<p>I have not applied yet, and I know the awful chances of actually getting in, I need to know how truly valuable the education is. If I were to be accepted, would it be better to take the best engineering education one can get and 150-200k in debt, or opt for a different school that would pay me near full tuition. </p>
<p>I received the Resselear Medal to RPI and have already talked to many admissions counselors that are practically guaranteeing me full-ride tuition. Rennelear is a great school for STEM undergraduates, not as good as MIT, but still very good.</p>
<p>Apart from choosing either/or, I am considering very heavily the option of getting my BA from RPI and then attempting a MA from MIT. I currently feel this to be my best option, but if anyone is able to tell me that the undergraduate education at MIT is a better long-term investment, it would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>One final note- By the time I graduate high school I will have 45 college credits out of a state university. I was told by RPI that they would accept most of these credits which would at least push me ahead 1-2 year of study. I know that MIT would not accept these credits which would make quite a bit of my extra work go to waste.</p>
MIT would potentially accept those credits (all or some), actually – incoming freshmen regularly receive credit for college-level work they’ve done in high school.</p>
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Keep in mind that this isn’t an “option” – it’s something you might like to do, and it’s something that’s theoretically possible, but getting into MIT for grad school is not a sure thing, even if you were admitted as an undergraduate.</p>
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Do you know for sure that you would receive no financial aid, and that your parents would not pay for any of your education? If this is a known fact, then, no, you probably shouldn’t attend MIT – $200,000 in debt is an impossibly large amount for a student to take on, and it would actually be incredibly difficult for you even to secure this much money in loans for yourself.</p>
<p>At that point, it’s not about whether an MIT education is “worth it”, it’s about that kind of debt severely constraining your ability to make choices about your future.</p>
<p>In addition to what Mollie said, keep in mind that many fields at MIT will not allow you in for an MS. You would have to get into the PhD program, get your MS along the way, and then leave. And that’s not a good mindset for either getting into a PhD program or to start a PhD program.</p>
<p>RPI will accept at most 32 credit hours from entering freshmen. Unless they said otherwise for your case, you’ll be able to save one year of study maximum.</p>
<p>I know I haven’t discussed your main concern here, but if you have any questions regarding RPI, feel free to ask me. I’m currently enrolled as a freshman at RPI.</p>
<p>Easy question, @MrSaxxy! Know, with every fiber of your body, that it is DEFINITELY worth it! Do your very best in your application. Do not deviate at all from this knowledge. Gather the data. Then, in March/April, revisit this question. You will then have choices before you and will have the data with which to decide.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I wasn’t a RPI Medal winner. However, I did get the RPI Leadership award, which is another merit based scholarship RPI offers to some accepted students. The amount offered is known to vary from student to student; in my case, I’m receiving $29K every year to help pay off the $63K yearly cost of attendance.</p>