to go or not to go?

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amonkeybutt

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Help! I have been accepted to my state school which has always been my top choice. I have two interviews elsewhere and I wonder if I should even bother? On one hand, the fact that I have an acceptance and the cost of the traveling discourages me from going. On the other hand, I wonder if I am closing myself off to other options and being too tunnel-visioned. Should I at least go to experience and learn more about other schools so I can make a TRULY informed decision? I realize I should consider myself EXTREMELY lucky and believe me, I DO! But I made this same mistake when applying to an undergraduate school. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated! :)

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Hmmm..I don't know if I'm the best one to comment, but after my first acceptance I decided to withdraw my application from all the other schools that I had secodaries at. I don't know if I would have gotten interviews or not. The difference is that my acceptance is from an out of state school, and I'm still waiting word from my state one. I suppose if I had heard from the state school first, I would have dropped the rest and not even bothered interviewing elsewhere because of the expense. I think you need to ask youself several questions:

1) How does the expense at your state school compare to interview and attending school elsewhere?

2) How important is it to remain in state?

3) Do you like the facilities/students in your state school?

Also what are advantages/disadvantages for going to state or not. I'm in a dilemma myself, because *if* I'm accepted to my state school, I'll have to make the difficult decision to stay or go. It all depends on what you want.
 
Good question. I was asking myself this about a month ago. Personally, money is a big issue. This year, I initially applied to 21 schools and have had 4 interview invitations. I have only attended 2 of them, and have decided that it would be best to withdraw many of my applications. I sat down and picked schools I'd reeeeeally like to attend, or at least check out. Those are the only ones I kept (9 schools total). By doing so, I have eliminated the risk that I will be broke when, or should I say IF, I am asked to travel to a desirable interview. I'd advise you to cut out those that you really can't see yourself attending. They may be uncovered gems, but in the end you will never know...and will never really regret having not interviewed with them.

Also, withdrawing allows schools to interview others. Having had to apply twice, I can't help but think of the poor chap who is waiting for an interview. Maybe he/she is a great person, but #s are keeping him/her from being invited. If a school interviews you and you have no sincere intentions, they are wasting a spot that could be filled by that poor fella. I had only 1 interview last year, and was ecstatic when it arrived.

$0.02
 
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amonkey,
where were you accepted to? you are from ohio right?
 
That's a tough question. I interviewed at three other schools before being accepted to my state school, which was originally my first choice. However, after having interviewed at the other schools I started to notice things about my state school that I didn't particularly like and things about the other schools that I like better. As a result, I am no longer certain that my state school is my first choice (except for the maney factor which is a BIG factor). I have since withdrawn my application from a handful of schools that I was certain I wouldn't go to over my state school but will interview at a couple of more (if I am invited) that I think might sway my decision. I'm not sure if it is the right way to go since I'm spending more moolah and making the final decision harder but that's the way I've gone, if it helps.
 
Thank you all so much for responding. I knew there were a bunch of people out there facing the same problem and am glad to hear your opinions.

WSUreds - I'm not from Ohio, I'm from Oregon (ORYGUN) :)
 
Congratulations amonkeybutt! OHSU is a great school. :D
 
I have been accepted as well, but not to my top choice. I would tend to say go to some other schools to just look and get a feel for some of the other schools. I went to an interview that I did not expect to get, nor was I that interested in the school, and I found that I really liked the school.

If you are totally set in stone, then pull the apps, but seeing what else is out there is not always bad either.
 
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