Whatever the merits of his decision, it certainly was NOT based on funds.
All Ivy League schools have scholarship money out the wazoo.
“Nelson also rejected offers from Stanford, Johns Hopkins, New York University, Vanderbilt, and Washington University in St. Louis.
He decided to pass on these big names ... “
You gotta be kidding. New York University a big name? That place is loaded with retards where no one fails a single class or semester (as long as you pay the tuition). The place is less than a community college.
So why waste the application fee money and apply in the first place?
Roll Tide...Rejecting the Ivies for Bama? Smart....Ivies are overrated, just look at Obama or Hillary...
As I see it, there are certain professions that are greatly advantaged by attending the ‘Ivies’, but there are a lot of other career paths that are not advantaged. In the Legal/Government majors, there is no doubt that graduating from one of these schools is a major boost for ones entire life. Just look at the current Supreme Court and the major political figures.
Equally, careers in Academia, Journalism, NGO and Non-Profits are also greatly influenced by these embossed sheepskins. However, in all of the above there is also the influence of the post-graduate ‘fellowship’ networks that make opening the doors to hiring and promotion easier.
All of this being said and acknowledged, I personally regard this system as incestuous and corrupt in that by prestige and ideology the Ivies, by and large, graduate indoctrinated ideologues with an enhanced sense of entitlements and a skewed view of patriotism and obligations.
They have become a de facto overclass that bodes ill for the future based upon the last several decades.
Another article from a few days ago of anyone is interested in the comments thereon:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3290872/posts
Student Who Got In to Eight Ivy League Schools Picks Alabama Instead ^
Where the ivy's (and other big names) make their reputation is through graduate school. There IS a big difference between Cooley Law School and Yale Law School.
i turned down a full academic and athletic scholarships to princeton and was also accepted yale (who wrote to ask which school i was going to so they could offer the opening to someone else if i ws not going) brown and cornell and went to USNA..... i often thought about it while i was ashore in viet nam... at that time they didnt offer degrees in economics or finance or have girls on campus... it was afterwards they lowered the bar and let em in. I lost 10% of my classmates in viet nam....... So it especially perturbs and enrages me to watch the TRAITOR in the WH.
I turned down Cornell.
I recall Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court being submarined by a bunch of these Ivy League muckity-mucks.
A public college? Gasp! Never a judge? Oh, the scandal.
Bunch of spoiled phonies.
I went to a school that is totally private.
My eldest son is real smart and creative and got into Harvard but went to UMass because it was cheaper and we figured he’d do well in science no matter what. And he has. They treated him well at UMass.
He has no debt and he missed out on the know-it-all snob thing of Harvard so I never had to beat the snot out of him. : )
All undergrad schools are basically the same.
Most classes are going to have TAs who can barely speak English.