Why I Chose a State School ?

Taking entrance exams gave me a realistic idea of where I could be admitted. I applied to the University of Minnesota because my test scores guaranteed admission. I also applied to two liberal arts schools—Carleton and Northwestern. Lots of kids in my high school Honors programs applied to Carleton; I knew my scores were the mean for freshmen. And I applied to Princeton and Harvard. I wanted to get into the best school I could, but had to make sure I got into some school. I got into Carleton and was wait-listed at Northwestern, but chose the U of M.
Private schools don’t offer as many degree programs as public universities, which enabled me to be more open-minded in my degree decision. Colleges within the U of M have Honors programs. So I applied to the Institute of Technology and got into that college’s Honors program. Those were separate procedures, just like applying to a select university because of what you had to do to get in. Also, a liberal arts school costs $30,000 a year, and I’m paying about $8,000. The U is fairly close to where I live, so I commute and save money. And there are more research opportunities because the U of M gets federal and state funds that private schools don’t. Its chemical engineering program is ranked number one in the nation. I took all those factors into consideration.