<p>DS chose a accel bs/md pgm over top 20 usnwr colleges and other acc bs/md pgm as during the med school interview, the interviewer impressd upon the fact that this is the right college / pgm as s/he would excel here and took a personal copy of a book from his library and handed it over. This personal touch created a lasting impr on a 17 year old brain over other colleges / similar pgms that offered more money</p>
<p>I have several people in my family who chose state schools over Ivy League for financial reasons.</p>
<p>Mormons. BYU would have otherwise been my top choice.</p>
<p>Honestly, what did almost lure me away from my top-choice school? Location.</p>
<p>D accepted at elite insitutions also accepted at 50k student “state flagship”. </p>
<p>State flagship made early positive impression by sending a personal letter from President of the U expressing excitement in her application and offering her admission and a full ride, etc., etc. HOWEVER, we will never know if the programs at U would have been able to tempt her away from her 1st choice because when she attempted contact with departments and coaches (also an athlete), she did not get her calls returned. This highlighted one difference between the U and her 1st choice school; the interest of the faculty/staff in undergraduates.</p>
<p>The attraction for us as parents was that the U was closer to our home and we could have seen her much more often. In the end, she when to her 1st choice and is very happy there; the profs are available and interested, she already has research opportunities. She couldn’t have made a better decision as regards rejecting Anonymous U; where <em>U</em> are anonymous!</p>
<p>My friend’s husband from OOS chose UNC over Harvard because he was given a full athletic scholarship as well as other aid based on his stats and being in the honors program. He was just so excited when offered a Div I sports scholarship! He later said that school had always come easy to him, but in football he really had to work to be the best, and because of that he developed a strong work ethic and perseverance that he didn’t get from his HS course work.</p>
<p>Well, he did finally make it to Harvard–Harvard Law!</p>
<p>Two:</p>
<p>‘B’ picked MIT over Harvey Mudd…to save money.</p>
<p>‘T’ picked Chicago over Columbia, Harvard and Stanford…for his girlfriend.</p>
<p>In this economy - a guarenteed co-op job. Nothing beats job experience, not even undergrad reasearch.</p>
<p>Nothing in this world could have dissuaded my DS from accepting an offer from Olin and he could not be happier with his decision.</p>
<p>FYI - WPI has washers and dryers that let you know when they are available. Gotta love those engineers!</p>