<p>I was wondering why would you want to attend your undergrad years at ivy league schools? Unless your future profession is only dependent on your undergrad years, why? Wouldn't you just want to do good in your undergrad years at any university and apply for graduate school? It's not like attending Harvard in undergrad will get you for grad or is it? Sorry you guys for all these questions but I have mixed thoughts. I wanted to attend Stanford University for my undergrad years and my grad years. I love the atmosphere, the prestige, the athletic program, etc. of Stanford. Instead I am going to attend SFU or UBC (I live in British Columbia) and then apply to Stanford for graduate school. My parents practically persuaded me to do this and told me that getting into Stanford for undergrad will not get you in surely for grad. Is this true?</p>
<p>Well no, getting into a great undergrad school will not promise you a spot into grad school, however it'll sure help. If you go to Stanford and struggle to pass your classes, and leave with a 2.0 GPA, it's going to be difficult to get into grad school, but if you do a good job and leave with a strong GPA, then you'll have a good chance at a top school.</p>
<p>It will help you get a good job or get into a good grad school. A 3.5 at Iowa St. is not a 3.5 at Harvard. And I'll admit--it would feel awesome when people ask you what school you go to, and you get to name an Ivy League school.</p>
<p>There's a tale about some MIT undergrad who wanted to apply for grad studies to MIT again. The dean said he won't get in precisely due ot his undergrad status at MIT, because they want him to go "out and see the rest of the world."</p>
<p>"It's like a New Yorker's view of New york," he said.</p>
<p>I've read that actually there is more grade inflation at the Ivy League schools than at the other universities. Profs supposedly give a lot of A's at the Ivy's because many of the students got straight A's in high school and expect it. A huge percentage of students at the Ivy's are said to graduate with honors.</p>
<p>I think you should go to an IVY if you are just getting a 4-year degree. I think if you are going into law, medicine, or mba, you should go to a smaller undergrad school with personal attention, get a 4.0 and get a high score for the lsat or mcat, and then go to an IVY for grad school. I have literally seen this from the experiences of friends and siblings.</p>
<p>If you are looking at business or law school, undergrad school is very important. Look in the archives as this has been well covered. Top professional schools favor top colleges by far. This is not as true if you want a PhD.</p>
<p>Well you have to take tests for grad school anyway, so if you have a stellar GPA at some school, reputation or without, and don't score accordingly on the tests for grad school, you're gonna have a hard time going where you want for grad. A bad score will only indicate how little learning and work that GPA actually required. So basically you want to prepare yourself for the tests, learn the stuff you love and maybe don't love, and go to an undergrad school that you really like. Going to an undergrad school that you feel lukewarm about just because you think you can get good grades or because you want to graduate from an impressive school is not gonna get you into the grad school of your choice.</p>
<p>Don't feel bad. I wanted to attend a US top 25 institute but my parents wants me to attend a smaller public institute. They said that it is wiser to save money and that the final school is really what matters.</p>
<p>thats probably why im gonna go to ucm instead of ucla/stanford because i can concentrate on getting a high gpa and good lsat score..well maybe ill go to stanford if i get in...</p>
<p>haha no!! LOL, I would never have thought of that. No, its the newest UC in Merced. It is brand new, opening up in the fall, the first research univ in the 21st century. I just thought it would be cool being in the first class and really being involved. Do you want to go to Stanford? Im waiting for my (hopefully) acceptance...</p>
<p>as you can obviously tell from my name, i want to go to stanford. i didnt apply but im sure that i had a chance. the only thing that stopped me from applying are my parents(refer to the story above)-->but ubc is still good(35th in the world?)</p>
<p>I plan on going to law school, but I also plan on going to an elite private university if I am accepted. I want to get the best undergraduate education in Political Science that I can, and then I want to attend law school back home (University of Minnesota)- hopefully on a scholarship of some kind. I guess my situation is sort of unique though- my family has the money to pay for my undergrad, and I'm not seeking the kind of job out of law school that would neccessitate a JD from Yale Law School- I want to work for legal aid, maybe be a DA in rural MN. And I want to be in the state legislature, hence my interest in Poli. Sci.</p>
<p>Oh, and I want to be the world's greatest lover.</p>
<p>dartmouth is pretty focused on undergrad. and for me, why should i attend somewhere that i really dont want to go to if i had the chance of going somewhere better? what if i change my mind and i dont want to be a doctor or lawyer? well guess what. im stuck with an engineering degree from crapshoot university in no where kansas. but good for me, i saved myself 16k in loans. score. besides, whats 16k? 2, 3 years of working and im pretty sure i could pay that off...</p>