<p>haha... go to yale. experience something OUTSIDE of north carolina.</p>
<p>one of my good friends chose yale over unc, she got the morehead.</p>
<p>UNC Robertson vs. Harvard for me...what are you leaning towards Seven Nights (and I probably met you over the finalist weekend...who are you)?</p>
<p>go to unc, harvard sucks!!! lol</p>
<p>Beavercall07 a decision such as this isn't one that is solely bent on name dropping, but rather a host of different issues- finances, opportunities, and quality of education.</p>
<p>...
[quote]
experience something OUTSIDE of north carolina.
[/quote]
that has nothing to do with name dropping. it is all about the opportunities available to you, which is part of what you're basing your decision on, right?</p>
<p>wrong. it's also about money. how much money in loans do i want to take out? i also have to seriously think about grad school. imagine graduating debt free or $60,000 in loans?</p>
<p>I turned down Harvard and Yale for a full tuition scholarship at Carolina last year, and I've met plenty of others here who have done the same. I know from experience that a lot of people will call you crazy, but I believe strongly that there is not a big enough difference between UNC and the Ivy League to warrant that much extra money. The Robertson Scholars program, as you know, is a wonderful opportunity to attend two fine universities, and the experiences you will receive through it I am sure will be equal to anything you could get at an Ivy League school. I am quite happy that I can go to school and not come out of undergrad with a huge debt already built up. I plan to use the money I saved to attend a leading graduate/law program, which seems a lot more important career-wise than the name of your undergrad institution. Your decision probably should also depend on individual fit...I felt a lot more comfortable at UNC than I did at Yale (granted I only did the overnight stay at both), but it still seemed like a better place for me to go to school. I know it's not as fun watching people's reactions when you tell them you go to UNC than it would be if you got to drop the h-bomb all the time, but is that really worth all the extra money? Good luck in your decision, and I hope to see you in Chapel Hill next fall!</p>
<p>
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...the opportunities available to you, which is part of what you're basing your decision on, right?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>...PART. part of what you're basing your decision on. i never said the decision had nothing to do with finances, and i completely understand your full-tuition-at-an-excellent-state-school vs. tens-of-thousands-at-an-awesome-private-school situation. i was deciding between UMich and MIT, and i know if i had gone to UMich for undergrad, even though i would be pretty much paid to go there, and would have finished school in 2 years, i would have always wondered what it would have been like to go to MIT. but then again that's because i fell in love w/ MIT when i visited. i guess if you never visited Yale and UNC, or if you did visit and didn't get that "wow i have to go to Yale" feeling, your situation isn't the same. don't get touchy dude, i was just trying to help. Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>and about grad school expenses, a lot of the time your employer will pay for you to get your master's and/or phd.</p>
<p>that's if you go the traditional business route (whether it be engineering or business or whatever). I don't think I'll be going the traditional business route. Non-profit work and government/ public service is what I want to do in my future. I haven't heard of any group that offers to pay for grad school in non-profits or government (M.P.P. wise).</p>
<p>Also, as it turns out I will be end up being paid around $40,000 (after all expenses are covered) just to go to this school once my other outside scholarships are used (first outside then the block of Robertson money. Any remaining amount is placed in a bank account for your own use).</p>
<p>And, because of my extensive AP credits I can easily go study abroad, double major, and become involved in student government (something I would like to do) and not becomed burdened with intense work.</p>
<p>I just see too many pluses for the Robertsons at the moment. And who can complain about the summers.</p>
<p>$40,000?? you're so unbelievably lucky it's not even funny. x__x</p>
<p>seven nights, seems like every post you make supports going to unc-ch. why don't you just go there? it's a great school, and if it's the right fit for you, then that is where you should be.</p>
<p>you're doing public service anyway, and... if you go to yale, it will be hard to do whatever you want to do when you get out of undergrad, b/c you may have to take the job that pays more, not the job that you like more, due to large loan amounts that you have to pay back.</p>
