Posted on 05/17/2015 7:13:00 PM PDT by Kaslin
Ronald Nelson from Memphis, Tennessee, is a senior at Houston High School. He was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools--that's Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, and UPenn--along with Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and Vanderbilt, among a few other schools. While any of these schools are fantastic options, Nelson made headlines for another reason: he turned them all down. Nelson will be attending the University of Alabama this fall, as a member of the school's honors program.
While it may seem shocking that a student would turn down a prestigious university for a state school, Nelson actually showed impressive maturity and financial foresight with his college choice. Unlike every other school he was accepted to, Alabama offered him a full merit scholarship and waived his out-of-state fees. None of the Ivies offer merit scholarships. As Nelson plans on attending medical school, he figured that he'd rather get a head start on saving money for that rather than take on student loans for undergrad.
From Business Insider:
After some thought and consideration of all the schools' offers, Nelson decided it wouldn't be worth the financial strain to use this money on his undergraduate education. He plans on going to medical school after college, and knows he'll be faced with more tuition costs.
"With people being in debt for years and years, it wasn't a burden that Ronald wanted to take on and it wasn't a burden that we wanted to deal with for a number of years after undergraduate," Ronald Sr. said. "We can put that money away and spend it on his medical school, or any other graduate school."
Bravo. If a person has aspirations of a graduate school, there is absolutely no reason to go in to debt during undergrad if it can be avoided. If Nelson is able to maintain the level of academic success he had in high school, he'll have no problem getting in to a quality medical school.
Additionally, Nelson is likely doing himself a favor by removing himself from the Ivy League's notorious pressure-filled atmosphere. College is a place to learn, yes, but America's elite schools have turned students in to, as one Yale professor called it,"Excellent Sheep."
The average member of the class of 2015 is graduating from college with over $35,000 in debt, which is a number that continues to rise with each graduating class. It's incredibly wise for Nelson (and, well, any student entering undergrad this year) to avoid that debt if at all possible.
Nelson IS a genius.
Girls are way hotter, also.
Smart kid, debt free means you aren’t beholden and you can exercise integrity in what you do :)
The Ivy League schools are no more academically superior than many of the SEC schools. I have worked with many Ivy League professionals and they are no better educated than I.
Smart guy, The “Ivy League” schools are nothing but centers for progressive indoctrination. No independent thought allowed.
True enough. The ivies give money based on need ... And you’ll usually need more on top of that, so you still won’t avoid a loan.
I am so pleased that you wrote “than I” instead of “than me”.
I try not to be a grammar Nazi. But, I do give positive encouragement when warranted.
Kudos to that fine young man. He makes our future look a bit less bleak.
This young man has made the right decision. He's using his head and not his ego. I wish him good luck with his schooling and career.
Even our resident in the White House hasn’t figured out when to use “I” instead of “me”. He actually said, “President Bush invited Michelle and I to the White House.”
Of course he then went on to show that he didn’t know how to spell Syracuse or pronounce the word corpsman.
Great choice. Great students get great educations at universities all over the US and Alabama has an excellent medical school which ranks just below the overrated, big names in several categories.
And the kid might also enjoy great college football.
The average loan balance for Harvard graduates is about $12,000 total. Except for that part of the population that is from upper middle class to almost rich (about $150K per year to 250K per year), Harvard, Princeton, and Yale have phenomenal financial aid.
When in doubt, choose the one with the better football program.
“Girls are way hotter, also.” And, Florida spring break beaches are closer.
This shows he wasn’t that smart. He did a lot of work to apply for all those schools. We’re the bragging rights worth it?
Also, medical schools look at grades. The best medical schools don’t care if you went to Harvard, or a State University. They want to know how you did at that school.
The majority of students at the Ivy colleges graduate with honors.
Not just a smart young man but he picked well
I've read several times that the average grade at Harvard is A-. Grade inflation has become so normal some places that grades don't tell one much about how one student compares to another at the same institution.
They aren't all geniuses and they all didn't work equally hard.
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