UofState Honor College Scholarship vs elite college

[Anonymous]

If you know a student who was admitted to an Honor College or President/Governor-type scholarship at UofState:

* what program was it (Honor college, half/full scholarship, etc)?

* What other selective/reach colleges was your student also admitted to?

* which did they choose to attend? And why?

* any intel on how it compares to the experience of friends with similar admissions offers who went to other schools?

I'm wondering how these school-in-school programs compare to famous selective colleges.

UMD has an Honors-in
-major program that on paper is an advanced Masters-in-4-years curriculum similar to an Ivy school I am familiar with. But they also had some verbiage about trying to find 15(!) students to fill he program, and merging the program with related majors to get a full cohort.

[Anonymous]

I have been told by multiple people on this board that I made this story up, but a HS friend of mine turned down UVA oos to attend University of Delaware Honors College on a full ride scholarship. She went on to get a Harvard graduate degree.

Looking back, I should have done the same, but I didn’t want to go to school so close to home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you know a student who was admitted to an Honor College or President/Governor-type scholarship at UofState:

* what program was it (Honor college, half/full scholarship, etc)?

* What other selective/reach colleges was your student also admitted to?

* which did they choose to attend? And why?

* any intel on how it compares to the experience of friends with similar admissions offers who went to other schools?

I'm wondering how these school-in-school programs compare to famous selective colleges.

UMD has an Honors-in
-major program that on paper is an advanced Masters-in-4-years curriculum similar to an Ivy school I am familiar with. But they also had some verbiage about trying to find 15(!) students to fill he program, and merging the program with related majors to get a full cohort.

found this when watching youtube college acceptance: http://adastracollegeconsulting.com/index.php/amanda/

[Anonymous]

My DS attended UMD -1/2 banneker Key (honors college Business School). Picked UMD over Michigan (ross) and Northwestern (He did not apply to any ivy league schools). Picked UMD, because the cost difference just did not make sense. He graduated undergrad in three years (entered school with 42 credits) and stayed an extra year for the + one masters. Currently is a CPA, with masters in Accounting, and works for Big 4 firm, in his 3rd year. Besides the covid year (2nd/3rd year of school) loved UMD.

[Anonymous]

If your kid is driven, I don't think it matters. My kid was a full B/K at UMD currently in 4th year of med school. I have another (older kid) who was a b/k kid also. Got his phd from a top tier. For undergrad, go where it makes $ sense, for post college, attend the best program possible.

[Anonymous]

GMU Honors program. Also got into George Washington and other OOS schools but parents needed the in-state tuition. No regrets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is driven, I don't think it matters. My kid was a full B/K at UMD currently in 4th year of med school. I have another (older kid) who was a b/k kid also. Got his phd from a top tier. For undergrad, go where it makes $ sense, for post college, attend the best program possible.

+1

[Anonymous]

This was me decades ago: went to U Mich for free on merit scholarship (not need based) and turned down Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

For law school got into Harvard, Yale, Stanford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been told by multiple people on this board that I made this story up, but a HS friend of mine turned down UVA oos to attend University of Delaware Honors College on a full ride scholarship. She went on to get a Harvard graduate degree.

Looking back, I should have done the same, but I didn’t want to go to school so close to home

My husband did this exact thing. Turned down Cornell and Dartmouth for U of Delaware Honors on a full ride (plus the cost of books, summer travel, etc thrown in). Went from Delaware to the School of Medicine at Hopkins.

His close Delaware honors friends were similar. Closest friend went on to a PhD program at Princeton, another to a PhD at Carnegie Mellon. There are very smart kids in state honors programs.

[Anonymous]

I think the state honors college path with full ride gives you a big leg up in admissions for elite graduate school programs (eg, med school, law school, PhD). Ivy graduate schools love those kids.

If your kid wants to do private equity, MBB consulting, hedge fund, BB investment banking, or Big Tech they are better off going to an elite undergrad w/ big name recognition and skipping grad school completely. If you go to Harvard or Princeton UG and go into BB finance, there is zero reason to get that MBA. Huge negative hit to your net worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the state honors college path with full ride gives you a big leg up in admissions for elite graduate school programs (eg, med school, law school, PhD). Ivy graduate schools love those kids.

For law school admissions, the undergraduate experience of grinding one's way to a 4.0 with no margin for error at the state honors college vs. coasting to a 3.7 at the elite private college seems like a way less fun path to the same end point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the state honors college path with full ride gives you a big leg up in admissions for elite graduate school programs (eg, med school, law school, PhD). Ivy graduate schools love those kids.

For law school admissions, the undergraduate experience of grinding one's way to a 4.0 with no margin for error at the state honors college vs. coasting to a 3.7 at the elite private college seems like a way less fun path to the same end point.

False. all that matters now is the gpa (and test score) -not the institution you attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the state honors college path with full ride gives you a big leg up in admissions for elite graduate school programs (eg, med school, law school, PhD). Ivy graduate schools love those kids.

For law school admissions, the undergraduate experience of grinding one's way to a 4.0 with no margin for error at the state honors college vs. coasting to a 3.7 at the elite private college seems like a way less fun path to the same end point.

What are you comparing a 4.0 to a 3.7?

Law school admissions are mostly LSAT anyway.


And what if you decide, like most people do, that law is a terrible career?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the state honors college path with full ride gives you a big leg up in admissions for elite graduate school programs (eg, med school, law school, PhD). Ivy graduate schools love those kids.

For law school admissions, the undergraduate experience of grinding one's way to a 4.0 with no margin for error at the state honors college vs. coasting to a 3.7 at the elite private college seems like a way less fun path to the same end point.

What are you comparing a 4.0 to a 3.7?

Law school admissions are mostly LSAT anyway.


And what if you decide, like most people do, that law is a terrible career?

And Honor College has no requirements for taking higher level classes than everyone else, nor for professors to grade more harshly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the state honors college path with full ride gives you a big leg up in admissions for elite graduate school programs (eg, med school, law school, PhD). Ivy graduate schools love those kids.

For law school admissions, the undergraduate experience of grinding one's way to a 4.0 with no margin for error at the state honors college vs. coasting to a 3.7 at the elite private college seems like a way less fun path to the same end point.

So you think 4.0 StateU w/ lots of stress = 3.7 at elite w/ no stress = same end points? Fool.