Yes, could only afford to be a commuter at local State U. It sucked. My husband lived in a dorm and made a ton of friends. I was always taking 2 buses to and from. Glad I went to college, but wished it would have been nicer. Made sure I only had one kid so they could go wherever they wanted (ivy).

Yes - went to small regional liberal arts school - would have been much better off taking the opportunity to transfer to nationally known liberal arts school or going to the big state school.

I am 100% grateful for my state education. I truly believe that your education is what you make with it. I went to a great program in my field, got good grades, and got a wonderful job and have risen up in that job. I don't think an Ivy would have been appropriate in my STEM field.

I also find that no one really cares anymore where anyone went to college. It's all about how they perform their job now. I think caring about where someone went to college is limited to the legal profession.

I went to Syracuse and loved every bit of my experience there. It was just expensive.

If my child wanted to go in state, I'd encourage him to for the savings, but I don't regret my decision.

Funny, another Duke student here, and I also kind of regret it.

Academically, it was great and I had some awesome in-class experiences. Socially though, it wasn't the best fit for me. Probably less than 15% of the student body really fits the lax bro/rich girl stereotype, but that's more than enough. I met some great friends there, but it took awhile to find my crowd.Were I to make the same decision again, I think I would stick to a school of similar academic caliber, public or private, in the West (where I'm from) or Northeast.

I ended up returning to Duke for grad school though, which was a totally different experience and one I don't regret at all. My grad school friends loved to make fun of all the undergrad silliness to me

Anonymous wrote:These are all amazing posts. It would appear, that if they're all truthful, that most folks did not get all caught up in the "Ivy Craze"....interestingly, these posts are probably driving most of the readers of this forum nuts...its directly contra to the approach they all take! Thanks so much for the posts.

Yep. I desperately wanted to go to an Ivy. Did not get in, went to a great (high-ranked) state school instead. Loved every minute and would not trade my experience.

Nope. Went to Virginia Tech and loved it. Would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Anonymous wrote:

My other brother got accepted to an Ivy and turned it down for free tuition at UMD, he never regretted it.

I wish this could be me... I was accepted to an Ivy (with an aid package), but my parents made me turn it down for a school offering free tuition. It would have cost them 10K a year (plus the money I could earn working during the school year & summer). At the time they were giving 12K a year to a mega church where the preacher had a private jet... Professionally, I have done okay--I guess most of my regret is how the situation played out with my parents.

20:54 from the first page. My parents weren't giving to a mega church but otherwise my scenario played out exactly as yours did.

My other brother got accepted to an Ivy and turned it down for free tuition at UMD, he never regretted it.

I wish this could be me... I was accepted to an Ivy (with an aid package), but my parents made me turn it down for a school offering free tuition. It would have cost them 10K a year (plus the money I could earn working during the school year & summer). At the time they were giving 12K a year to a mega church where the preacher had a private jet... Professionally, I have done okay--I guess most of my regret is how the situation played out with my parents.

GW, a long time ago. I should have transferred. I don't have a single college friend.

Not at all. Dh and I both went to GMU, enjoyed our time there, and we now have great jobs.

Anonymous wrote:UNC-CH out of state, regretted it, xferred to great NE liberal arts college, best decision of my life.

Southerners are outwardly hospitable to everyone but when you get below the surface they are really not interested in forming meaningful relationships with northerners.

LOL. They aren't interested in forming meaningful relationships with snooty, judgmental northerners who act like they're doing you a favor by attending their school rather than some NE college full of preppies on acid.

UNC-CH out of state, regretted it, xferred to great NE liberal arts college, best decision of my life.

Southerners are outwardly hospitable to everyone but when you get below the surface they are really not interested in forming meaningful relationships with northerners.

Anonymous wrote:I went to a "posh" college and I don't think the people there were particularly classy. There were a lot of cliques and segregation and fratboys or lacrosse bros or whatever obnoxious white guys are called now. I have met many sophisticated people from state schools. You can cultivate class in yourself by reading a lot and being kind. People always find that classy.

Cookie if you can guess what "top" college I went to.

Duke? I went there, and I could have written this and more. I regret it, absolutely, but I don't think I would have spent any less time drinking at Local State U. I am working on making sure my kids don't just follow the herd and hopefully wherever they go, they can spend time doing what they want to do instead of what they think is "cool".

No. I went to UMD and have a STEM degree.

My brother went to Duke and hated it, transferred to a large state school, not UMD, he was done with the East coast.

My other brother got accepted to an Ivy and turned it down for free tuition at UMD, he never regretted it. Is a little annoyed his daughter went for the big name school with the cost that goes with, not that he can't just pay cash for it... But he is vocal about not being 100% about her decision. All his law partners offer their kids a "bonus" for going to state school, which is 1/2 of what they save from the "money pits".

My nephew works for a senator and get rude comments about his free state school education from the interns, but then again... They pay him so....