Student Turns Down All Eight Ivy League Colleges

As a reader of Mr. K's College Knowledge, you know that this blog is dedicated to helping each student find the school that is right for him or her based on a number of factors, including academic offerings, social scene, cost and more.
Yesterday, MSNBC's Morning Joe featured Memphis high school student Ronald Nelson who was recently accepted to all eight Ivy League schools - and then turned down the opportunity to attend each one. In the interview, Ronald says that receiving his many acceptance letters was "just the next step in my analysis to figure out where to get the best education possible while making sure that it's financially reasonable for both me and my family." He went on to say that he was not only accepted into a "wonderful honors program" at the University of Alabama, the school he ultimately chose to attend, but also received generous financial aid awards - both important factors into his decision-making.
In this case, Ronald will be avoiding "massive debt" (host Joe Scarborough's words) by selecting a state school over the private Ivy League schools. In many similar cases, students can make the decision to go to schools where they may be offered more financial aid without compromising academic rigor. Given the 2,500+ colleges and universities across the United States, it can pay to look beyond rankings and reputation to find a quality education at reduced cost.

As always, happy searching!
Joseph D. Korfmacher

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