<p>I am new to US colleges and I have my only son going to college next year. I am confused to help him out. He has two choices. (1) A state college (Tier 3) giving him 100% scholarship (2) An ivy league college where I need to shell out $250 K in total (No scholarhsip). My son is interested in IVY league. I am interested in the state college as I do not need to pay anthing..</p>
<p>My question is</p>
<p>(1) Can my son study two years in the State college and then switch to IVY league college?
What are the associated rules?</p>
<p>(2) Can I ask the IVY league a guaranteed admission during the third year.</p>
<p>You can always try for transfer admission to the Ivy later on, but your chances may not be as good in two years. If the Ivy is really the right place for him, then this is your chance. You can ask anything you like, but you will shock me if you tell us that an Ivy agreed to guarantee admission during the third year. It just doesn’t work like that.</p>
<p>Good luck working out the decision with your son.</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, last year, a couple of the Ivies announced they weren’t taking any transfers, so keep that in mind - that it may not be, necessarily, an option. </p>
<p>By the way, there are many discussions on this site (in the Parents section) about this kind of dilemma. Look up the story of curmudgeon – whose daughter had to choose between an Ivy with high costs involved versus a small southern LAC with 100% scholarship. It makes for some great reading, plus many parents can give you ideas how to discuss the financial issue with your son.</p>
<p>First, Ivy’s dont normally take transfers. Princeton never does. </p>
<p>Second, most Ivy’s have HUGE financial aid. They dont give merit scholarships to anyone but they have enormous resources for financial aid in grants. File your FAFSA and CSS and see what they say to help you. </p>
<p>Most Ivy’s are really reluctant to let good students go by the wayside for financial reasons. Unless of course you have considerable resources and can pay the money. If you have the assets, then its really up to you about what to do.</p>
<p>A full ride is a full ride, and many second and third tier schools are actually very good, though the student body won’t be nearly as competitive as they are in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>The OP must be making >$150K or have extensive assets. Ghostbuster is right, no merit scholarships for Ivies, and some take transfers but in small numbers.</p>
<p>What state school is the option? If you are talking Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Virginia, William and Mary, North Carolina or even Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas for that matter, then go to the state school. If you are talking San Jose State then you might reconsider.</p>
<p>There’s no way to answer this without knowing what a quarter-million dollars means to you. To me, spending that much would be an impossibility. If you can absorb a $250,000 cost without concern then your options may be broader than mine.</p>
<p>while $250k is a lot, if your son works very hard at an ivy, depending on what he’s interested in, it can be made back if he goes for high-paying professions like finance. but still, it’s a personal and difficult decision that depends on more things than the factors you just listed. good luck!</p>
<p>What state school do you want your child to go to? If it’s a top flagship, then there’s no reason to pay full freight for an ivy (since it sounds like you don’t qualify for aid)…unless, you can easily pay that $225k without any impact.</p>
<p>However, if your son is considering law school or med school or business school which will ALSO require an additional $200k, then insist on the state school.</p>
<p>My son get a full ride in University of Louisville and University of Kentucky. As per the statistics, both are reasonably good schools, but at Tier 3</p>
<p>Kentucky is a better school than Louisville. By far. But compared to an Ivy? Ummm…no. And it seems like a strange outcome here…why did he apply to Louisville and Kentucky, then an Ivy? And got into the Ivy? This story is a bit peculiar. Some kids in Kentucky might do what you did, plus adding some other good schools in the region. But just what you did? </p>
<p>And if you are an international, is your government sponsoring him? Many governments pay the cost of attending a school, particularly an Ivy.</p>
<p>We live in the Kentucky state. University of Louisville and University of Kentucky are the state colleges, where my son got full ride with a confirmed medical seat (subject to maintaining good grade). My son studies decently. He applied for Harvard, MIT, WASU (St.Louis), John Hopkins, UK and UoL. </p>
<p>Medical college need to be paid though and I reckon it will be additional $200k.</p>
<p>My son picked John Hopkins, thinking that he may do some research. He was rejected from MIT, Wasu (St. Louis) and Harward. </p>
<p>One thing we were not aware is to apply for mid-tier schools. I was not aware of your site earlier. This is very helpful.</p>
<p>Here’s how it looks to me. He has 3 choices: Johns Hopkins, UK and UoL. Of those, he also got full ride with a confirmed medical seat in his state schools. I’m thinking he should take the school offering the medical school. It’s like a golden ticket. </p>
<p>By contrast, Johns Hopkins in incredibly competitive, especially for pre-med or engineering. It will be much more rigorous to get into med school if he went to Johns Hopkins.</p>