Maybe you don't know where they got accepted. It is much harder to get into the top tier schools than it was in the 90's. And, depending on major and career goals, the good publics can have the same outcome as the privates. |
I work in the fine arts. I knew the financial ROI on my degrees was going to be basically nonexistent (and my field of the arts is incredibly competitive, but I'm passionate about it and wanted to take a shot at it) so I did a state school for undergrad, graduated w/ almost no debt, and then went to an T10 w/ a full tuition scholarship for my MFA. I had to take out some loans to help cover cost of living in grad school but graduated with a very manageable amount of debt (under 25k). I had classmates in grad school who had over six figures of debt from undergrad alone, and I have colleagues who didn't get scholarships for their MFAs and dropped $150k on them. I find it hard to believe they'll ever pay them off. I could have gone to a top private art school for a BFA, but my public school BA still got me into the best MFA program in the country for my field. If my kid wanted to go into the arts or humanities I'd be all for it, but I'd never let them saddle themselves with a ton of debt to do so. I will say someone upthread made a good point that public uni options vary from state to state, but as long as your state's public universities have strong arts/humanities it's unhinged to counsel a kid to go into a ton of debt for a career path where they'll likely never break six figures (or as is often the case, in the fine arts, never "make it" and have to pursue a fallback career). |
The answer is yes for us. I would never empty the kid's investment account to fund his education or mine. The schools need him more than he needs them.
He may skip college altogether. |
OP you need to tour UCLA, Berkekey, UVA sbd Michigan and then cone back and tell us they are "lesser". Much has changed since you went to college |
I know students at our FCPS school who were admitted to T25 schools but had to turn them down because they couldn’t pay/justify the tuition. I think one of the reasons privates seem to have a higher percentage of kids going to T25 schools is because their parents can afford it. In addition there are legacy and athletic recruits. I’m not saying there aren’t smart kids at private or the academics aren’t rigorous, I just think there is more to the story as to why their admissions seem better. If your student is unhooked, you are not wealthy, and you think your kid can get into a T25 school, you might want to save the tuition spent at private school for college savings. |
If their families are like ours, the students didn't apply to elite schools because the parents set a budget, and it excluded such schools. It's about the student, not about the school. |
This. High-end private schools are essentially screening in admissions for the kids who will do well in T25 admissions. Add 4+ years of curating those students + 1-on-1 college counseling that public schools can't provide and wow! excellent college admissions results! ![]() |
Op here. I know very few seniors since my kids are younger. I did meet a few who did ED with what sounded like perfect stats to UVA and never even applied to other schools. Other kids got into better schools and chose UVA. Then there are the other hundred(s) who I don’t know personally who will be attending VA and MD state schools. |
Any you turned out to be an A**h*** |
UVA is not for everyone. I know several high stats students who chose other schools (T20), I do not hold that against them. |
dp. if they took out loans for it, that was a dumb move from an ROI perspective. If they can afford it, then it's a moot point. Most people are not wealthy, and making emotional decisions on a big purchase (which college is) is not a good move. |
With younger kids and a limited world view, now is the time to keep an open mind and understand that you don't have a good sense of the current landscape in college admissions or the very wide variety of family financial and other considerations that go into picking a college. FWIW, we could have stretched to allow DS to apply to more selective schools but he only wanted to go to Virginia Tech and is doing very well there. |
First of all, bull$hit he does. If you are paying for "an elite education" just as a luxury expenditure that your kids don't really need (which would be true if your DH actually made "several million a year", which he does not because you are lying) that's great for you. However, sane people who can afford "an elite school" still need to take into account the cost-benefit equation of doing so. What is the career intent, will grad school be required, and will a state flagship satisfy the needs of both. |
My oldest is a freshman in high school so not that young. I also have two other kids I am considering switching to private school. I do think it is geographic and lots of donut hole families. SUNY vs Cornell is different than UVA vs Georgetown. Yes, I was a financial aid kid. I got a mix of grants, merit scholarships and loans. |
People in private equity need to keep their mouths shut about other people’s decision making and realize that their little bubble is meaningless for thinking about the real world. |