<p>I'm a sophomore at a pretty good public school in Texas. I have a dilemma right now -- whether to go to TAMS (I've been accepted) or stay. Once of my biggest goals is to be admitted to an ivy league/top university, and at my school its pretty rare. For example, this year around 7 students will go to Rice out of a class of 700 students, while two will go to Columbia. Last year it was the same situation, but one student got into MIT. However, at TAMS, 20+ people get into Ivy League schools out of a class of around 190 students. </p>
<p>TAMS' main attraction consists of the research opportunities, admissions, and the fact that I can get a Masters in 4 years (or a bachelors in 2) after graduating.</p>
<p>However, I would have to quit debate and tennis if I attend TAMS. Debate is my biggest EC, and my favorite as well. I'm not the best nationally, but it does interest me. I would also be able to pursue the sciences locally (research locally, USABO). However, taking 7 courses, policy debate, research, and USABO is sure to prevent me from getting any sleep.</p>
<p>Finally, I don't really know if this matters, but I lose the high school experience including my friends, jumping right into college. I also risk getting a B due to the difficulty of TAMS. </p>
<p>What should I do??</p>
<p>TAMS is an amazing opportunity, not to be taken lightly. But, imo your chances of admission to a top school would not be materially different if you went there. Debate builds invaluable skills and it definitely boosts admissions chances.<br>
[Accidental</a> Hero . College Admission | PBS](<a href=“http://www.pbs.org/accidentalhero/parents/college.html]Accidental”>Accidental Hero . College Admission | PBS)</p>
<p>I am a current TAMS student, so I will potentially be your senior.
TAMS is a huge opportunity that is very difficult to beat at public school. There’s maybe 25 schools in Texas that look as good to colleges as TAMS, and you have to be top 1% or valedictorian to look better. And half of those schools are in Plano. Also, you’d only have to quit competitive tennis if you came here. There’s still plenty of people who go to the rec and play tennis a couple times a week. And we have a burgeoning speech and debate club that competed a handful of times this year. Finally, the “I’m going to miss out on all my friends and miss all the cool high school stuff” argument isn’t valid. At all. I heard it hundreds of times before I came, and they were wrong. I still keep in touch with all my friends back home, but I’ve also made a bunch of really great friends here. And what’s even better is that I live in the same building as them and I see them every day. We still have prom and all that, so you’re not really missing anything.</p>