<p>why? to freeze?</p>
<p>This guy in my school turned down Cornell, Northwestern, Swarthmore, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego etc. for... UC Davis. I don't know why because he got scholarships for some of the others but not for Davis. It was probably still less expensive, though.</p>
<p>I might be turning down La Sorbonne (in Paris) for NYU.</p>
<p>JackBauerPowerHour....I LOOOVE KIEFER SUTHERLAND...hes the hottest, most bad ass guy ever</p>
<p>Someone I know turned down Harvard for Yale, but they're pretty much equal....someone else I know is turning down UC Berkeley and Caltech for USC</p>
<p>Currently it looks like I'm turning down Columbia, Cornell, and Penn for Berkeley (out of state) and maybe even UMich (out of state).</p>
<p>whaaat? robotFOOD, you crazy.....Berkley is understandable, but don't turn down Columbia, Cornell, and Penn for MICH!</p>
<p>Did you get into Wharton @ Penn?</p>
<p>We have two kids like that Cornell-Stanford kid. They turned down Harvard and Stanford and both went to USC, I think. Or some Cali school. Suprised everyone.</p>
<p>I had a friend who turned down Princeton for Uchicago. And it made perfect sense to me, she was the ideal Uchicago student.</p>
<p>Josephine,</p>
<p>So, in other words, smart, hard working, and masochistic?</p>
<p>oh, also, my sister turned down Dartmouth for Brown, but they are pretty equal</p>
<p>
University of Michigan is better than the 3 Ivies you're referring to in many fields of discipline and gives better financial aid in addition to actually offering merit scholarships; therefore, unless he's specialized in a field of study like Cornell Engineering or UPenn Wharton Business, picking UMich over the rest if perfectly justified baby girl.</p>
<p>Uh... for ugrad? Maybe for grad....</p>
<p>my friend turned down Harvard for Pomona</p>
<p>This probably won't qualify because I'm not turning down Harvard or anything. I'm turning down University of Florida, University of Georgia, Wake Forest and University of Toronto to go to the University of Texas at San Antonio. The catch is that if I maintain atleast a 3.2 GPA, I get admitted to UT austin automatically sophmore year. I think I'm crazy but you can't beat in-state tuition.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Whoop-de-friggin-do</p>
<p>Just because a large amount of students who go into engineering or plan to go to med school end up doing something else doesn't mean they're "short-sighted" for not wanting to pay off loans for half their lives. I think it's a bit silly and "short-sighted" to fork out $40,000 a year for a stupid name, myself.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Huh? Since when was cost a factor? My presumption was that cost would be the same. For example, somebody turning down Harvard for, oh I don't know, Cornell (hence, same cost) to do engineering, and then finding out later that they don't really want to be engineers anymore. I would say that these people are probably regretting their choice to turn down Harvard. In either case, the debt you have to get into is the same. </p>
<p>Or it may even be in Harvard's favor. Harvard is well known for extremely aggressive financial aid - and in fact, has gotten even more aggressive lately. I know several people who are California state residents and got into Berkeley and Harvard ... and found out that Harvard would turn out to be CHEAPER, once financial aid was factored in. Basically, Berkeley wanted them to take out some loans, whereas Harvard was offering them full rides + stipend in the form of full grants. I will always remember one of them saying that they had always dreamed of going to Berkeley, but he can't afford it, so now he has 'no choice' but to go to Harvard. He had a pretty sarcastic sense of humor. </p>
<p>Hence, the point is, for some people (especially those coming from modest financial backgrounds), Harvard is actually the most cost-effective choice. Some people actually SAVE MONEY by going to Harvard. </p>
<p>The same can also be true of graduate schools. I know a guy who got into doctoral programs at several places, including Harvard, and found that Harvard was giving him, far and away, the most generous financial package. Basically, the Harvard doctoral stipend paid him about 10k more than any of the other schools. Furthermore, the other schools would have wanted him to work for their stipends via being a TA or an RA. But at Harvard, the stipend is a full fellowship, with no work requirements. Hence, he would actually be making MORE money by choosing Harvard. </p>
<p>The point is, you can't just dismiss Harvard as being the most expensive choice. Sometimes it is actually the LEAST expensive choice. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Would you say that it's pointless for people to go to college because so many flunk out? Of course not, so stop putting down their decisions to attend a school better for their major based on faceless statistics.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Actually, yes, it is worse than pointless. And in fact, several recent government studies have attested to this 'deadweight loss', of students going to college for a few years, wasting time and money, and not graduating. It is a drag on the resources of society. It is obviously a loss to the student, in that that student basically wasted time and money without getting a degree. In the case of the public schools, it is a waste of taxpayer resources, because that student was subsidized by government funds, and then never got a degree. This is why a number of prominent educators have been looking at the problems of students who don't graduate and are trying to enact policies to increase graduation rates. It would be better for society if more students actually graduated. Either that, or don't go to college at all so as not to waste society's resources. The worst thing to do is for students to go only half way, then drop out. That's a waste of everybody's time. </p>
<p>I think you shouldn't be so glib about people who get hurt by choosing a school for a specific major, and then find out that they don't want that major anymore. Then that simply becomes a bad fit for both parties. You should not deliberately close your eyes to this problem.</p>
<p>a kid from my school last year turned down princeton and yale for uchicago.. he probably fits in perfectly there..</p>
<p>curmudgeon's daughter turned down amherst and yale for rhodes</p>
<p>
[quote]
he was brillaint, 1600 SAT, 800 x 7 SAT IIs absolutely brilliant
[/quote]
This is no testament one's brilliance. Only to one's methodical approach at learning and memory.</p>
<p>a girl last year from my school</p>
<p>turned down</p>
<p>columbia, dartmouth, brown, duke, cornell, and a few others</p>
<p>for Swarthmore, ppl were kinda shocked even though it is great to begin w., but when she was the only kid to hit columbia, it was surprising</p>
<p>I'm turning down Harvard and Yale for a full-ride at Duke :)</p>