<p>I have relatively good stats
16/617 = 2.5% at a really competitive school
International Baccalaureate
12 APs by the end of senior year
1590
Decent ECs
Etc etc</p>
<p>BUT I have my heart set on going to University of Texas at Austin. My parents (asian . Omg) are actually okay with this they actually want me to stay close. A lot of my friends who are applying to only Ivies (1st choice Yale, MIT, etc) are saying that I should go somewhere else because UT is not good enough. Okay . One of them actually was like well, Im going to end up as your boss because Im probably going to go to MIT I have automatic admissions into the McCombs School of Business (which is ranked 6th in the nation) Do recruiters look past prestige??? </p>
<p>My list: UPenn, NYU, Berkeley, UT but Im 99% sure that Im going to UT. </p>
<p>i've been expected to go to some great prestigious school all my life. but now that i'm turning in apps, i've applied to one match and 2 safeties. the match was actually kinda on a whim. but i'm really happy with one of my "safeties". it's a safety stat-wise, but it's a match in every other aspect, it has pretty much everything i want, except an exciting surrounding town, which i can live with. my friends think i'm insane, so do my parents, and my sister, and teachers, and pretty much everyone who knows me, but i'm just doing what i want to do. i'm very content with my future plans. just do whatever you want, despite the expectations people have for you.</p>
<p>truthfully, where you go doesn't determine how successful you are in life, you can give an ape a hammer but that doesn't mean he'll know what to do with it</p>
<p>People seem to think they'll automatically enter some kind of elitist life by going prestigious universities. Let them waste 40k a year. In most cases, flagship state universities would get them just as far.</p>
<p>you know when you hear about people who went to "elite" colleges on the news? About new discoveries by grads of these elite colleges? That's maybe 1 or 2 people in a very long time span, and everyone acts like that's going to be them, when they probably aren't. The kid who payed 10,000 a yr. for his state school and the kid who payed 40,000 a yr. for the elite school are most likely going to end up as most Americans do, not as some genius who's discovered a cure for the common cold.</p>
<p>I'm Asian American, and I've come to the conclusion that I love UT BHP. I'm applying there and to Plan II with about the same stats as you, and I don't feel like I am missing out on much. Frankly, I don't know if I can get into Ivies (great GPA and SAT, but no outstanding ECs and so-so essays), but with the top business school in the country (in accounting and marketing at least), I am happy. </p>
<p>BTW, what is the general reputation of the BHP and the Plan II Program. In the sense of academics, BHP is "higher ranked" than U Penn in many areas...but does the "lack of prestige" still make employers look down upon it?</p>
<p>our english teacher who serves on the SAT board and some other prestigious boards provided us with a number of articles that talked about ivies and the other schools. providing credible evidence and sources the articles basically stated that people that attendes other good schools received the same salaries as those who went to the ivies and their quality of life was not differet. so go where it makes you happy.</p>
<p>Austin is a great town and UT is a fine school, especially with your stats, you could definetly get into Plan II, which is comparable to, if not better than, the ivies</p>
<p>seriously, i know of people who have turned down elite schools for plan II, and saved $30,000 while doing it</p>
<p>The connections you make and the network you develop are among the "added value" that many people are willing to pay $30,000 extra a year for. If you like Texas enough to want to stay there for college, and you are eligible for a program of the caliber of Plan II- you are not losing anything on this front at all, IMHO. I am sure most employers or grad schools would view an outstanding college career in this program as being as meritorious as that of an Ivy...save your dollars. Plenty of "prestige", plenty of connections, darn good education, cheap, close to your parents, makes everyone happy!!</p>
<p>What's Plan II? (int'l student very unaware of US system) </p>
<p>To hiya - go to Austin, do what you wanna do, you definitely deserve to enjoy college and your parents are behind you so go for it!!! And like others said here, 'success' is a) subjective, (for some it's earning big bucks, for others become a penniless but free-lance artist) and b) based on the individual, not where s/he studied.</p>
<p>harvard schamarvard, yale fale, MIT,QIT,stanford camford ,brown, white, cornell, dornell, dartmouth, fartmouth....who gives a damn? Go where you think you will be the happiest...after all it is the best years of your life.</p>
<p>I agree, go where you will be happy, but also consider the way the culture of the school (tone, size, professor access, student body, etc) will change the educational experience you have. Some of these excellent public universities are very different culturally (mostly due to hugeness) and would not suit all kids. </p>
<p>I also urge you guys not to lock in to a major or career path too early, and don't pick a school exclusively on that basis. Most HS students have not been exposed to dozens of departments (philosophy, psych, poli sci, comp lit, neuroscience, etc); it's good to dabble a bit and see what excites you.</p>
<p>Well some fields only recruit from prestigious schools, i.e. banking. Law schools also look at the undergraduate school (besides GPA and LSAT), but of course UT-Austin would not harm any chances of that since it is a great school. I would say that there is not a big discrepancy at all between Ivies and UT-Austin, so go wherever makes you happy.</p>
<p>Listen. You can get into a school you AND your parents want (a miracle in itself), prolly get great scholarships because of your rank compared to the rest of the applicant pool, and the school itself is a good one. Grad school programs consider MUCH more than your undergrad school. For someone as smart as you, this should be easy.</p>
<p>Why are you doing this to yourself? What was the point in studying to get high test scores and grades if you were just going to UT. I wish i was in your position.</p>