<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I recently got accepted to Harvard and Madison but I am at a dilemma..</p>
<p>Because I have been taking classes at UW-Milwaukee and many AP classes, I am only two classes (6 credits) away from finishing my Econ major at UW-Madison. I would be in and out in two years and on my way to grad school. On top of that, I have a full scholarship to UW-Madison.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Harvard is a great school but its also beyond expensive. My family recently started to make money (my dad was in school until very recently) so we do not qualify for much financial age (close to none) and we do not have a lot saved up for Harvard. Subsequently, I'd probably end up in debt for a couple decades...</p>
<p>What would you guys do? Any advice?</p>
<p>For families making $160,000 or less, tuition at Harvard is 10% of the total family income. So, if your family makes $120,000, tuition is $12,000, pretty darn good deal.</p>
<p>Go to Madison. You do not want to go into debt for just an undergraduate degree. You can save a lot of time and money by going to Madison, just as you said. Finish undergrad in 2 years and with a scholarship with little debt and go to Harvard for graduate school. Graduate school at Harvard would be perfect for jobs later on. Harvard grad school is worth your money a lot more than undergrad.</p>
<p>It’s Harvard…you go unless for some reason you don’t want to.</p>
<p>Its Harvard unless you got into a much better school like Stanford!!</p>
<p>You will not be prepared for grad school with only two years of college and the minimum credits for a degree. Since you plan on grad school you are planning on being in an academic setting for a long time. You can never replace the college undergrad experience- don’t be in a rush. You will not have time to take the many courses not available in HS (or even most colleges). You will lack a lot of the maturity you will gain over the next four years and will be out of synch with your academic peers- if you do get into a grad school. You do need to take 60 credits or such at UW so I imagine you will have room for many advanced, even grad level courses. But you will miss out on a major part of life as a young adult- something you can’t replace later.</p>
<p>You state Harvard is affordable for you and your family. Take advantage of the opportunity to go to Harvard. Your AP courses are minimal college quality for schools even for UW- your HS AP courses (and many UWM courses) are nowhere near the caliber of Harvard or even UW courses. Only some fields are better at UW- such as computer science. Take advantage of the opportunity to be with other freshmen of similar talent and stretch your brain. You will also be much more competitive for grad schools.</p>
<p>Unless you’re going into a science related area as wis75 says, Harvard will generally provide you with more academic opportunities, so if you can afford it you should go there.</p>
<p>Also, I completely agree with wis75 as far as not rushing through college. Even 3 years is pushing it in terms of getting out of the college experience what you need, but 2 is just way too short.</p>
<p>Most science related fields are excellent at Harvard, computer science is an exception relative to some U’s. I found out that UW’s comp sci department was started in the 1960’s before many other U’s (but UIUC is one of the first in the field). You need to pay attention to some specific majors if you have an interest in them- no school has absolutely everything or is best in all fields. As an undergrad you want an institution strong in most fields with a peer group of similar academic ability.</p>
<p>There is much more to Harvard then just learning a particular field. Think of the contacts you will make at Harvard, the students are either super rich, super connected or super smart. I have friends who meet their spouse at Harvard the male has earned seven figures the wife high six figures and their first 2 children go the Harvard. Apples don’t fall too far from the trees!!! There is no guaranty that you will get into Harvard graduate school. I could write you a book on the advantages, if you can afford Harvard go.</p>