<p>if it was UC Berkeley, Umich, UVA DEFINITELY 4 YEARS</p>
<p>but, i would even go to rutgers or UFlorida because id get scholarship and would be able to afford an ivy league grad school</p>
<p>no offense, penn state isnt that good, even for a public school (just look at us news or newsweek rankings if you dont agree)</p>
<p>michigan, UC berkeley, UCLA, Virginia, UTexas-Austin are all MUCH better just to name a few</p>
<p>Penn State, University of Florida, and UMaryland are all Tier 1 schools 
They all attract many if not most of the best students in the state due to the value of the education. I am not familiar with Penn State and UF but for certain majors UMCP trumps many of the schools you list as “better”. In comp sci, UMCP trumps many Ivies. Certain engineering programs are also in the Top 10.</p>
<p>Penn State, UF, and UTEXAS AUSTIN are all ranked #15 in “best public schools” on USNWR. MD is next on the list at #18. There are 100s of public unis in the US and these flagships are clearly a cut above the rest.</p>
<p>This question is silly, though. I don’t really see the correlation. I like college. I like resume boosters. So why wouldn’t I want to spend 5 years at an Ivy? Sounds good to me.</p>
<p>Oh, but wait…4 yrs at my state uni cost less than ONE at an Ivy…in fact, it would be financially impossible for me to attend 4 yrs at an Ivy much less FIVE…so I guess what I “prefer” doesn’t really matter :P</p>
<p>I agree with umcp11 100 percent. Most of Penn state’s science and business majors are ranked fairly high, some in the top 10. Our honors college is very prestigious also and that’s just the academic part of PSU. There’s so much more.</p>
<p>I will stay in state school for the 4 years :)</p>
<p>I don’t understand the question. Why would you have to spend 5 years at an Ivy League?</p>
<p>^this as well.</p>
<p>I think the point is that, certeris paribus, people go for the Ivy League “name” as opposed to a generic school. The problem that keeps this poll from being relevant in any way is that CC is rather self-selective in that it tends to attract the cream of the crop of students.</p>
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<p>‘Isn’t that good’? I go to one of the three big state schools in PA, and absolutely despise Penn State, but to say it’s not a good school is certifiably insane. You’re clearly indoctrinated into believing that any school outside of the top 30 is bad. Penn State has one of the strongest alumni networks in the country that is on par with or better than several of the Ivies. The loyalty of Penn State alums is matched by few schools, Ivy, private, or public. If one of the top 50 schools in the country ‘isn’t that good’, I can’t imagine what you think of my school, a tier 3 unranked school (which is BS, by the way).</p>
<p>Only on this site is Penn State ‘not that good’…</p>
<p>Unreal.</p>
<p>LOL at this question. Oh, college confidential kids are adorable sometimes.</p>
<p>I’d rather spent 3 years at the public library and get that education for a dollar fifty in late charges. (Good movie, yeah?)</p>
<p>I go to a “tier 2” state school and love it. So I’d rather do 4 years at the state school and then get my master’s from the Ivy. Best of both worlds, lol.</p>
<p>It’s hard to say. I think I’d go for the Ivy for 5 years; I happen to love college and I think being at an Ivy would be an unmatched educational experience. But I went to a state school that isn’t even close to being considered “good” for two years before transferring and had a great experience. It really has to do with personal fit- would you be happy at the state school? Would you be happy at the Ivy? How important is the Ivy name to you? Will the Ivy name have a real advantage over the state school for grad school admissions? Will the Ivy degree have an advantage in getting the job of your dreams? There are lots of other factors to consider additionally, including finances.</p>
<p>I think I’d probably prefer a 4 yr state school for undergrad and head to an ivy for grad. I see that as the most rewarding combination. </p>
<p>I can’t speak for all schools but as for UMaryland being a bad college…go tell that to Sergey Brin, whose creation is probably the reason you found this forum to begin with.</p>
<p>I’d probably be forced to do the 4-year state school for financial reasons. However, I would love to take the opportunity to do a 5th year anywhere - at any Ivy or otherwise. Or at my current college. I don’t really understand why the comparison is between a 4 year state school and 5 years at an Icy, to be honest…I would have loved a 5th year at UVA, for example (where I almost went).</p>
<p>four years at a state school because im going to medical school and undergrad school has little significance to me and there is no need to go to school for an extra year NO MATTER what… for me that is.</p>
<p>ivy league. it’s just one more year and possibly a lifetime of better connections</p>
<p>Ivy. What’s the harm of going to school for an extra year?</p>
<p>^^^money</p>
<p>It depends what state schools you are talking about. You mentioned Penn State and Maryland so I’m guessing you’re talking about tier 1 schools. If that were the case then I’d pick the state school. </p>
<p>I go to PSU and being that it’s ranked top 15th nationally in academics, great sports, huge campus, great alumni connections, fantastic career center, and have so many activities going on; I’d be hard-pressed to transfer to another university, even if it was an ivy league.</p>
<p>I go to a very well known state school, and I have no qualms with it. So the four years at the state university at a MUCH cheaper price is way better.</p>
<p>Besides, Ivy league schools are overrated.</p>
<p>The poll asks an odd question because the reality is that due to overcrowding and lack of access to essential classes, one is much more likely to take 5 years to graduate from a public school than an Ivy. Of course if one has lots of AP scores of 3, one would more easily graduate in 3-3.5 years from a public than from an Ivy since Ivies require higher AP scores in order to get college credit for them.</p>