As someone who actually has a an Ivy League degree (advanced degree, and I won't reveal anything else but don't get the idea that it's because my record isn't notable), the only thing we types think is worse than a person who irrelevantly trots out the statement "I go/went to an Ivy League school..." are those who say "I go/went to an Ivy League school..." when they really
don't/didn't go to an Ivy League school.
The proper statement for you to have made is: "I got in an Ivy League school...." You then throw in a comment about SAT scores, presumably high, without specifying. Be careful where you tread with comments like that.
To entertain this conceit--double meaning intended--of yours, let's talk more about the Ivies and specifically Cornell.
The Ivies make available what is determined to be the financial need for each student to attend based on each student's/family financial picture. That's how poor people get in Ivy League schools at very minimal cost to them. If you got in Cornell, you should have been provided aid in the difference between what was determined your (family) ability to pay and what it actually costs. I raed that the max amount needing to be taken as loans--opposed to grants and scholarships--for undergrads at Cornell is about $8,000 a year for those making $120+k/year. Less for those with less income. But you go on about tuition remission. What gives? If you got in, you would've been awarded the required amount of aid. Something's funny in your story.
Tuition remission? That's something done between public universities, e.g. Washington and Oregon, not private schools. I know of no private schools involved in tuition remission agreements.
But Cornell is an oddball university: 2/3's of it is a private university, and about 1/3 of it is a public university--funding comes from New York state resources. There is some argument about the meaning of this in terms of quality of students and professors, etc.
So were you admitted to the public part or the private part? Perhaps there is some special remission for the public part that I am unaware of.
I don't know what this tuition remission issue is with you, but I've never heard of tuition remission not being available for the first year but available for the 2nd and additional years at any school.
Seattle U isn't doing you any educational favors. It's considered the
6th best college in Washington State and is ranked by US News and World Report as the
6th Best Regional University in the Western US. "
SeattleSeattle University moved up to 6th place in the U.S. News and World Reports rankings of the Wests Best Regional Universities University News - Seattle University Why not go to Univ. of Washington, which is a very well respected university (and ranked realtively highly in some international rankings) instead of Seattle U?
Compare and contrast:
"In 2010
Cornell ranked 14th in the
Times Higher Education World University Rankings and
16th in the QS World University Rankings[133][134] ...
The university ranked 15th in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report National Universities ranking ....and
12th globally in an academic ranking of world universities by
Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2006" The record for HYP is even better, as it is generally for Columbia--and a few other elite US schools-- and in places the various other Ivies top Cornell in specific areas.
Wait until you're actually attending an Ivy to say you are. Wait until you have an actual degree from one before you say you have one. Don't throw around the Ivy label when it bears no relevance. There are 60,000+
undergrads enrolled at the Ivies (14,000 at Cornell alone), and many tens of thousands more in
advanced degree programs; you're not one of them.
You'll run into people who went to an Ivy or Stanford or MIT everywhere you run. You'll run into high test scores, too. With your attitude, you'll get your comeuppance in your first week if not your first day on any Ivy campus. Since you didn't actually go to Cornell, I suspect there's more to your story than this "remission" thing you prattle on about. 3 years of an Ivy League education is better than 3 + 1 year at Seattle U. You're not fooling me with your disclaimers. Something weird is up with your story.
Then there are your overall attitude issues.....