<p>I have a friend who was a U Maryland Honors student who did not speak too highly of the program.</p>
<p>Essentially, you’re paying the brand ivy brand name. It’s the same reason why people buy BMW instead of Toyota. I personally turned down a full ride from a state school to attend an ivy and so far, I’ve had no regrets.</p>
<p>NO but I bet if you said Wharton they would recognize the name…depends what you go Penn for.</p>
<p>“Science PhDs get much higher stipends, but all PhD programs that are worth going into are funded. Top schools do not accept students they are not willing to fund fully.”</p>
<p>Would they be more willing to accept and fund fully the students from the more prestigious schools, all other things being equal?</p>
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<p>They would be more willing to accept and fund students who have 1) high GPAs, 2) research experience, and 3) excellent recommendations – preferably from professors who are known in their fields.</p>
<p>of course there are some very well known professors at the state U’s. In fact some of the world leaders are at State U not in the IVY league, depending on major of course.</p>
<p>Research experience has been easy to get so far for my sons, one at State U and the other at a top private, as sophomores. They are computer engineering majors. Frankly I haven’t seen much difference in their experiences. One is at a tier 3 U and the other a top 20 private. The state U is well regarded in the Engineering area however.</p>
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For engineering, Stanford does not fund fully. A few get 3-year fellowship from start. Most get nothing. Berkeley PhD funds fully.</p>
<p>I have a niece who was faced with a similar decision. Her options were the University of Pennsylvania or a scholarship at the Plan 2 Program at the University of Texas. She chose Texas. She just got into both Yale and Harvard Law Schools, so obviously she made a wise choice.</p>
<p>^i also know someone who chose UF Honor College over Penn, Duke, and i think Cornell. she was recently admitted into Harvard Med.</p>
<p>there are tons and tons of examples. the bottom line is, going to a good state university like UMD won’t hinder you from doing anything you want (unless you want to be the president or a cabinet member or something). in your case, it’s better to save the money and work hard to stand out in the state honors program.</p>
<p>^^ My niece went to Penn, and is graduating from Harvard Med. She chose Harvard (huge merit scholarship although website doesn’t indicate merits are available) over full rides from Penn medical and Pittsburgh medical. Stanford Med also offered money so did Johns Hopkins. She was also a Rhodes Scholar finalist.</p>
<p>There are many anecdotal evidence for and against…ultimately it’s your decision.</p>
<p>whoa Cbreeze! is your niece human? advise your sis or bro to sell her to a museum</p>