<p>Well the more I think about it the more this decision makes sense. But I still worry over whether it will effect where I get into grad school.</p>
<p>I have been taking classes at the university in my town for a while now, and when I do the calculation I could get my BS in chemistry, biochemistry, computer science, micro biology and physics by the time I am 20. Plus I already know quite a few researchers at the school. And in total it would only cost me like 30000 for all of undergrad rather that the hundreds it would to goto another institution. The only down side is that it is a state school. My worry is that it will effect where I goto grad school. I would like to goto an ivy, caltech, mit or another top school for grad school.
My question is will this path effect my chances of going to one of those places for grad school.
Sorry for the grammatical and spelling errors. Im in a hurry.
Thanks!</p>
<p>The general answer to your question is that plenty of people go to state school and end up at “better” schools and/or become very successful people. I go to one and I’m going to an Ivy for grad school. I’m more curious about your calculations, though… you can get six degrees by the time you’re 20? That literally can’t be right.</p>
<p>If you look at the reqs they are all the same except for like 10 courses and I have the first two and a half years done. Maybe it will take another semester or two for the physics degree. I have been taking 18-21 credit semesters. For I chem, biochem, micro there’s only classer that they differ, and I have about half of them. And I already have pretty much all the credits for cs. And I am 15 so I have 5 years.</p>
<p>Top grad schools will care about the maturity of your research interests. Are you focused? Can you do original work? Does a faculty member share your research interests? Having the equivalent of a quintuple major won’t necessarily impress them without good answers to those questions. If you can develop that maturity at your local school and save all that money, great. If you’re just racking up credit hours in one field after another, not so great.</p>
<p>If you can complete all these credits while in high school, ie., be dual enrolled, do so, and do NOT complete all the requirements - just leave one class per major, so that you can still enroll for undergrad elsewhere if you choose, or there if you prefer, and get federal student aid (once you have your degree, you don’t have access to undergrad financial aid anymore, but as long as you need more credits to complete your major/degree, you can still get grants and loans, for up to 6 years.)
I think your strategy is a little flawed, in that you should not try to graduate as fast as you can, but rather you should try and take as many graduate-level classes as you can while still and undergrad, so that, say, at age 20 you take grad-level classes and work on research, while still not taking that one class that prevents you from finishing your major. Essentially improving your resume with upperlevel classes and research, then, when you can, apply to MIT, CalTech, etc, and complete those last classes during that “last” semester while continuing research.
In addition, you need to be well-rounded. Top schools will frown on a smattering of all APs to skip gen eds and all-science-all-the-time.
Most upper level math depts will ask you to know two among Russian, French, or German (enough to read professional articles… so the first couple semesters in the language help in addition to the 2 grad “reading” courses.) You will be expected to “be broadly educated” even if the grad program strictly speaking only requires classes within one or two subjects.
You might want to look at how far the local school allows you to go, too. If you’re that advanced at age 15, the classes they offer may not have enough depth for you.
As long as you’re dual-enrolled you’re still considered a high school student so you’d apply as a freshman to other universities.
Finally, have you run the NPC’s? CalTech, MIT… have superb financial aid programs. If you’re lower income, it’d probably cost you less than attending the state school. If, on the other hand, your parents make more than 200k, then indeed finding colleges with merit money will be important.
It may help if you tell us what the “local state university” is - our comment would be different whether you’re talking Chadron State or UVA.</p>
<p>First of all, I don’t understand this “state school” thing that pops up on CC all the time. Michigan is a state school, UCLA and Berkeley are state schools, UVa and UNC-CH are state schools. Public school doesn’t automatically mean inferior, and there are a lot of public universities and colleges that I would rather attend than a lot of private colleges and universities.</p>
<p>Second of all, like rebeccar said…the real answer that matters is that you can definitely go to a public university (whether it’s a huge flagship like Michigan or Berkeley, or even a regional one like Cal State or Western Washington) and still go to a top graduate school. What’s important is that you get good grades, develop strong relationships with professors (who can write you good recommendations) and get some research experience with a professor (very important).</p>
<p>Two other things:</p>
<p>1) I find it very hard to believe that there are only minor differences between a chemistry degree and a computer science degree, or a microbiology degree and a physics degree. Minor enough that you can finish six bachelor’s degrees by the time you are 20.</p>
<p>2) You do realize that 10 courses is actually a lot, right? That’s an entire major. You still have to take general eds and divisional requirements around that. And those majors usually have cognate courses, too - like CS majors are sometimes required to take Cal 1 and 2, or a discrete math course. Physics majors are often required to take 2-3 semesters of calculus. Those often don’t count towards the degree requirements, but you still have to take them.</p>
<p>I don’t actually think this is possible, and I think you should re-examine your course catalog and perhaps talk to an advisor to check. (Otherwise everyone would do it.)</p>
<p>If you go to a good flagship state school like UW-Madison, Cal, UVa, etc, get good grades and do well, you can very easily go to an Ivy League grad school if that is what you want to do. </p>
<p>Although were it me personally, I would just pony up the money and go Ivy League undergrad.</p>