An education at MIT????

Have her check Michigan State.

They have a well known large animal veterinary program and as a state, we have an impending major shortage...50% of our LA vets are set to retire in the next 5 years, so I believe MSU might be throwing around some major incentives.

We have a big shortage here too but I haven't seen any incentives yet from OSU. In our Ag newspaper (Capital Press) they mentioned that their should be a federal "debt forgiveness" program if you work in an area in need of a large animal vet, unfortunately it is an un-funded program at this point. In Eastern Oregon they wrote that they have 100,000 cows to 1 large animal vet.

Straight As alone almost certainly won't be good enough. Nearly everyone who gets into Harvard or MIT or whatever has all straight As and major extra-curricular achievements (unless, of course, you are the scion of a major political family ;-)). Having something to distinguish you from everyone else is essential.

That said, however, I'm not sure that I'd encourage my kids to go to MIT or Harvard or whatever unless they really, really wanted to. There are a lot of institutions that offer educations that are as good, without the intense pressure and competition. If you put a few thousand people who have worked their behinds off to be the best all the time, you get...well...more competition. And honestly, there isn't a lot of reason for it. My suggestion for most people would be a smaller, well endowed, liberal arts college where you'll get more personal attention and probably experience less pressure.

For the record, DH went to MIT and Harvard, I went to Brandeis and Boston College, I've taught Brandeis, BC, Harvard and UMass, my husband has taught at Harvard and in the SUNY system, so we've got some familiarity with the subject.

But straight As and a relatively decent ACT/SAT will get you a free ride to a state college or university.

I'm with Sharon. I sure wouldn't recommend an ivy league school unless your kid has some very specific goals that would demand such an education.

As mentioned, my kid brother has his Masters from MIT. He actually started it, though, at plain old, University of Nebraska (go Huskers). But MIT recruited him for a job and he figured what the hey, while he was in the neighborhood....

He did his undergrad at a small state college in northeast Nebraska, that no one outside our corner of the MidWest has heard of. Stanford and Berkeley were both vying for his grad. work (both were offering scholarships and grad. teaching opportunities), but he just followed his girlfriend (now wife, of 9 years) to the U.

He's now Director of something or other (he tells me, I forget) for Google in their EU office in Dublin.
And they honestly didn't care that the bulk of his education came amongst the cornfields of Nebraska.

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Harvard does only admit a small percent of applicants. It gets to choose among some of the brightest kids in the world so not getting accepted there is actually the fate of many very talented hopeful applicants. However I expect some of the kids in our families, especially those with interesting backgrounds ie on a farm or homeschooled, might be accepted- ie just their family life will distinguish them from the many others with great grades and scores. Me I had no extracurriculars except that I babysat every day after school- perhaps a built in excuse for not having any other activities. Also I think my essay- poorly written but comparing my family home of SD to the weird folks in my residence then of Pittsburgh- let them know I might be the closest they could get to admitting a SD person that year.

Because they hope for a diverse interesting class kids from MT or NM will have a better chance than those from NY or CT.I think that almost anyone accepted at MIT or Harvard- with the exception of a current President or two- will do quite well there. Furthermore while I can not speak to MIT Harvard need not be competitive. If you want to go on to Harvard Law or Med or some other HU grad school yes you will have to work very hard and you will be working side by side with other undergraduates trying to do the same. But if you just want to study what interests you and manage to graduate with Bs (though I did actually get a C once) you'll be able to find a spot at some medical dental law or grad school more easily than A/B students from some less competitive colleges. So for Harvard I would say there will be plenty of competitive students but not all of them will be, and graduating with the Gentleman's B (it used to be C but grade inflation) will not be difficult if college at all is the right place for the child.

As a SD/Pgher I would warn that Boston is a cold unfriendly place and like me, your child might be unhappy because of the social climate more than the competition (happily I found my clique- of radical hippie organic types).

In sum I would encourage those of us with smart kids who think they don't have enough money for them to go to college or to a top college to remember that it can be cheaper than you would expect, even cheaper for those of us in the lower income brackets, at the well endowed schools with these policies.

MIT is so specialized (speaks a liberal arts major) that this is probably the case there but if you need a general education or are uncertain of a major I would argue that specific goals and liberal arts don't really jibe. You can meet the same education goals at Harvard or at the U Pgh probably, but at Harvard you'll be with kids from all over the country and world (not 80% local) and you'll have more of the best professors in the world as your teachers. [ETA] Of course it is more likely at Harvard than at Pitt that you will only be taught by the best GRAD students in the world not the professors[/ETA] And while of course it is what YOU do- like Erin's brother- that matters in the end, folks all over the world have been most impressed with the word Harvard on my CV and it has gotten me some things staying home at Pitt or even CMU might not have done.

So if you are a smart kid with high scores and grades consider applying Ivy, and if accepted to one please think long and hard before turning it down.

I have to add that Pomona College (Southern California) is just as competitive as Harvard (but not the instant name recognition) in that it attracts a wide variety of applicants with a wide variety of talents etc. Good grades, good SAT scores - yes. But different/unique backgrounds (homeschooled, small town, etc) talent in a sport (no scholarships for sports, but excellent teams).

The class size is small, the professors are readily available (I could drop by for a chat with the Head of the Economics Dept whenever I wanted. The whole Econ Dept. were big Women's Basketball fans and attended almost all of our home games too ).

