[rolan86]

Basically kicking myself for not trying hard in highschool and caring about college. I go to a state school for undergrad. I am so envious of the kids who took themselves seriously and got into prestigious schools. I just wish I had cared more. Now I am determined to get into a prestigious graduate school. I just feel weird, because I don't really know what I want to study yet. I just know I want to pursue academics and go to a good school. In many ways, a big reason why I want to go to graduate school is just so I can have a second chance at getting into a high-ranking school. I would love to go to an ivy-league and will work as hard as it takes.

[eskielover]

I am glad you feel that way....that you are willing to work hard at your undergrad at a state school.

My H (ex by separation now) had an attitude problem with going to a state university (which is where I met him back in the 1970's. He was constantly bragging about how high his IQ was.....but he didn't put any effort into the classes he didn't like.....he was a computer science major & he thought he was smarted than all the professors that he didn't care for & wouldn't put any work into those classes. I thought he was a complete looser because of his attitude & then he graduated with a whopping 2.5 gpa. He had been working for Bank of America while going through college & he expected them to OWE him a position in their programming department of the bank. When they told him they didn't want him because his GPA wasn't high enough he got so pissy about it......really ticked me off & I was ready to dump him because of his attitude.......unfortunately I didn't but my attitude toward him set ouf marriage off on definitely a wrong foot that never got corrected because his attitude never changed. He wouldn't go back to that state university to get his masters besides, he had so much to do to make his GPA acceptable for grad school, he lost even more interest with doing anything to improve his situation. He got so annoyed, he refused to look for work during that summer after we got married. It wasn't until I QUIT my part time job which I was using to pay for my college that he finally decided to get off his @$$ & go find a job.

After I finally left him 5 years ago, I mentioned what I felt was a lot of the problems that went into the failure of our marriage. We were both talking to my psychologist......& my husband's comment about having bad grades was because he wasn't inspired to do better because he had really wanted to go to Cal Tech & because he didn't get to go there, he didn't care about doing well in college because the univ he went to wasn't "good enough". Funny thing was that his younger brother went to the same state university & he not only excelled, but he got an intern position that took him far, he went back & got his masters from that same school, & even ended up being an assistant director at one of the power companies in California.

His younger brother put him to shame......you get out of a school what you put into it & you get out of your education even more what you put into it.

I am so glad to hear that you are not taking the same pathetic attitude that my husband did when he wanted to go to a very prestigious university out of high school but couldn't get it either even though he had the high grades in high school.

Keep up your attitude of excelling in the state school so that you can go to a wonderful univ for your post grad work.

You may not know the direction of your interest right now, but as you go through more courses, you will find what you want your focus to be.

Wishing you the very best of luck & skills to get through this along with a very positive attitude & you will do very well.

If you ever think of blowing off the state school for your undergrad, I want you to think back on this post & realize what a looser my husband was & that you don't want to be anything like that.

Wishing you the best with your education & a very positive attitude.

[Perna]

What school you went to will not matter all that much when you start working, just like what high school you went to does not matter once you get into college, etc. If you are using the ivy league wish to try to force yourself to study harder, I'm not sure it will work too well; I tried something like that, wanted a particular grad school in a particular field and ended up having to change majors I did so poorly (didn't study) in that field.

If I were you, I'd figure out what you want to do and use that to do well in school; it took working on my second degree to do that for me, in my 40's and 50's. What you can learn across your lifetime is the same for everyone; our great grandparents back 150-200 years ago (my great grandmother graduated from university with an accounting degree in 1881) learned to read and write and do arithmetic just as well as I did; I have grandparents who only had 8th grade educations and were a success and those who had graduate degrees from top schools who were not particularly.

[Travelinglady]

Rolan, you know by now that I tend to go against the flow..... Yes, in some places it matters whether a person went to an Ivy League school, but there are many "Poison-Ivy" league schools out there that are quite good as well. One of my sons goes to a state university and the other goes to a prestigious university in the top 15 or so nationally. (My grad school ranks well up there, too, just behind some Ivies.) He is thinking of trying to transfer to an Ivy League school, but largely because the one he is interested in has a program that appeals to him. He does have the grades and the SAT scores.

In the meantime, you are going to have to buckle down and make those grades, even if you aren't sure what you what to do. Ivies expect high grades at the minimum. And remember that they are more demanding. Plus, they also cost a great deal, being private schools. Even my son's prestigious school costs over $50,000 a year! Most grad schools don't offer financial aid.

I hope I am not bursting your bubble. I'm not saying, "Don't shoot for that goal." I am saying, "Just be realistic going in to the situation." Okay? I'm sure you are quite capable. Can you see each course as a challenge and work hard at it?

[Jan1212]

I had friends who went to Harvard and Yale while I went to a state school for arts which I ended up dropping out of; most of my friends are now taking their Master's while I am just getting myself situated again. They were high achievers their whole life, they had their lives prepared for them; money or impressive junior accomplishments. You can imagine how I felt.

