<p>Since decision time is not too far away, I have been doing some reading on which colleges/universities are best. Although the Ivy's have the prestige, a lot of the college literature I have read has promoted the idea of the "big fish" situation, in which a bright student that would be average at an Ivy would stand out and excel at a regular university. Honors programs have been said to contain a piece of Ivy league education within these regular universities. So, for the hard-working non-genius (yet still intelligent) student, which is better?</p>
<p>I chose honors over Ivy, simply because it’s the most bang for your buck. Different school’s honors programs vary. Honors program even vary within the same school. Some honors program give you almost all the benenfit of going to a small elite institution at a fraction of the cost. The career/exit/grad school options are pretty much the same for both as well, barring old boys club type of job in high finance.</p>
<p>When deciding, you should consider want kind of college life you want. Ivies have a pretty elitist feel. Public have the more quintessential college feel. You should also look into what the honors program offers you. Also, you should consider the general quality of the public you are choosing over the ivies. If you are going to a public ivies’ honors program, you basically get ivy league caliber or better professor (and professor interaction) for fraction of the cost. If you are going to a third tier public’s honors program, you are probably better off going to an ivy.</p>
<p>If money matters, go to your state honors program. But don’t think it will be easier than an ivy. The economy is forcing many top students to go to their state schools. Even before the economy tanked, many smart kids were headed to state schools.</p>
<p>If money is not an issue go to an ivy. There’s something great about the whole student body of a school being exceptional. They also hve better resourcess nd spend much more per student providing opportunities. Many careers are helped by an ivy. State schools rarely have great networks (UVA the exception).</p>
<p>liu02bhs: If you wouldn’t mind my asking, which school did you choose over which Ivy’s? The honors programs that I would be considering over namely Cornell would be Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Maryland - College Park, or Delaware.</p>
<p>Redroses: I might have to resort to a state school, due to money. Coincidentally, UVA would be one of the two state schools (including Virginia Tech) that I would have to choose from. Since I’m going to major in Chemical Engineering, part of me would want to immediately disregard UVA because VT’s engineering program is much better. Do you think that since UVA is regarded as a “public Ivy,” and, as you mentioned, it has good networking, that it would be worth it to go to UVA?</p>
<p>A misconception young people have is about being a big fish at a public university, and I just don’t think that is accurate. There are many brilliant students who are not interested in Ivies. There are many families who fall into the middle ground between the wonderful financial aid and having so much money that paying the full bill is no problem, and they are not willing or interested in taking loans to be full pay.</p>
<p>You will need to look around and see where you think you belong. And almost as important, you will need to have an idea of finances as they relate to you.</p>
<p>If you are certain you want to be an engineer VT is fine. If you’re uncertain, go to UVA.</p>
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<p>While I understand the intent of this post, the fact is that for some/many kids, an Ivy will/can be cheaper than an instate public. Of course, some instate publics are really cheap and offer full rides for high-stat students, but others like the UCs run $25k/year instate. For all but the upper class, HYP is less out of pocket than the instate UC.</p>
<p>ivy is always better, imo</p>
<p>Why is that, ironicallyunsure?</p>
<p>Honors programs are overrated. You still get a degree from a lesser university. The so-called benefits are window dressing. Ivy is always better. But, some families are simply unwilling to pay for the Ivy…they won’t take loans.</p>
<p>If you are keyed on engineering, you should choose VT. It’s a well known program. I think it’ll be a good choice over Cornell, even though Cornell has the best engineering program out of all the Ivies. </p>
<p>Don’t go to UVA just because it has a better brand, if the major you want to do is bad.</p>
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That’s false. Depending on your family’s income level, an Ivy could be cheaper.</p>
<p>As an international student , i was shocked by the many things one had to do to get to an ivy.So ,i just chose a state school Honors College because they had the shortest application process,and only needed my high school records&SAT scores.Ended up getting a full ride that is truly full .Heck,they even bought me clothes and a TV set!To quote my adviser,its great to go to a place where you are needed</p>
<p>collegehelp nailed it. plus, you’re always going to have to say “i went to univ of X… but i was in the honors program”. that doesn’t sound nearly as good as just being able to say “i’m going to [insert ivy/top college]”. you have to add it in to try to make it sound like it’s worth something, but it’s really not that impressive. i think honors colleges exist to attract students with much higher stats than the normal student body and to get them away from schools that are better ranked, which is why they offer all the perks (free tuition, priority registration, etc) because otherwise you don’t really have a reason to go</p>
<p>Ivy. A diploma from an ivy is much better looking in your career choice then a degree from a low rated university, or a non-ivy university. Doesn’t matter if its honors or not either.</p>
<p>Money aside, where would you be happier? It’s a personal choice, a simple choice, and often, a hard choice. And then if money comes out on the side of the one at which you would be less happy, you need to put a dollar amount on the happiness you would gain by going to your happier place, and incorporate that into your decision as well.</p>
<p>My opinion: In Minnesota most of our fortune 500 human resource managers would just look at you with a blank face if you said you graduated from the non HYP Ivies. Unless it is Harvard, Princeton or Yale then it really means nothing to them. </p>
<p>There are some state flagship universities with fabulous honors programs (need a 33/34 ACT to get in) and any child who can gain entrance into these programs will obtain a wonderful education among equally talented peers. Sometimes the price is equal or less, but if not then there is zero reason to put yourself $250,000 in debt for your child’s education. A previous poster referred to this as being “unwilling”, but I say it is being fiscally responsible. </p>
<p>(There are quite a few kids on the CC forum who are very proud of the honor’s program they will be attending - we need to be sensitive and choose our words carefully)</p>
<p>I guarantee your “fortune 500” company has heard of Wharton. Difference between Ivies and honors programs…</p>
<p>Honors Programs need 33/34 act to get in</p>
<p>Ivies need that in addition to many many many other things.</p>
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At least according to the rankings, UVA’s Chem E program is every bit as good as Virginia Tech’s – and better than any Ivy’s except Princeton and Cornell’s.</p>
<p>At less than $20K a year, it’s a bargain.</p>