And I never took a class that was taught by a Grad Student. All taught by highly qualified and committed professors. Heck, you can even create your own Major if the standard majors don't quite suit you. One of my classmates was a "Biology Illustrator" major.

It is warm, and the atmosphere is both relaxed but you are also surrounded by highly motivated individuals who are striving to excel. Not competitive in the sense that students were competing with each other (other than curve grading in a few classes) but in the sense that these were students who wanted to do well. If you want a good Liberal Arts Education, I think you would like - that is if College is for you!

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A few years after you graduate, nobody really cares what your GPA is. But a well-known school such as MIT usually carries more weight on a resume than other schools. Also, the people you rub shoulders with there, and the alumni association, provide networking opportunities that you don't get elsewhere. Chances are the parents of your fellow students are well connected in industry, which means it's much easier to get your foot in the door in various industries.

Not saying your can't/won't get a good education at state schools. There's some very good schools. And that's where I went as well. The state grad school I went too is usually rated in the top 20 for my subject. A friend went to Northwestern (private and rated in the top 5) and got the same degree. The job listings on his alumni network website are definitely a level above what were available at my school.

If you have to go deeply into debt to finance a top school, and you're not gung ho to reach the top of your chosen field, I doubt it's worth it. But if you're getting financial assistance, or you're really motivated to reach the top of a particular field, it's probably the faste route.

--sgl

I agree... if you are still undecided and you will most likely follow a Liberal Arts curriculum. However, if someone knows they will complete a tech or engineering degree and is able to get into a well-regarded technical university like MIT, it should be encouraged because the credential of graduating from such an institution adds to the worth of the degree.

Interestingly enough, I just finished reading an article that said that for the price of out-of-state tuition at a state-run university, a kid can attend a university abroad. This is becoming a trend these days... why go to University of Virginia, when you can attend St. Andrews in Scotland? My own dd attends an International Baccalaureate school and we hope she'll go to university abroad. Dh is a university professor, has taught and worked all over the world, as have I, and we both feel that a better education is to be had outside of the US. Dh is naturalized citizen and has attended university in the US (degree from MIT) and abroad (before he immigrated) so he has a lot of experience with the university system in the US and OUS.

I wanted to add... because in the past formal education has gotten a bad rap here on HT... my 6 yo dd can also tell if wood is seasoned, has excellent hand sewing skills and can tell you how much head space is required for processing pint jars of jelly, so I'm not disregarding the importance of traditional skills. We teach both.

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There are some outstanding scholarships for study abroad. The Thouron Award, for example, pays for 2 years of advanced study in England, although you have to be studying at the University of Pennsylvania to qualify on this side of the pond. The award covers tuition, books, living expenses, and travel.. the list of people who've been Thouron Scholars is amazing. A who's who of science and humanitarian institutions.

My father created two scholarships and made large donations to the University of Maine at Orono . To secure one of them you need to graduate from Belfast ME's high school... go figure, but it was in memory of my mother, who graduated from that school.

My point is that there are a lot of obscure and unsuspected scholarships out there. Now, with the market tank, those funds are not as substantial as they were 12 months ago, but they are out there. And many of them will go to students who exhibit good scholarship and ambition in one direction or another. In a year, when the boy is 12, I'm going to start encouraging him to find his passion.

He won't. I'm sorry to say he's remarkably lazy... or he has figured out that if he demands long enough, waits long enough, he'll get what he wants. Pity the woman who marries him if he doesn't grow a pair.

But the girl will get it.

50% return on investment's not bad.

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Have you checked Washington State University? I don't know what kind of incentives they have but they're supposed to have a great pre-vet program.

MIT would be kind of neat, but it's not "what I wanna be when I grow up" I may be returning to school in a year or two--the hubby has FINALLY decided he wants to go to college! Now he's not sure exact what he wants to do, but he really seems to be leaning towards something to do with agriculture. My DS19 started in nursing school for a semester but totally changed tracks and will be leaving as a "puddle pirate" in the US Coast Guard in the spring, having them send him to college for law enforcement. The DD17 will be going to AI in Philly or Antonelli in PA for graphic arts--she just garnered a internship as a tattoo artist ! The other two kids and the baby haven't made up their minds yet...LOL!

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We have checked. In fact we just attended a college fair a few months ago and talked with WSU. They do have a really good program but with out of state tuition it seems like we should stick with OSU (although a vet that teaches there told me they send 4 kids on a full ride scholarship every year that live in Washington, told DH we should move just for that ).

As a side note at the college fair my DD won a $500 door prize scholarship drawing for next year. She is in a state funded dual enrollment program but the $500 will really help closing the gap with her funding cap and extra credits and books. She was really excited when they called.

My daughter is teaching a College Prep/Career Planning class next month at her Leadership Camp for 4H. I am going to give her this information to share with the kids (some of which will probably be older then herself).

One of my son's got his engineering degree from Marquette and ended up with all his tuition paid by assorted scholarships.

The fact that he was raised on a dairy farm was helpful, along with his activities in 4-H and FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America).
He, also, did exceptionally well on his SAT's and ACT's.

Two DD's got scholarships based on their Basketball abilities.

Another son, found several scholarships related to his interests in law enforcement and environmental issues.

There are bunches of scholarships available.
No matter how big or small they are, apply for EVERY single one for which you qualify!