WSU, UW Combination

Hello,
I am a high school graduate from a small town Idaho, and am currently on gap year at the pre-university program of Beijing University. I am having some trouble with college decisions that will benefit me career wise as well as financially. For a little background my SAT super score is 1500 (800 on math), I graduated one year early, and my distinguishing qualities include an interest in the Chinese language as I loved in Singapore for 8 years. My plan thus far is to attend WSU honors college for undergrad and go to UW for grad school. I believe that with this plan I may be able to go to undergrad school debt free, allowing me to save up for grad school. I have researched that going a better grad school than undergrad is better in hindsight. Do you think this would be a feasible option? I also believe it would give me a chance to have a rural college experience in addition to building a life in the city after college. Please share your thoughts.

I think this is an excellent plan, but keep in mind a couple things.

First of all, don’t get too fixated on a specific graduate school just yet. Whatever you decide to do for graduate school, UW may (or may not) be the right choice for that particular program or field. Or you may decide not to go to graduate school at all, or to delay for several years. So whatever college choice you make - you need to make independent of what graduate school you think you may attend.

With that said, though, WSU is a great university! I live in Washington state, and I know many WSU grads with excellent, satisfying careers. I work at Microsoft, and I work alongside a lot of Cougars here. I also have a lot of friends who went to WSU and work in other industries. Staying debt-free for undergrad is almost always a good choice! And yes, a rural college experience is going to be totally different than the urban life of UW-Seattle, especially with the University of Idaho just 8 miles away.

Thank you so much for the advice! I do have to ask though, is it difficult to get jobs at superior companies such as Microsoft with a degree from WSU? Alongside that question is it difficult to get into better grad schools coming from a non-top tier school? And finally do jobs take into account more your grad school or undergrad degrees? I am looking into going into the business field, possibly finance or financial journalism, and work in companies that deal internationally, however I imagine it can get very competitive and although I do believe that I will end up going to WSU and think I could accomplish great things there, I am nervous for how I would be able to transition into a career with peers applying for the same position with ivy degrees under their belts.