This is ridiculous (I think)...full ride at state school+stipend vs. vandy vs. ivies

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Any input is greatly welcomed!!!!</p>

<p>I received a full ride + 10,000/year STIPEND (with a fully-paid summer study-abroad opportunity) at a state school ranked top 80 in the nation overall in the national universities section...I'd rather not reveal the name, if that's cool...</p>

<p>I got a 39k/year scholarship to Vanderbilt (how darn generous!!!!) and will pay about half the total cost at Duke and Dartmouth.</p>

<p>(I am looking to go into medical school after undergraduate, so that might make the finances more difficult to handle.)</p>

<p>Any suggestions/thoughts???
--GRACIAS!!!!</p>

2

<p>They're going to pay you to go to school?? Goodness.</p>

<p>Given that you're planning on medical school afterwards, and given that that's the degree that will really matter, I'd opt for the state school.</p>

3

<p>Probably Vandy. No one of those 3 schools stands out over the other except in the US News Rankings. If you don't plan to do pre-med than it may make a difference in your selection.</p>

4

<p>I dramatically disagree. Duke and Dartmouth both have awesome national reputations. Vanderbilt, IMHO, is a terrific school but is below those reps.</p>

<p>But goodness -- the money difference is huge. </p>

<p>At the state school, you'll basically come out ahead with $40,000 over four years. That's like almost a first year of medical school. At Duke and Dartmouth, you'll be paying around $25,000 per year -- for a total cost of $100,000 over four years.</p>

<p>That's a $140,000 difference, with four years of med school to go.</p>

<p>And even if it's the University of North Dakota, the medical school name is what matters.</p>

5

<p>Either Vandy or the state school. Med school is expensive.</p>

6

<p>lol, dang....so I suppose Duke and Dartmouth aren't looking too favorable here....</p>

7

<p>I'm definitely biased here, because my son took the scholarship to Vanderbilt. He is finishing up his freshman year. It has worked out great for him, his courses (admittedly not standard freshman fare) have been rigorous, he has gotten involved in a variety of campus organizations, has been doing research since the first month on campus, has been able to get to know professors, and really likes Nashville.</p>

<p>To my chagrin, he likes it there so much he will probably spend most of the summer there doing research.</p>

<p>I doubt very much he would have gotten any more out of Duke and Dartmouth. Maybe that's just him. But that is a lot of money to walk away from.</p>

8

<p>Veryhappy, It maybe pretigous in your neck of the wood but not here. I'm drawing a blank as to where Duke is? Sorry for my ignorance. I think Vandy offers just the right combination of prestige and money. My company does work with Vanderbilt Engineering department. However, state school maybe too low on prestige.</p>

9

<p>You're joking, right?</p>

10

<p>hey, what happened to Stanford, Stanfordkid?</p>

<p>I would pick BigStateU or Vandy... but there is a caveat -- are you in a special program or Honors, at big State U? If there are no privileges at Big State U other than the money, my answer would be different.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
You're joking, right?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>About what? What I'm trying to tell you is not everybody is aware of these schools unless they refer to the US News Rankings.</p>

12

<p>yeah...stanford's out of the question now b/c of distance :-/</p>

13

<p>^Stanford is a killer for pre-med. My neighbor's D graduated from there a few years back and she is in Vanderbilt medical school right now.</p>

14

<p>D is in same situation. The Big State U. deal is very tempting financially, but not especially attractive otherwise. It would be easy to go for the money and then a great grad school. Unfortunately, you don't get those 4 years back to do over so it's not an easy decision despite all the money on the table.</p>

15

<p>Not familiar with Duke? Right. Something tells me that Columbia_Student is a Tar Heels fan.</p>

16

<p>I would kill (joking) to "only" pay 25K for my D at Duke, but "only" is relative. What if you change you mind about medical school? Many do.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
Something tells me that Columbia_Student is a Tar Heels fan.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What is the Tar Heels fan? Last year nobody from my daughter school applied to Duke, so it's must not be popular here. I have not seen the naviance for this year.</p>

18

<p>Whether or not Duke or Dartmouth are popular at Columbia_Student's school is irrelevant to the OP's future career and choice between schools. Both are very well respected and extremely well known within academia and recruitment, and honestly...they're in popular culture too.</p>

19

<p>The reputation of these schools depends on what region a student comes from. That is why it's not worth agonizing about these choices. D's high school is in the top 50 high school for US News, so we are not totally in the dark when it comes to colleges.
I wrote that sincerely and don't mean to offend anyone and I'm sure these schools are well respected in academia.</p>

<p>EDIT: This person is considering pre-med, so as far as medical is concerned the prestige of one's undergraduate does not matter as much.</p>

20

<p>I have NEVER known anyone to get not only a free ride to a school but also a stipend. Thus, I am curious. What did you have going for you? Did you get all 800s on your SATs? Are you URM? Did you have some extraordinary extracurricular activitiews such as winning a Pulitzer Prize or is your name something like Trump or Disney etc.? What did you have going for you?</p>