OT: College Advice

[HatTrick Swayze]

My advice would be to trade a little "school prestige" for less debt.

An undergrad degree right now is not valuable enough to justify 100k+ in debt unless you are an Engineering/Comp Sci major and even that can get dicey.

Save the $ for grad school.

 

[Crease]

God I wish I took college less seriously. Take a scholarship, have fun, and network.

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

I'm a senior right now... all I gotta say is don't waste your summers. I took classes or sat around during the summer. Go get summer internships they're more important than your degree will probably be. You can get experience in your industry and hopefully good connections

 

[sbjnyc]

So a little about myself:
From just outside Atlanta (but have no interest in staying here)
Definitely looking for something on the smaller side, under 15,000 students or so.
Academically strong. Top 10 in my class. Like being challenged.
My parents would like me to stay on the east coast.
I play lacrosse and shoot shotguns competitively. Definitely not going anywhere too far in lacrosse, but would love to continue shooting through college whether it be club or NCAA.
Sort of an introvert so a huge on campus social scene isn't much of a big deal, I'd rather sit in and watch hockey or learn something new than go party.

Not much else to me. Anything else you want to know?

What are your academic interests - STEM or art history? Do you care if the school has top sports teams? Any restrictions or preferences on location?

Edit: Just saw you are interested in business/finance. I believe a good understanding of mathematics/statistics will make you stand out over most people in those fields. If you can demonstrate that I think it'd be a big help. Have you taken any AP classes?

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

I'm a senior right now... all I gotta say is don't waste your summers. I took classes or sat around during the summer. Go get summer internships they're more important than your degree will probably be. You can get experience in your industry and hopefully good connections

I could not do this because I had to pay straight up and didn't want a loan debt. I was lucky because this most recent summer I got management experience. Finally.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Way too many schools out there, too, to ever make a statement on this. Although I've noticed Dartmouth grads tend to be annoying. Never met one that wasn't.

Had a roommate once who went to Dartmouth who was pretty cool.

Which just goes to the major point I want to make here: there is tons of useful advice in this thread, BUT you need to filter out what applies to you. For example, you've got conflicting advice on morning classes. For the majority of students, staying up late is part of college, so morning classes are bad. But you may know yourself to be a morning person. You may love getting out for a run at 6am and getting the blood flowing. In that case, the advice on morning classes doesn't apply to you.

To which I'll add another point in the same vein: figure out what makes you happy and do that. I was an English major in school, which I (mostly) loved. Then, because I went to an Ivy, when I graduated I had this self-imposed expectation that I was supposed to either be in finance/consulting or go to law/med school (this was back before startup was big on the east coast). HUGE mistake, and it was only after 20 years trying to find "creative" business/finance roles that I started writing again. You may well be fascinated by big business, mega deals, and how the economy works, and if that's the case, great - keep going for finance. But have an honest conversation with yourself to be sure: what do you really like to do? Do that, and you'll enjoy your life a ton more - and likely will be more successful in the long run.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Yeah, blanket advice on morning classes either way isn't good since it's not a one-size fits all thing. Everyone is different in that regard.

 

[Griffinbw]

What are your academic interests - STEM or art history? Do you care if the school has top sports teams? Any restrictions or preferences on location?

Edit: Just saw you are interested in business/finance. I believe a good understanding of mathematics/statistics will make you stand out over most people in those fields. If you can demonstrate that I think it'd be a big help. Have you taken any AP classes?

I'll graduate with AP calc and AP stat. 9 APs total. 3 AP histories, 2 AP econs, and AP physics. Sports don't matter really. Location wise I'd like to stay on the east coast.

 

[Algernop Kreider]

My advice would be to trade a little "school prestige" for less debt.

An undergrad degree right now is not valuable enough to justify 100k+ in debt unless you are an Engineering/Comp Sci major and even that can get dicey.

Save the $ for grad school.

This can be a false dichotomy. A school like Harvard with a big endowment will almost definitely cost less than a state school.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

This can be a false dichotomy. A school like Harvard with a big endowment will almost definitely cost less than a state school.

A lot of the ivies have really good need-based scholarship policies.

 

[Mac n Gs]

A lot of the ivies have really good need-based scholarship policies.

And you'd be set for life network wise.

