami u and now at wash u md</p>
<p>most law schools wont give much unless they're like really reaching for you, this is because the good law schools know that once you get out you'd be making money. Law school is not like grad school where even some who graduate from yale or harvard end up as teachers who cant afford to pay back the huge debts.</p>
<p>For professional schools it's just the opposit, scholarships and loans are harder to come by. For PhD programs, most do not pay.</p>
<p>i AM IN THE SAME SITUATION NOW. I want to do med so i think i will save my money by going to my state school for undergrad. it seems practical considering that it is in top 50 in the entire country.</p>
<p>that's an interesting question by the OP. for me, if I didn't get into Stanford, Berkeley, Caltech, or MIT, I'd probably opt for substantial aid or free-ride at a less prestigious school and go to one of the above for grad.</p>
<p>It depends on the major. If you plan to major in Engineering, undergraduate matters if you're stopping at B.S. If you plan to go for a Phd, don't worry about money, usually the school gives you stipend in exchange for cheap your sweat. I have a friend who is doing his Phd in EE at Stanford for nearly free, because he was unemployed(can't afford to pay), but in return he has to work at minimum wages for his professor.
For medicine, it does not really matter what college, what major as long as you have the high MCAT and GPAs.
For law, it matters because top colleges feed into top law schools but it's not 100% with certainty that if you did NOT go to a top undergraduate then you have NO chance at top law schools either. It's a bit harder.</p>