Princeton or Scholarship School for undergrad? Forum

[IAFG]

People keep saying "USC if you KNOW you want law school"
Since you can't KNOW this, go to Princeton. Keep all doors open.
I venture to say you will not regret attending the top UG in the country

No 18 year old should trust what they think they know about themselves.

Put another way, would you get married to your girlfriend at 18? Then why would you lock yourself into a certain career path at 18?

[abl]

Go to the school that you like the most. Princeton is easily the best school of that bunch, and will give you the best chance at the best education. The people you'll meet, the profs you'll have, the opportunities that will be available to you out of Princeton over the next four years (and, heck, to a lesser extent, for life) -- that's all priceless. So, assuming you like every school equally, Princeton is the correct call. Chances are you won't end up at law school from any of them--some incredibly high percentage (95%?) of incoming college students end up pursuing a different career than what they say they're interested in as a pre-frosh--but the undergrad degree and, more importantly, the education you'll get at Princeton is something that you do know about at this point. That doesn't mean that you can't get a good education at USC (or any of the other places you listed) -- you almost certainly will -- but the education you'll get at Princeton will most likely be better. That said, my original advice stands: if you like USC or Wash U more, go there -- these are all three good enough schools that you'll be better off happy at a place that fits you right than at the "best" school (that fits you poorly). Put another way, you'll do better happy at Wash U then you will sad at Princeton.

Incidentally, there were a ton of Princeton kids at my law school. I can only think of one USC grad, and I'm not sure if there were any Wash U grads. The whole "go to an undergrad where you can get straight As and then go to HYS" thing only works if you (1) get straight As and (2) still do really well on the LSAT, which are both big ifs (and (2) is likely causally related to the quality of your undergrad). It also misses the point of undergrad, which should be some of the most educationally and personally formative years of your life (rather than merely a stepping stone to a career). There are a ton of 3.8+ GPA law school applicants from lower tier schools each year, and yet HYS are largely filled with people from schools like Princeton. There's a reason for that. Now, Wash U and USC are far from lower tier, but the point I'm exaggerating to make obvious nevertheless applies in this circumstance, albeit to a lesser extent.

**I'm a HYS law grad and I did not go to Princeton or any Ivy for undergrad, so take my comments with whatever grain of salt you think is necessary.**

[dissonance1848]

You have some interesting choices, OP. It all depends on what you think you might want to do.

If you want consulting or banking, then you need to take Princeton.

If you want the most leeway, then take USC, since it should be easiest to get top grades in.

WUSTL also works here.

Basically, OP should not fuck his life up by even considering law school. Either he should go to Princeton and hit MBB consulting or banking/PE/Hedge Funds,

or go to USC or WUSTL and gun for med school.

If you want to be safe here, and not gamble, then go to USC or WUSTL and gun for med school, since that will be easier than getting MBB or finance.

But seriously, OP, do not fuck up your life by doing law school, its not worth it.

[Borg]

You have some interesting choices, OP. It all depends on what you think you might want to do.

If you want consulting or banking, then you need to take Princeton.

If you want the most leeway, then take USC, since it should be easiest to get top grades in.

WUSTL also works here.

Basically, OP should not fuck his life up by even considering law school. Either he should go to Princeton and hit MBB consulting or banking/PE/Hedge Funds,

or go to USC or WUSTL and gun for med school.

If you want to be safe here, and not gamble, then go to USC or WUSTL and gun for med school, since that will be easier than getting MBB or finance.

But seriously, OP, do not fuck up your life by doing law school, its not worth it.

That's a stupid thing to say. People on this site all think law school is a bad choice because they personally aren't able to do anything else and feel stuck, but law can be a very good choice as a stepping stone for people who are capable of many other things. Basically, if it feels to you like law is for losers, it's only because you are a loser. Law works out very well for people who use it as a first step or for people who have the shit it takes to break the track, open their own successful practice, and make themselves happy.

[zman]

USC also has a BA/MD(guaranteed acceptance to med school) program and you can use your trustee(full tution) to pay for the undergrad part of it. I'm not sure if you were aware of that.

[Redfactor]

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[zman]

USC also has a BA/MD(guaranteed acceptance to med school) program and you can use your trustee(full tution) to pay for the undergrad part of it. I'm not sure if you were aware of that.

99.9% sure that program was discontinued.

was there when I worked in LA. must have been stopped year or two ago.

[untar614]

Go to Wash U. Med school has way better employment prospects, and Wash U is one of the top med schools, so you'll have a better shot at getting more competitive residencies. The fact that you applied for that program tells me you're interested in med school. If you later decide you absolutely don't want to do medicine, at least you only paid half tuition.

[sinfiery]

I had a friend in a similar "guaranteed" acceptance into john Hopkins med school if you get an X GPA. You won't be the only one with that stipulation and prepare yourself for so much gunning, dear all mighty

[eric922]

I had a friend in a similar "guaranteed" acceptance into john Hopkins med school if you get an X GPA. You won't be the only one with that stipulation and prepare yourself for so much gunning, dear all mighty

This makes me wonder if med schools have as many gunners as law schools or if med school discussion forums have threads warning you not to be a gunner.