I'm at Georgetown right now for grad school, and I absolutely love it.

 

[Griffinbw]

And you'd be set for life network wise.

I'm at Georgetown right now for grad school, and I absolutely love it.

Georgetown in on my radar for undergrad. How do you like D.C.? Good atmosphere?

Edit: probably can't get in anyways. Damn ECs. Just curious.

 

[Mac n Gs]

Georgetown in on my radar for undergrad. How do you like D.C.? Good atmosphere?

Edit: probably can't get in anyways. Damn ECs. Just curious.

Yeah, DC is an awesome area to live in and there's so much to do. Don't think a school is out of your reach, aim high and go for it. Your grades and ECs sound good, don't sell yourself short.

There's my tip of advice. Don't sell yourself short. I did it for college for a minimal difference in savings with scholarship money, and I regret it after 4 years because I didn't feel like I got the education I wanted.

 

[Griffinbw]

Yeah, DC is an awesome area to live in and there's so much to do. Don't think a school is out of your reach, aim high and go for it. Your grades and ECs sound good, don't sell yourself short.

There's my tip of advice. Don't sell yourself short. I did it for college for a minimal difference in savings with scholarship money, and I regret it after 4 years because I didn't feel like I got the education I wanted.

The competition is insane for schools like that. If you haven't cured cancer you're not good enough. I've got a shot. It's just a very low probability.

 

[Crease]

Yeah, blanket advice on morning classes either way isn't good since it's not a one-size fits all thing. Everyone is different in that regard.

Morning classes were great. Done by noon, have the whole dorm suite to yourself for the afternoon, and then hockey practice at night

 

[silverfish]

It was about mid-way through my junior year of high school when I realized I was going to end up at the University at Buffalo no matter what happened. Had to go SUNY. SAT scores weren't going to be good enough for Binghamton or Geneseo.

Needless to say, the last year and a half of high school for me was a great, great time. If I could go back in time, I'd do even less.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

Morning classes were great. Done by noon, have the whole dorm suite to yourself for the afternoon, and then hockey practice at night

I had night classes, 4 days a week, 2 classes Tue/Thurs and off Friday my 2nd to last semester of undergrad. Commuting made it so nice, went against the grain of traffic in the evenings after hockey and lunch time

I statistically did much better at evening and night classes for some reason.

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

I like morning classes.. get you started early.

With afternoon classes I found I'd sleep in as late as possible and then when I was done wth classes it was night time and the day felt wasted

 

[Algernop Kreider]

Where OP should go to college.

 

[Griffinbw]

Where OP should go to college.

If only I could get in lol

 

[Griffinbw]

Where OP should go to college.

Do you/did you go there? If so how did you like it

 

[Algernop Kreider]

Do you/did you go there? If so how did you like it

Through one semester, it's been thoroughly awesome. 10/10 would recommend. Also the hockey team kicked some ass tonight, so there's that.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

This can be a false dichotomy. A school like Harvard with a big endowment will almost definitely cost less than a state school.

I mean sure, if you get into Harvard and it's cheaper...do that.

My point was more...$60k+ all in for Bowdoin or BC is just not worth it for the average kid. If you're family is paying for it, great have fun. I just don't think a Bachelor's is worth crazy investment in 2016. W/o aid you are better off crushing it with a great GPA at a state school and then investing in elite grad school.

 

[Rangerfan4life90]

Right, you have to have all these great grades and all these EC's, and then you leave school, and the people hiring don't care. All they want is experience that you literally can't get because you're too busy having perfect grades and EC's for an education that doesn't get you anything.

This generation is ****ed.

That's why I'm in the process of starting my own business. I have no faith in this job market.

LOL, same. One of the reasons I've been focusing on starting an online business for almost 2 years is because of this job market. But, also because I can be financially free and be able to travel the world while still making money

Trying to have this accomplished before I'm 30 (I'm 26).

 

[bobbop]

Don't overpay for your education and don't borrow too much money. I went to Syracuse University instead of Stony Brook for 2-3X the price. Yes I got a good education but so did my peers at real good state schools. All of my kids went to state schools as out of state students and that was still much cheaper than a private school and all have done very well. I see a lot of young people just weighed down by student debt that far outstrips what they can reasonably expect to earn. Be careful with your money even before you have any.

And good luck to you.