<p>Hey, would it make sense to attend a state school for two years before transferring to an Ivy to save money? Assume that I would get nothing in financial aid. Having spent my first two years at a state school w/scholarship would theoretically slice the costs of the Ivy in half, no?</p>
<p>The problem is that I am fairly sure that at least one Ivy doesn't take transfers, and at Harvard and possibly some others, it's harder to get in as a transfer than as a h.s. senior.</p>
<p>If you got accepted to a top-10 ivy then do not pass up the chance to go there just to save money. It is worth every penny that you spend on it. Chances are that you will not be able to get in again by trying to transfur and its not worth the risk to wait. Northstarmom is 100% correct, its alot harder to get in as a transfur.</p>
<p>Below the top 20 though it might be worth your time to save some money to go to a lower priced state school. Id check there Acceptance rate for transfers at collegeboard.com</p>
<p>Any other opinions?</p>
<p>just go for the ivy. you think about saving money, but your future employer is going to think about where you graduated from. an ivy is more respected than a state school, even if that state school is really good, because people recognize that ivies are hard as hell to get into and you have to be fabulous in everything. </p>
<p>in short, go to the ivy. take out fed loans, and pay them after you graduate.</p>
<p>But 200k in loans isn't worth it when you have law school coming up...</p>
<p>yes it is.</p>
<p>once you get a job as an attorney, you'll pay that stuff off really fast, especially if you get a job fast out of lawschool, which you will because you are an ivy grad and prob an ivy law school grad. law firms will snap you right up.</p>
<p>just take a deep breath and bite the bullet. it's better.</p>
<p>and you probably, almost 99.99 percent sure, won't get in by transfer. it's hard to get in RD, harder to get in ED/EA, and probably worse for transfers.</p>
<p>Think about it long hard...If you are planning on attending law school, you will be in massive debt. Although the name helps with Ivy League Schools, don't assume that a name alone will carry your weight. When you go out into the workforce, no one will care where you received your undergraduate degree. The "Connections" that are often rumored about at the Ivys are incredibly over-rated.</p>
<p>Here is a little scenario I've developed to prove that the Ivys are a waste of mucho dinero:</p>
<p>Ex: I want to go medical school after completing a B.S. in biological sciences. </p>
<p>I go to dartmouth for undergrad. and brown for medical school. and receive no fin. aid.
45,000 X 4=180,000 for Undergrad.
45,000 X4=180,000 for med. school
$360,000 total</p>
<p>I go to my state university and state medical school (umass amherst, Umass medical)
15,000 X 4=60,000 for umass amherst
15,000 X 4=60,000 for umass medical
$120,000 total
360,000-120,000=$240,000
Holy Smokes! Thats like...240,000 bacon cheese burgers at wendy's or a not-too-shabby down payment on a home.</p>
<p>-Well, its looks like either way I'm a doctor (Which means I'll easilly make 6 figures) and whatever effort I put into my career will determine whether I become a gen. pract. or an interventional cardiac surgeon.</p>
<p>*I guess its totally up to you. If you are willing to shell out such an absurd amount of money just to say you attended the Ivys, all the power to you. It just doesn't seem like a worth-while investment to me seeing as that a degree will simply hang on the wall and a doctor is a doctor and a lawyer is a lawyer.</p>
<p>prblms4loki,</p>
<p>Your undergrad degree becomes largely superfluous after you take a graduate degree.</p>
<p>Law and politics are mostly about prestige, though, so going to an Ivy grad would really help things along. However, after going to the University of Florida for undergrad, it's unlikely I'd be accepted into an Ivy law school. Hence transferring...sanguine99, your opinion seems to be the closest to mine in that you have your head on straight when it comes to money...what do you think about transferring?</p>
<p>heartsonsleeve,</p>
<p>
[quote]
However, after going to the University of Florida for undergrad, it's unlikely I'd be accepted into an Ivy law school.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Unless of course you do well and get a good LSAT score.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Law and politics are mostly about prestige
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Politics isn't necessarily about prestige, except at the national level. Politics is about connections, really. Look at some of the most powerful politicians in the US, and many/most of them have no-name degrees.</p>
<p>But where would you get connections?</p>
<p>I really hate the University of Florida. Hate the college, hate the town--it doesn't even have an International Relations major, and it's in the middle of nowhere. Just thinking about it makes me miserable. I don't need to go to an Ivy to be happy, or even a very hard-to-get-into undergrad...but FLORIDA?!? Yuck doesn't begin to describe it. </p>
<p>I guess this is one of those cases where I just can't love my safety...</p>
<p>
[quote]
But where would you get connections?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Go down to your local representative and work in a campaign, as so many aspiring politicians do.</p>
<p>Harvard Law School has 10 students who were undergrads at the University of Florida for the 2005-2006 year. Not that bad compared ot other schools on that list. <a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/admissions/jd/colleges.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.law.harvard.edu/admissions/jd/colleges.php</a></p>
<p>:) That makes me feel better. Sure, it'll be a rotten undergrad experience, but if I still have a shot at Harvard Law/something-along-those-lines, then...well, it's not exactly all right...you have to understand, I hate this place with a passion...but it's better.</p>
<p>Your undergrad does not matter at all when it comes to applying to grad school. Stay all four years because grad school is going to be very expensive... Keep your GPA VERY high (3.8+) and do well on the LSAT and you should be a lock at at least one top 14 law school.</p>
<p>Why is Florida the only option for your undergrad? Scholarship?</p>
<p>Anyway...</p>
<p>I'm not particularly impressed with the Ivy thing, myself. I know they're difficult to get accepted to blah, blah, but you can get a great education from other schools as well. Go state for your undergrad and go Ivy (if it's really that important to you) for law school.</p>
<p>When I say Ivy, what I really mean to say is "a competitive school with lots of opportunities, intellectual stimulus, where I can meet artsy/liberal kids with a strong interest in international stuff, where I can make the connections I need for international stuff, where I can finally see snow, hopefully in a non-rural place, in the northeast USA; a school that is good enough to be worth leaving behind a full ride to the sucky state school." </p>
<p>There are no good schools in Florida. None. Look it up. U of Miami is ridiculously expensive, and is less prestigious than U of Florida, which is not prestigious at all, and in this awful...place...<em>shudders</em>, New College is not at all known inside the state, and everything else is not worth mentioning individually. But if I have to stay instate, U of Florida it is. <em>shudders again</em></p>
<p>I might try to transfer out anyway...</p>
<p>What is wrong with U of Florida? My cousin went there for aeronautical engineering and now he is studying at MIT. Its a big school and many brilliant people opt to go there because of the florida bright futures scholarship. Don't look at picking a "state school" as taking an enormous hit to your education potential...Many brilliant people (both intellectually and financially) go to state schools.</p>
<p>It's this specific state school. Believe me, if I were in California and had to go to one of the UCs, I wouldn't be whining. Or in North Carolina, or in Massachusetts where UmassAmherst looks like a pretty good option! I just hate <em>this</em> school...and unfortunately, this is the best my state has to offer. I've hated the...place...this school is in since before I knew that I would have to live there, and hated it with a <em>passion.</em> I'm a city girl. I can't handle Gainesville. I just can't. There's nothing there!!! I don't like sports and I don't drink, so the only two things that can keep your mind off being there aren't options for me. It's more the place than anything else that bothers me, but that's one of the biggest factors in this college search-thing. Place is just as important to me as prestige or cost. Have you ever been to this place? It's in the middle of nowhere! </p>
<p>I might have to be forced to go there, but damnit, I'm gonna hate every second of it...especially knowing that I could have been anywhere else had it not been for the money.</p>