<p>Dude, you just can't pass up the Robertson. If you're worried about the quality of education, don't forget that you're also taking classes at Duke. Also, think about your summer experiences. They "complete" your education. You'll have an easier time getting into grad schools from UNC. Your GPA will be higher, you'll have more time for ECs, and your summer experiences will give you a lot to talk about in your interviews and essays. Grad schools know that just about all the Robertsons turned down the Ivies. If you got into the Honors Program, you can choose to have class sizes of about 20, even for intro classes. I visited an honors seminar; it was amazing, and the students were very very smart. UNC will also be a lot more fun. The social atmosphere and especially the location is much better than Yale's. Chapel Hill > New Haven. I'm turning down Penn, Dartmouth, and Cornell for a full-ride to UNC because a free education at UNC is impossible to pass up, and the summer experiences that come with the scholarship add a whole new dimension to your education. Many students that I've talked to at UNC have turned down HYPS for a free education at UNC. Don't worry, by accepting the Robertson you would not be making a decision that you will ever regret.</p>
<p>true, going to unc would definitely be less risky.</p>
<p>seven nights/beavercall</p>
<p>As chocoholic stated we were in a very similar position last year as our son was accepted EA at Yale and subsequently was named a Morehead Scholar at UNC. We felt that we had hit the lotto (not because of the financial implications) but because, either way, how could you go wrong? Having Yale in his back pocket actually made his investigation of the Morehead and all that went with it an easier process. It was/is after all a win-win situation.</p>
<p>Yale had been his "dream" school since the ninth grade and to be honest we (parents) were pretty well invested in the thought of him attending there as well. He was the first person in our entire extended family ever to apply, let alone be admitted to an Ivy.</p>
<p>He opted to take the Morehead. He, and I think 5 others in his Morehead class, turned down Yale last year while others turned down H, P and S among other "elite" schools. I can honestly tell you that our son says he has never regretted his decision, and from what he tells us, his friends all feel the same way. He also likes the fact that he is receiving an incredible education with world travel experiences and will be debt free when he graduates.</p>
<p>I have never seen him so happy in his life. The experiential learning that comes with both the Morehead and Robertson (and Jefferson at UVA) (both of which incidentally were patterned after the Morehead) is an incredible plus to your undergraduate experience. It is a well documented and supported fact that grad and professional schools view a Morehead, Robertson or Jefferson alum in the same light as grads of HYPS and in many cases they even get a bump because of that experiential learning portion of their education and the added maturity that comes with it.</p>
<p>Seeing and hearing about his love of UNC, his "amazing" friends, and overall just how happy he is with his college experience has made it far easier than I ever thought it would be to not have a Yale sticker in the back window of my car. </p>
<p>Just to put things in a different perspective; if you go to Yale you will be one of about 1300 entering freshman. Not to disparage that fact,because it is quite an elite group. However, if you accept the Robertson you will be one of 30 and when you gradute you will be one of 30. Additionally you will have a built in group of about 100 others the minute you step on campus,who are very much like you who will become close friends and allies. Last but certainly not least, you will have the Robertson Foundation's staff of professionals there to mentor and guide you who are VERY MUCH INVESTED in your future success. You will have none of the above at Yale. You will be one of 1300.</p>
<p>There is one other big factor to weigh in as well;AP credits. My son was able to bring 40 AP credits with him and is already in upper division classes. He does not have plans to graduate any sooner than four years. This however has made it easier to take classes he WANTS to take, and he will have ALL his premed requirements completed and be ready for the MCATs after his sophomore year. He is positioning himself for either dual degrees or multiple major/minors. None of this would have happened with Yale's AP policy.</p>
<p>Being debt free headed to medical school is certainly not a bad option.</p>
<p>If you would rather hear this from someone who had to make the same decision (and live with the consequences of that decision) last year rather than from a parent, contact me via private message and I will put you in contact with my son who can tell you about his Morehead experience and I am sure can also have you talk to one of his several friends who are Robertsons.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It is a well documented and supported fact that grad and professional schools view a Morehead, Robertson or Jefferson alum in the same light as grads of HYPS and in many cases they even get a bump because of that experiential learning portion of their education and the added maturity that comes with it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't doubt this is true (except with the Robertson, because this is, of course, the first graduating class), but I'm just curious as to where you've heard/experienced this?</p>
<p>From information about graduates from the Morehead program. If you flip through the alumni directory, you see quite a bit of "JD, Yale Law", "MD, Harvard Medical", "MBA, Stanford Univ." Of course you can't get into these programs just by graduating as a Morehead, you have to get high grades and scores (and the Morehead already "screens" for people with these).</p>