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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, of course magnets go to elites, but many give up the elite for the Full Ride Banneker Key or various President Scholarships in the UMD honors college [/quote]

FWIW, I had to make the same decision for college (late 1990s) - UMD with full ride, stipend, lots of AP credits, Gemstone program, etc. vs. MIT with access to subsidized loans and pretty much nothing else (10 APs only got me out of Calculus I and taking the writing test at orientation).  (I got into other top schools, but I had wanted to go to MIT since 7th grade.)

I picked MIT.  I'm [i]still[/i] paying off the loans 25 years later, and I hated my time at MIT (it was not a good fit for me as a depressed and homesick young adult), but it's been the key to my getting jobs and current career success (I'm a patent lawyer now).  I also met my husband there, so if I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have my fantastic family.  Playing the "what-if" game is hard.  If I had to do it again, I would still have picked MIT because I'm happy with the end result, but I may have been happier in my undergraduate time at UMD.

I have counseled my own high-performing STEM-oriented kids to "aim" for MIT to keep them working hard through high school, but that it likely won't be a good fit for them, either, and there are plenty of great schools out there.  Also, I've told them that grad school is more important in most STEM fields than undergrad, so there's no need to be at the very top and lose yourself.[/quote]

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