<p>I'm a Canadian student and I've always wanted to attend an American Ivy League school. It's been my life-long dream to attend a prestigious school (not only Ivy League) and what I've worked for throughout high school. I really don't mean to sound obnoxious, but I am one of the most accomplished students in my grade, in terms of both grades and extra-curriculars. My list of schools for next year (I'm still a junior) includes all of the Ivies, UMich, Stanford, UC Berkeley, NYU, and a few others. Although I doubt that any of the Ivy League schools will look at my application for more than a few seconds before rejecting me, I do think that at least one college on my list will accept me. </p>
<p>On a side note: down the road, perhaps not for undergrad, a prestigious Ivy League is on my checklist. I've spoken to Ivy representatives, guidance counsellors, teachers, and family members about school and many of the people listed agree that Yale would be the perfect fit for me (but who wouldn't it be the perfect fit for?) and would suit me much more than Harvard or any of the other Ivy League schools. Evidently, Yale is my top choice for graduate/professional school.</p>
<p>But for undergrad, I have full intentions of attending the most prestigious school I can get into, both Canadian and American. However, with American schools, that would mean carrying $50,000+ a year debt, and I don't know if it would really be worth it, considering I'll very likely be in the States for grad school anyway. Attending a Canadian school for undergrad would mean that I can cross "insane amount of debt" off my list of problems. </p>
<p>My guidance counsellors have stated that I am a shoo-in for the "Canadian Ivy League" schools - McGill, UofT, etc - and as long as I keep my grades where they are, rejection from top Canadian schools should not be on my list of worries. That said, I don't know if I should just attend a great university in Canada, work my butt off for another 4 years, and then apply to Yale (amongst others), or just go to the States (UMich or NYU most likely) for undergrad. </p>
<p>Any advice?</p>
<p>$50,000 a year in debt is absolutely not worth it. One of my former bosses got his phD from Cal Tech. His BS from the University of Waterloo certainly didn’t seem to hold him back from receiving full funding to the best program in the world for his area of interest.</p>
<p>You need to remember that Canadian and Americans frequently collaborate on research, and most academics are familiar with the big names. I go to a school considered one of the best for a particular subfield of geology and can name three professors off the top of my head that collaborate with Canadian researchers, particularly those at U Alberta (another big name in this field).</p>
<p>“However, with American schools, that would mean carrying $50,000+ a year debt, and I don’t know if it would really be worth it,”</p>
<p>Who, exactly, do you think will lend you that kind of money?</p>
<p>How long, exactly, do you think it will take to pay it off if someone is willing do lend it to you?</p>
<p>You are absolutely correct that this is an “insane amount of debt”. Either find a US college/university that will be affordable for your family without any debt, or do your undergraduate work in Canada. People get into top grad schools here every single year from Canadian universities, and from no-name colleges/universities in the US.</p>
<p>No way that kind of debt is worth going into for any undergraduate degree. You still just have an undergraduate degree. How will you be able to take on that kind of debt, anyway? Your parents have that level of credit available and are crazy enough to cosign and take on that debt in case you aren’t able to pay it off in the future? When you are talking about excellent schools, it isn’t always what school you go to, it’s what you do with it. You need to get great grades, take advantage of opportunities, etc.</p>
<p>Especially if you might have to pay for grad/prof school, your goal should be to keep your debt to a minimum while still going to an excellent school, so you don’t need fantasy when you have great options. Get a grip.</p>
<p>Now is not the time to pick which is the best grad school for you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input, especially @ whenhen - thanks for reminding me about the collaboration aspect - I know a friend from University of Waterloo as well, who helped an American professor with research and got himself into MIT.</p>
<p>Don’t get caught up in prestige. It’s okay to apply, but also apply to plenty of affordable colleges that you would feel comfortable at. Then see what happens.</p>
<p>My daughter was set on attending a prestigious school, but the offers didn’t come in. What she learned from that experience is that she could be VERY happy at a school that was completely different from what she thought she wanted. She’s a rising senior at a school that has given her many opportunities that she probably would not have had at a more competitive school.</p>
<p>Just something to think about.</p>
<p>If you plan on going to graduate school or professional school (Medicine, law,ect.) The prestige of your undergrad school means very little. Your potential grad school will look at your grades, test scores and experience. Your best bet if you want to do more than a bachelors degree would be to do the cheapest undergad possible (which by the sounds of it would still be at a prestigious school like UofT or McGill) and save you money for your post graduate degree.</p>