<p>Wow okk. I don’t want to over-analyze. But I got into Rice. I didn’t like it when I visited. I got rejected from Duke and Yale.</p>
<p>They way I see it</p>
<p>Yale - Most prestigious. Its the Big 3 of the Ivies. You can’t get any better unless you go to Harvard</p>
<p>Duke - A lot of ppl in my school thought it was an Ivy. From what I hear it’s goes Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Penn and Duke. So…idk. Duke is really overall prestigious in both academics and sports. It’s the same prestige difference/ between Harvard and Columbia…but they’re both prestigious so ._.</p>
<p>But if Duke is giving you money, then take it! There are so much more important things in life than a little difference in prestige. Your life isn’t going to drastically change because you went to a slightly more prestigious university.
BUT
your life will change if you saved 200K and put it to a better use!</p>
<p>Duke at no cost v. Yale at approx. $44k per year…</p>
<p>You should contact Yale and ask them to extend your deadline for SIR… explain the delay in learning of your outside scholarships. If they fail to reply, or won’t extend, SIR anyway. What are they going to do… arrest you if you don’t matriculate? </p>
<p>Summary: SIR to both Duke and Yale, pending the determination of your outside schollies. Then make the financial analysis at that time.</p>
<p>Ah I see what you’re saying. Well, at least this kind of decision is a great problem to have</p>
<p>Outside scholarships will only affect Freshman year costs. That shouldn’t be a big difference in the analysis (and I never agree with “bending” the rules like this). This is absolutely silly. Go to Duke. Either your parents can afford Yale or not. If they are willing to pay the costs then go there. If they want you to foot the bill in loans which will cost you $2K/mo in loan payments for 10 years then pass.</p>
<p>I am not so sure it is as simple as, either they can afford it, or they can’t. But, if they are willing to pay for it, you guys think I should just go there?
Also, doesn’t putting in two SIRs make it possible for both of them to rescind me? (I do want to go SOMEWHERE in the fall, I just don’t know where).</p>
<p>Help! I’m thinking I made the wrong decision in picking duke (especially because you guys seemed to think I should have just followed my heart with rice?) At the time, I felt like the scholar benefits and the closeness and public health opportunities at duke made it worth not being as good a fit as Rice, but now I’m not so sure.
Is there a way I can fix it and sir at Rice instead at this point? Or should I just deal?</p>
<p>Since you’ve already enrolled at Duke, I think you should at least give the school a chance. It’s difficult not to find your niche here because there are so many different types of people and so many different activities you can get involved in. I agree that Rice may have been a slightly better personal fit but Duke is definitely the better academic fit with your interest in public health. You said you liked your fellow scholars so you already have a head start with regards to making friends in college.:)</p>
<p>Your emotions will naturally be flinging you from one side of the room to the other. Relax. Everyone gets buyer’s remorse.</p>
<p>You don’t know how you’ll fit at Duke until you’re there giving it a go, and you will likely never know how you would have fit at Rice. You’re spinning on pure speculation.</p>