Are all the big scholarship deadlines over? Im still looking at a net cost of 10k-ish which I’d (obviously) love to minimize…
Also, what do you guys/gals/sirs/madams think about switching from one top uni to another after freshman year solely in the pursuit of lower total debt once graduation comes around? Would the trouble of having to move out of a well-crafted niche during freshman year be worth the lower debt (if all goes well, perhaps id be looking at reducing debt by 20 to 30k)?
Why not attend the other school now?
rejected 
brown had always been my “dream school”, and i was thinking it might be a tad bit easier transferring in from another top school (perhaps more so from a school ranked “higher”).
In any event, graduating with the lowest total debt is the goal now (while still being able to benefit from rigorous academic programs and whatnot). State schools were nowhere near enticing in this regard.
So you are attending a higher ranked school than Brown that does not guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students?
^ What @thumper1 said.
Getting into Brown as a transfer is harder than getting in as a freshman. http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/institutional-research/sites/brown.edu.about.administration.institutional-research/files/uploads/CDS_2014-2015_0.pdf
<5% vs. <9%
So…are you now planning to attend MIT? If so, I don’t believe you will find the financial,aid at Brown to be any more generous than that at MIT.
Ok, I’m so sorry for being a bit vague.
Long story short, I didn’t apply to as many research universities as I now think I should have… I’m finding the small-school type environment found on most LAC campuses to not be to my taste
I found myself committing to a state school with a full ride on May the 1st, thinking that even if I was accepted off a wait list somewhere, the financial aid package would be manageable.
I did get off the mit waitlist, and the fin aid package was very generous (as expected perhaps). I was just thinking of applying to a few top unis (ivys, mostly) as a transfer, because as awesome as MIT truly is, I cant seem to shy away from the opportunity to save myself 20 to 30k when all is said and done.
I was a bit curious as to you guys thought on the topic of transferring after freshman year solely in the pursuit of lower net expenses. (and about summer scholarships I shouldnt miss out applying to)
My advice? MIT is worth the debt if you are happy there. After school, just put your creativity into paying it back quickly. You won’t regret it.
So are you going to SUNY? There isn’t one SUNY I can think of that is more competitive for admissions than Brown.
Your post about the financial aid at MIT is confusing. On one hand you say your aid package was “very generous as expected” and on the other hand you say you can’t shy away from saving $20k-$30k.
What I’m saying…your aid at MIT was generous…and any aid you receive from Brown would NOT be more.
Stay at the SUNY and get your bachelors. Was it Stony Brook you were inquiring about housing ? It’s a great school?
You say you have a full free ride. Unless your MIT package was a full free ride, you won’t be saving money by transferring to a place like Brown.
I can’t make heads or tails of what you are saying either. MIT gives as good or even better aid than Brown. Are you saying you want to save money for the one year at a state school and then transfer and pay the higher rate somewhere else?
Graduate from MIT in 3.5 years. Work with your advisor on getting your core requirements done by end of second semester sophomore year, your GIR’s done by end of sophomore year, and give yourself the option of either graduating early or getting a Master’s in your senior year.
I find it hard to believe you will get a better deal from Brown.
Anyway there are not any large scholarships coming up this late.
The OP GOT a large scholarship from his state university…a full ride. You can’t get much better than that.
He also got a very generous award from MIT (but it sounds like the family contribution was still to high for consideration).
This poster has gotten two large awards…sounds like one need based (MIT) and one merit (SUNY).
So what is the OP whining about? Simply pick between these 2 great admission offers and forget about the transfer.
I honestly dont see where I was whining… unless you think im not entitled to polling random internet people for information that could potentially make all the difference to me over the course of my college life… which is what this site is really all about…
In any event, I’m sorry to everyone else as evidently my dialogue was not as clear as I thought it was. All the input really helped though. Thanks! Have a great day.
I think I understood.
You got a generous need based award to MIT.
You got a full free ride to a SUNY.
BUT…you really want to go to Brown where you did not get accepted. And you wonder if apply there as a transfer from “a selective” school would be possible.
Did I misunderstand?
Thank you,
No, you did not misunderstand at all, sorry if you took offence in any capacity.
I have been aware of the statistical odds of getting into a school like Brown as a transfer, and had merely attempted to use this thread to open up discussion on certain musings that seemed to have congealed into the awkward, muddled set of ramblings it now is. I think I’ll go hide myself Too bad I cant delete this thread.