Undergrad vs. Grad

<p>Is it really worth it going to HYP or the other elite schools as an undergraduate? I mean, the Ivy funds mainly goes to research and graduate support, not the undergraduates.
But is it better to attend an Ivy all the way in order to establish better connections between people?</p>

<p>ya but have fun w/ the paying the loans later</p>

<p>unless your rich of course....or really poor and get finacial aide</p>

<p>Well, this is a really general question but I'd say that you'd be better off financially and maybe even as a person if you went to the best "fit" undergrad and then shot for Ivy prestige as a grad student if that is what is important to you.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I mean, the Ivy funds mainly goes to research and graduate support, not the undergraduates.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is the kind of statement I see on here a lot. How true is this? Do you know this, or is it just something you've heard? What do you (or your sources) mean by the funds "mainly" going to research and graduate support?</p>

<p>That aside, how important "connections" are probably depends on your field. If you go into something that's all about networking, and networking with an elite, selective group of Ivy League people, than yes, I suppose that's a help. But that's not true in all fields. Professionally, my grad school connections are a much bigger factor than my undergrad connections. And in my case I'd say they are help, and an enrichment, but not essential to my future.</p>

<p>"the Ivy funds mainly goes to research and graduate support, not the undergraduates."</p>

<p>What gives credence to this? The eight ivies are considered top colleges because of excellent undergraduate experience -- not because they give short shrift to the undergrads. At my alma mater, we actually felt bad for the grad students b/c it seemed our every whim was met by our university.</p>

<p>I find it to be false completely.</p>

<p>Is it worth it? Dunno. That's not a judgment I can make. There's another thread ongoing about this very question though</p>

<p>got it from a news article.
I think it was about whether the Ivys were worth it or not..</p>

<p>If you get accepted to an Ivy and money is not a problem, and the weather is not also a problem then I say go for it. But if money is a problem, it's best to save it for graduate school. I think an MBA or Law from top schools really open doors. I know I get flame for this but don't go there if your intention is to become a school teacher. Local universities are fine.</p>

<p>The problem with that strategy is that ivies are way overrepresented at top law and business schools. Look at any class list. You'll see two from UCLA which has what, 50K undergrads and 35 from ivies with 5K undergrads.</p>

<p>Even if you go to an ivy undergrad, only those at the top will be looking at a top 10 law school. Imagine how hard Harvard or Yale are from a mediocre college.</p>

<p>All of these people going to X for now with ivy plans for grad school should take a hard look at the odds of that actually happening.</p>

<p>Well if you want really undergrad-focused ivy's I would go for Dartmouth, Brown, or Princeton. Also don't forget about LAC's like Williams, Pomona, etc. that are just amazing.</p>

<p>I second this^</p>

<p>For the ultimate educational experience, go to a top LAC for undergrad and then a big-name grad/professional school. That way you can get the attention of an LAC, and then later on, get the prestige where it actually matters (grad or professional school)</p>

<p>^^That sounds good to me!</p>

<p>Actually Princeton happens to have excellent Undergrad focus (Undergrads outnumber Grad students 2 to 1)</p>

<p>i think grad is way more important connections wise. in big companies theey could care less where you went for your b.a or b.s degree its all about experience grad school is where you pick up the nice internships/connections</p>

<p>Bush went to Yale and Harvard........enough said.</p>

<p>^ Bush is just one example. So what...he is the president isn't he?</p>

<p>haha. What kind of president ;)</p>

<p>Doesn't matter, he's the president. Then again 1/3 of the country doesn't hate him (that's a 100 million people) ;)</p>

<p>With 2/3 probably thinking "Thank God he's getting out of office next year!!"</p>

<p>Even for top lawyer like Larry Sonsini, top in money+power category, graduated from UC Berkeley</p>

<p>
[quote]
A Counselor Pulled From the Shadows
The New York Times (7/30/06)</p>

<p>Larry W. Sonsini '66, Silicon Valley’s most feared and sought-after lawyer, dresses in fine Italian suits even as the rest of the Valley — other high-priced attorneys included — ply their trades in chinos and blue Oxford shirts. He is soft-spoken and restrained, sometimes eerily quiet, in contrast to the brash and kinetic entrepreneurs and financiers who otherwise dominate the landscape.</p>

<p>While the Valley can be a chummy, clubby place where even adversaries freely trade tales of children and outside activities, Mr. Sonsini would no sooner share personal information about himself, a longtime legal rival said, than a soldier at war would fraternize with an enemy combatant. In a land in which even the top executives and most successful venture capitalists generally use verbal mallets to drive home a point, he is a surgeon, adroit at using an intellectual and legal scalpel to win an argument or get his way...</p>

<p>Silence, in Mr. Sonsini’s case, has been golden. During his 40 years as a lawyer, Mr. Sonsini, 65, has served as legal counsel to the most prestigious venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. He helped to bring public many of the leaders of the technology boom, including Netscape Communications, Pixar, Google, Apple and Sun Microsystems. The investment banking firm of Robertson Stevens, based in San Francisco until it closed its doors in 2002, handled more than 500 initial public offerings over a 30-year period, and Mr. Sonsini was there for most of them...</p>

<p>“In one way or another, Larry was involved in almost every deal we underwrote,” said Sanford R. Robertson, founder of the bank that bore his name. Mr. Sonsini, who briefly served on the board of the New York Stock Exchange, is not just the area’s most influential lawyer, Mr. Robertson said, “He’s probably the most powerful person in Silicon Valley...”

[/quote]
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