• Hello everybody! We have tons of new awards for the new year that can be requested through our Awards System thanks to Antifa Lockhart! Some are limited-time awards so go claim them before they are gone forever...

    CLICK HERE FOR AWARDS

Help/Support ► College, oh college



REGISTER TO REMOVE ADS
Status
Not open for further replies.

Evello

The Radiant Hero
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
1,589
Awards
6
Age
30
Location
north
I'm not sure if this is in the right section, since I hope to get people discussing this topic in general, and not just regarding my specific situation.

To tell you my problem, here's what you need to know. I'm having a very hard time deciding between two colleges for this fall. As an FYI, I hope to major in biochemistry or a related field and move on to graduate school. First off, there's Michigan State, which is a decent school, comparatively cheap (16-18k a year), and has offered me tons of opportunities. They've literally handed me lab research with a professor of my choice freshman year, along with honors college, and the freedoms to essentially take whatever classes I want. I've also got enough AP credits to essentially go in a class or two away from a sophomore. This will save quite a bit of money as well.

The other school, however, is Notre Dame. If you know anything about Notre Dame, you probably know that it's very hard to get into, has a gorgeous campus, and is Catholic (like me). It also has less partying, which I like (yeah, yeah, I know, what's college without the party, blah, blah, blah). My AP credits are worth pretty much squat there, though, since the science department wants me to take the ND versions of those classes. The price, even with my 29k scholarship there, is still about 22k a year as well. Also, I wouldn't really be able to do research early on, since that would mean working in a lab >10 hrs a week as well as work study and actually taking difficult classes. I'm pretty sure I can't juggle that much at one time, at least to start with.

So, now that you know where I'm at, I'll try to pull this out of my predicament a little bit. Basically, which do you think is more important in a college: opportunities and cheapness, or prestige and academic rigor? I've had a cousin go to Notre Dame, and she said I would be better off going the cheap way, but I've heard from others that the education I'd get at a more prestigious school is worth the extra money. Thoughts? Similar situations?
 

Goon

New member
Joined
Apr 18, 2011
Messages
24
I think your cousin is right. Uni MI offered more choices and has given you a lot of options compared to Notre Dame.
Whats the point of going to a prestigious school if your ass is gonna be covered up to student loans and debt that could take you years to payback.
 

Professor Ven

The Tin Man
Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
4,337
Awards
3
Age
31
Location
Slothia
When the cookies crumble, a degree is pretty much a degree, regardless of where you get it. After that, it really just depends on your own ability to perform in your chosen profession.

As far as I know, at least.
 

Fallen Prince

New member
Joined
Aug 1, 2010
Messages
429
Location
Florida
Well, I've been debating between the University of FL (UF) and University of Central Florida (UCF) myself and it all comes down to what you really want. UF is like your Notre Dame of Florida, the "best" college while UCF is middle class. I thought about it myself and I realized that although cheaper at UCF, it doesn't matter where I go. I can get a BA degree at UCf and then get a Masters at UF and it will be amazing. Plus, UCF is closer to home and (although i don't party :/) my friends will be there, plus in Orlando I get discounts at ALL the theme parks and stores.
The point is, it doesn't matter right now whether you go to Notre Dame or not right now. You can always go back after you get your BA and then go to Notre Dame after using you BA to make some money to go back to college and pay that outrageous amount of money. Start small and work your way up. Nothing is wrong with that, not everyone ends up being Ivy League kids. I got accepted to Harvard and, with their income adjustment plan, I could've gone there for only $5,000 a year. But I wouldn't fit in being a poor kid and being too far from family...
Hope I helped you a little bit and hope I didn't give too much away....(I haven't even told my g/f or family that I got into Harvard lol). Anyhow, we're in a similiar boat and I look forward to hearing what you decide.
 

LongLiveLife

Bronze Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2010
Messages
2,102
When the cookies crumble, a degree is pretty much a degree, regardless of where you get it.

While I do not deny your latter statement, when you have two applicants with the same degree and the same result, with similar experience levels, university popularity definitely plays a part in your employability.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top