| Is there a good reason for not mentioning what school Z is? It makes a big difference if we're talking UCLA versus GW. If you go to MIT, you will be a smaller fish in a more prestigious pond. If you go to UCLA, you would be a bigger fish in a less prestigious pond. If you go to GW, you would be a bigger fish in a not very prestigious pond. If you excel at a school like UCLA, you should still be able to get into a good grad program, assuming you have taken classes or shown interest in the relevant area. But if we're talking a school like GW (no offense to anyone here who went there!), it would be more difficult. Most people would assume that students who went to GW would not have been admitted to MIT, partly because GW's much lower in the rankings, and partly because it's private (and therefore not cheaper). I know lots of people who got into great grad programs who went to 'lesser' undergrad schools, especially public schools. It would be easier to get into grad programs if you did awesome and went to MIT. But consider that you might not stand out so much at MIT as you would elsewhere. Recommendation letters from professors will be more glowing if you are at a less competitive institution. One last thing: realize that different schools calculate financial aid differently when siblings are in the picture. Carleton College, where my older brother went to school, knew that I was going to be attending college soon and gave him an aid package that did not change over the 4 years, including when I was in school. We assumed that Swarthmore College, where I went, would do the same. I was wrong. After my brother graduated, my aid package was cut dramatically. We had to plead with them to keep it steady, which ultimately they did. You should check with MIT's financial aid office to see how they do things. If you're the oldest, they're probably hoping to suck out some cash before other siblings are in college. You might be able to convince them to give you a package across all 4 years that remains steady, or commit to offering a package when your siblings are in school. |