[got2surf]

I had a unique opportunity of taking a year of classes at a good state school (in the top 100 for most STEM fields), and then went to an "elite" school for undergrad (taking a mix of CS/non-CS courses at each).

You can absolutely find motivated peers and professors at state schools, particularly if you look at places like the honors college. If you want to land a good job, go to a good grad school, etc (which is the goal for most people), all of that is 100% possible from a state school.

However, if you want to do something non-traditional (startups, research abroad, "choose your own adventure" style careers), I found that the "elite" school offered a lot more opportunity. Part of that is due to funding/size, where top schools have more money to allocate to students who ask for it. Students at elite schools have more support on average (from family as well as the school itself), so they tend to have more opportunities open, earlier.

It's like the difference between a big city and a small town. Plenty of people are successful without living in a huge city, so it's definitely possible. You could argue that the average drive of folks in a big city is higher, but a lot of that has to do with resources and opportunities as well.

The top students at a good state school would absolutely fit in at an elite school. The only difference I saw was in the support/resources they had before coming to college.

[arcanus]

> startups, research abroad, "choose your own adventure" style careers

I'd add scientific research experience. I had a professor who I worked for and gave me research experience. I was meeting with him 1-1 as if I was a graduate student of his at my top-25 undergraduate university. I also got a publication out of it. This gave me a huge leg up in my graduate applications for PhD, and it helped me determine that was something I was interested in to start with.

That sort of very personal relationship is much harder to find at the big state schools.

[got2surf]

That's a great point. One of my favorite parts of college was small research-based classes with 10-15 undergrads/grad students. The level of personal interaction and feedback from professors was the most valuable part.

That being said, I was fortunate enough to have similar experiences re: research at the state school as well (a professor who went out of his way to mentor me, leading to a few publications). It was definitely harder to find (because of how many other students professors at big state schools have to deal with), but it was more a function of professors' time than their willingness.