Don't compare yourself to others, don't get into the habit of doing so; you'll only let yourself down. You do'nt know what you want to study, but you want to attend an ivy league just because? Ivy leagues are exceptional in certain majors, while other universities are great for other majors. Money is also considered, my brother attended a full scholarship program rather than an ivy league in which he would had to owe hundreds of thousands of dollars which he will pay for the rest of his life seeing how this economy is doing

By no means I am saying don't aim for it, I am encouraging you to motivate yourself but don't let yourself down, like others said, just be realistic

[Indie'sOK]

I think Ivy schools are overrated. A degree is a degree, no matter where it comes from. I wouldn't worry about it - really, you'll get a good education no matter where you go. It's all about what you make of your time in college.

I'm going to a state university next year. The big price tag would be enough to turn me off the Ivies.

[fishsandwich]

I have undergraduate degrees from both a general state university an extremely prestigious uni (not Ivy League because it's in Europe, but at the same level).

I actually didn't think there was any difference in the quality of the teaching or learning experience between the Schools. Sure, there are a lot of "big name" academics at the Ivies -- my school constantly brags about its bigshot graduates and Nobel laureate staff -- but you never get to see them (never mind learn from them) as a lowly student.

The students at the less prestigious university were actually a lot more fun to be around, as a rule, because there is this weird sense of entitlement that goes with going to an Ivy (or whatever). Also, the students tend to be fantastically rich and it can get very difficult to socialise with them when you don't have the money they do -- your social activities will inherently be different from theirs. Not to mention they play bizarre, posh sports that we plebs have no understanding of -- I will never understand cricket or bowls no matter how many degrees I get

I think the only advantage was that the prestigious uni gave be a big brand to splash across my CV, which is important for the career I want. Honestly, in some careers (namely law and banking/finance, possibly others in areas I'm less familiar with) an Ivy League degree will set you up very well, in others it matters less. Also, the admissions process is extremely competitive, with often hundreds of equally qualified applicants for every place -- so don't beat yourself up if you don't get in. My former tutor was also the admissions tutor, and he told me often that they fill many student positions almost by choosing at random.

[squish08]

Honestly undergrad GPA will not necessarily make or break you, especially if you can show you did well in your final year(s), have a good major GPA and good entrance exam scores. A lot of Ivy League schools put a lot of emphasis on test scores. If it is your dream it can definitely still happen; good luck!

[Travelinglady]

I agree, squish. I just think they could use overall G.P.A. as an excuse not to admit someone, since they get so many applicants. Some programs would be pickier than others. It would depend on the popularity of the program, I would think, and the number of openings they have to offer.

[fishsandwich]

At the uni I attended, they binned every application from people who did not meet the minimum grade/test score requirements, unless there was an accompanying note stating the person had a disability or some kind of personal crisis during the exam period.

[Travelinglady]

I'm the son that Payne mentioned above who attends a non-ivy "prestigious" university. When looking at graduate programs, you need to know what you're getting yourself into. Are you looking for a professional degree (e.g., MPA, JD, MSW, MD), a research-based master's program, or direct admission for a PhD? You need to have a clear vision of what you're looking for and how the degree will help you--not only to increase your competitiveness in your statement of purpose, but so that you don't waste thousands (or hundreds of thousands) and years of your life on the wrong program. If you're not sure yet, do yourself a favor after undergrad: get a job while you figure your plans out and don't waste years and thousands chasing prestige to no end.

The kind of degree program is also very important. You might be looking for a law degree, for instance. In that case, your undergraduate institution isn't really that important--it's about a sky-high GPA and a high LSAT score. If you're looking for another type of professional or academic degree, you might find that the Ivies don't offer the best program in that field. And if you're looking for a research degree (particularly a PhD), high academic performance and test scores are expected, but you're more or less precluded from admission without research experience, great recommendations from faculty (who have supervised you in research-related activities), and have attended a school of recognized academic standing (which a decent number of state schools are).

I wonder in part if you're even sure what the Ivy League is--yes, it's a group of selective schools, but it's ultimately a sports conference with a shared history. Plenty of fantastic schools--Stanford, MIT, UChicago, Emory, Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern--are not part of the Ivy League.

[Harper601]

Hello to everyone in the forum. I am currently closing in on my graduation date from the University of Phoenix and now finding it hard to find a school for my masters to fit my schedule and goals. Phoenix was great, now trying to find something on the same level. A little harder than I expected. I narrowed my list down to Adler, and Walden. I think Adler is winning the race. I have until December/January to decide so not going to rush the process.

[Travelinglady]

Hey, Harper. How about starting your own thread on this subject? You can use the exact same words. I suspect that most folks won't see it here unless they are interested in posting about Ivy League graduate schools!