<p>Yale would be "the exposure of a lifetime?" There are a handful of other schools that will each offer very similar experiences to Yale. There is nothing unique about Yale. Turning down Notre Dame is wrong, especially since you can't seem to develop any substantial reason why you seem to have a grudge against it.</p>
<p>thanks for all of your input. i was accepted ea to notre dame and really wnat to go there, but i also applied to columbia and harvard. my family keeps telling me that if i got accepted into either those i should "seriously reconsider" and it bothers me. you guys have given me good arfuments lol.</p>
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<p>Amc, I'm not sure why Columbia and Harvard if you like ND. Quite honestly the most "ND" like Ivies are Dartmouth and Princeton (maybe Yale too) - strong undergrad focus, strong campus life, alumni loyalty, etc.</p>
<p>Yoshukiu, I went to ND, just believe my son would see a bigger world at Yale.</p>
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<p>That statement takes ignorance to a new level. Have you even heard of the residential college system at Yale?</p>
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<p>I'm not trying to offend anyone when I say this, but if you're a parent, please realize that your son or daughter will get an EXCELLENT education no matter if they go to ND or to an Ivy. The choice is theirs, not yours. They are the ones going to college. Even if you want them to go to an Ivy League, if they would be happier at ND, let them go. Don't make the decision for them. Don't over-hype the prestige of Harvard/Yale/Dartmouth/etc. Let your kids go where they want to go. They'll see the world and get an education either way.</p>
<p>MiPerson--my question remains^^?</p>
<p>Slipper--son had the same impression about ND and Princeton in similarity. I think the difference was that ND seemed much more down to earth; Princeton kids seemed to want everyone to know that they had been admitted and were students. Princeton just wasn't the right fit for son. And yes, as mentioned earlier, I wouldn't buy into the hype; it is what the student makes of the education that matters!</p>
<p>Hahahaha, a Yale education is nothing unique?</p>
<p>I'm sorry if Im assuming something completely wrong, but I interpreted "seeing a bigger world at Yale" to mean experiencing more of a variety of worldviews.</p>
<p>I got into ND EA, and even though it is in my top two or three schools, I am still planning on applying to two Ivies (Yale and Brown) Regular. Even though both of these schools are so different, they both have the one thing that I feel ND lacks- diversity. Even though ND students come from all over, realistically, a large majority of them are white, conservative, Catholics. I think that if I were to attend Yale or Brown, I would meet people who thought differently than me and were raised in different environments than I was, unlike most of the student body at ND. just my two cents.</p>
<p>DS1 went to ND, just graduated and loved it. All around a positive experience for him and his family. DS2 at HYP, not so much. Considering transfer. Maybe it is him, but the school he currently attends has never felt authentic to me. No cohesive sense of community that one enjoys at ND. It is hard to turn done an upper tier Ivy, but they are not for everyone.</p>
<p>i applied to harvard because it's in boston and because my mom made me lol; i applied to columbia because three of my friends got in, it's in new york, and i have family there and would like to return to where i used to live. </p>
<p>i told my parents that im not going to open my admissions letters when they come in april.</p>
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<p>I love how cliche it is to "seek greater diversity" when the fact of the matter is that almost everyone is drawn to a social network and group of friends just like any other that they have had. people tend to associate with other people similar to themselves because they have common interests. so while everyone seems to love to play the open-minded, diversity-seeking student, the reality is we all tend to associate with the same people...even if there is a diverse group of people. so then it doesnt even matter. but you might be special</p>
<p>Actually I don't think you will find many schools that are as politically diverse as ND. First, there is nothing wrong with being "white, Catholic, and conservative." Second, the democratic candidate for president won the campus election by over twelve percent. Many colleges are extremely liberal and have absolutely no political diversity whatsoever. So perhaps you should rephrase.</p>
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<p>so far Obama has picked mostly ivy grads but no ND grads (but Condoleza Rice did get her masters at ND)....so another reason to pay the $50K for Yale?</p>
<p>Has Obama picked any Yale grads for positions? Again, wouldn't place too much on an ivy ed just for the name--Obama hasn't picked any southerners for positions, either, but I am sure there are plenty of southern ivy grads as well! I sure hope that your student will be happy no matter where he or she ends up attending. And, I hope you will feel that whatever the cost, it will be worth it!</p>
<p>being an ND graduate (>25 years ago), I am just really upset it is so expensive, and with my wife working, we fall into the zone of not getting any aid but yet being in the automotive industry, our jobs are shaky.......I just think ND has lost it's way, they should have been the one univesity to be more prudent in their spending (especially on infrastructure and this silly drive to become a research university.....too costly and this takes away from the undergrad focus.) I was shocked how deluxe the south dining hall was and all of the food options for the students.....we certainly didn't have this and were happy while there with the food...this is just one example</p>
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<p>I understand your concerns re money; as we have not qualified for fin aid, either. Thank goodness, we have just one more year to go. As far as research, the ivys for the most part are research based, plus throw in Duke, Stanford and a few others. That is part of their make-up. I do not fault ND for aspiring to grow academically. Yes, dining hall is wonderful, but some of the dorms fall into less than luxurious to say the least. I guess campus food helps to make up for it. I suspect all unis (ivys included) are going to be more prudent as endowments have taken quite the hit. (I won't bring football into this equation, but I have to wonder if the loss of stock market revenue for many boosters has insured CW one more year!). That said, I suppose everyone is having to take a good hard look at schools for their students. As I said earlier tho, I hope that your student can find the right fit with the balance of cost. I still believe that there are many great schools and one can be very successful even w/o the ivy name on a resume. We have already discovered that with Notre Dame; son absolutely has no regrets! He has had some wonderful ops during his summers at ND with internships and research. And, he has already accepted a fabulous internship for next summer--even in this economy. This is with the ND name--not ivy!!!</p>
<p>but my problem is that if my son goes to Michigan, it's business school is ranked 5th, the Mendoza school is ranked 4th, Michigan engineering is 7th and ND is 42nd....now, I don't completely buy into the rankings but with the price difference ($23K /yr compared to $50K/yr and my son already has about $5500 given to him so far, $4000 for MEAP and then $1500 for Mi Regents Scholar) and the bad economic time.....ND needs to adjust their costs to keep the upper middle class kids attending.</p>
<p>And Yale's costs? I think colleges across the country need to adjust their costs, not just ND. Bottom line--you and your student have to evaluate whether a particular college will be the right fit tempered with the cost. Sure, our own student could have attended state uni--free--tuition, room and board, books, stipend each summer and laptop to boot. He would have been in honors housing--much newer and updated than ND. But, we knew that it was not the right fit and personally feel that he is being challenged academically at ND. Again, it is a family decision. If you feel that your student will thrive at a college that may cost less than ND and w/o the financial burden, then you/your student needs to make that decision. I highly doubt that ND is going to adjust their costs just because some students/families feel that it does not rate charging what Ivy's charge. </p>
<p>As I mentioned earlier, I think all colleges are going to be re-evaluating their budgets in this economic downturn. I also think that many families are hopefully evaluating with their students about what is affordable vs where a student can be successful and challenged. No doubt this will be an interesting year for admissions as well as finanicial aid offices at all colleges.</p>
<p>"No doubt this will be an interesting year for admissions as well as finanicial aid offices at all colleges"</p>
<p>totally agree with this statement.....</p>