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.
Good for him. The University of Alabama is recruiting smart kids from all over the country with their large merit scholarships. Over half the kids are from out of state. There are tremendous opportunities for those in the Honors college for those who ask. The campus is beautiful. And it is not nearly as liberal as the Ivies. And there is real Football. Roll Tide.
I started with a community college, moved on to university, and then to graduate school. I borrowed less than $10,000 to do it. Plus, my graduate school fees and tuition were covered, and I received a stipend on top of it.
I didn’t go to big name schools for undergrad, and I still got into one of the top graduate schools.
There are ways to get an education without going neck-deep into debt.
Mastering German would have cured him of this sort of error.
It will be awkward to be a Tennessean at Bama during football season .
He'll experience an instant conversion. He probably already has, and half the students on campus are from out-of-state.
I can’t imagine applying to that many schools. The application fees must have been several hundred dollars, if not more.
The University of Alabama is an excellent academic institution. And, the Medical school is outstanding. Over half of the students are from other states, thanks to aggressive recruiting all over the U.S. Enrollment is around 35,000 and growing. He can receive a quality education without the Marxist indoctrination that he would receive at an Ivy League school. He chose very well.
Very well stated:) Roll Tide!
It's still a university in the United States. From what I hear, the faculty is still overwhelmingly Marxist, like almost every other school.
And other factors. Alabama's football program has always created a very positive image for Alabama with many people around the US. Bama now has a reputation as a great school to attend for many reasons.
The Magic Of Nick Saban: Everyone Wants To Go To Alabama/a>
The former UA president was correct when he said Saban was the best financial investment the university had ever made. Well, at least in the post-Bear Bryant era. No one has bested the Bear in bringing positives to the university.
My daughter will be classmates with this kid. She also got the Presidential Scholarship.
She didn’t apply to the Ivies. She did a tour of Duke and didn’t like it. We live near Stanford and she didn’t want to go there.
She applied to 3 schools Clemson, University of Georgia, and Alabama. It was a tough decision between Georgia and Alabama, but she chose Alabama.
She lived the honors college at Alabama, and she loved the professors that she met.
She is rooming with 2 National Merit Scholars.
The only problem will be football season because I’m an Aggie?
I would go to Alabama before any of the other schools any day of the week!
Some day we may take to hanging folks from those ivy league schools, just as a preventative measure. /s
My daughter is a rising senior at UA with the National Merit scholarship. She has absolutely loves it. She was accepted to Vandy, Fordham, Northwestern, FSU, Pitt and several others. At all, her costs would have been $0. She fell in love with the school and could see herself fitting in. She has gotten a great education and will apply to grad school this fall. And the football games are an amazing experience. ROll Tide and congratulations on your daughter’s success.
No it won't. He'll be singing Rammer, Jammer, Yellow Hammer in no time. He'll look good in Crimson and nobody looks good in that gaudy orange.
My daughter has been skyping with her roommates. The facebook pages for the students and parents is active and fun.
My daughter is not sure what she wants to dO, but there are lots of majors so she can find her passion.
Yes there are. Have her get involved with the honors college. They are a wealth of information. Is she going to do Outdoor action or Alabama action? Mine did and made friends that way and being on campus early was a nice benefit. And don’t forget to order football tickets. Make sure she is online at exactly 7:00 am central and get the package with the Iron Bowl. The other tickets are easy enough to get.
“The average member of the class of 2015 is graduating from college with over $35,000 in debt.” Ouch.
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