It Does Not Matter Where You Go to College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No this is true. A similar class at Princeton is not the same as at GWU and is not the same at UMD and is not the same at Towson. The rigor is less, the course material is not the same, and the students are not the same which is a big deal. So yes this is all true.

Still can rule the world from Towson if you have it in you. Just not as likely.

Ding ding ding! It matters

Didn't Joe Biden attend U. of Delaware and Kamala Harris attend Howard?

To be fair, they are running against Trump. Intelligence is not what is driving the election these last few cycles otherwise, people would still be donating to the Clinton Foundation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll be honest. Due to finances and the fact that we didn't push our kids like crazy and prioritized them being well-rounded, wanted them to enjoy hs and not be stressed out (dh and I were sad, perfect students with no lives) they are not going to get into any remotely impressive schools. Being a non-shiny A kid who is good at sports and well-adjusted but not top anything is not what colleges seem to care about at all. It'll likely be a regional university for them due to our flagship being hard to get into, and limited merit options elsewhere. I love my kids, and I know they will be fine wherever they go. I also agree with your statement fully. I know people from all college backgrounds who are doing very well! Yet I feel ashamed talking about my kids' college future with people and actively avoid irl college talk. I know people absolutely judge and it makes me feel terrible. I wish I truly did not care.

If you went to ivies and your kids are going to JMU, then yes, they are definitely going to judge.

But after they gradaute, the topic won't come up much unless you bring it up.

A lot of kids like yours end up going to good grad schools and that will wash away all your sins.

[Anonymous]

OP-- you sound like a preaching know- it- all who went to a Tier 3 university ( if that).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be honest. Due to finances and the fact that we didn't push our kids like crazy and prioritized them being well-rounded, wanted them to enjoy hs and not be stressed out (dh and I were sad, perfect students with no lives) they are not going to get into any remotely impressive schools. Being a non-shiny A kid who is good at sports and well-adjusted but not top anything is not what colleges seem to care about at all. It'll likely be a regional university for them due to our flagship being hard to get into, and limited merit options elsewhere. I love my kids, and I know they will be fine wherever they go. I also agree with your statement fully. I know people from all college backgrounds who are doing very well! Yet I feel ashamed talking about my kids' college future with people and actively avoid irl college talk. I know people absolutely judge and it makes me feel terrible. I wish I truly did not care.

If you went to ivies and your kids are going to JMU, then yes, they are definitely going to judge.

But after they gradaute, the topic won't come up much unless you bring it up.

A lot of kids like yours end up going to good grad schools and that will wash away all your sins.

Odd. I went to Brown and Cornell Law and couldn’t be prouder of my son who is at JMU and thriving. Get over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, I am by no means Ivy or bust but I do think it matters where you go.

Why do you think that?

For the vast majority of careers (PE and Investment banking aside), it does not matter. Put a highly qualified (qualified for lottery ticket for T25 schools) kid anywhere and they will excel. It's the kid's own work ethic and drive that leads to success, not the school they attend. Yes, T25 have a higher percentage who "excel" because literally everyone attending is a striver/has that work ethic. But go look at your State flagship, and track the kids who attend who "could have gone to an Ivy/T25" and you will see similar success.

Once more…you are actually saying it does matter where you go to college. OP never said you had to go to an Ivy…OP said it doesn’t matter AT ALL where you go to college.

You are saying go look at your state flagship…well just about every state flagship is a top 200 school and many are top 50.

For whatever reason these threads immediately are Top 25 vs everyone else, even though that’s not what OP said.

Nope, I'm stating it Does NOT matter where you go. Unless you want to be an investment banker or go into Private Equity (and you don't really get into that without your MBA, so then what matters is your MBA school, not your undergrad degree). So for 99.9999% of people, it does NOT matter.
And for IB, it only matters because they recruit at a limited number of schools, so it's harder to break in if you are not at those schools. But its more than 10 schools.



State flagship was an example, because that is where many "who have the resume for ivy/T25" end up for finances and other reasons. It's not the only choice. However a kid with a 1580/4.0UW/12AP+/top EC is not that likely to end up at Mary Washington or VCU. They will likely get into UVA or VaTech or W&M (or the equivalents in MD or elsewhere). So yes, unless finances are an issue, nobody is choosing MWU if they got into UVA/W&M/VaTech. Or they go to a good private that gives them excellent merit.

But if they did choose MWU (for whatever reason), they will be top dog in a small pond and do exceedingly well. Their outcomes are 99.99999% driven by what they do, not where they are.

Look around at the C-suite at your company and your partners company. Odds are 75-80% did not attend "elite schools" for undergrad. Some may have even gone to ones you haven't even heard of. Yet they are obviously doing well in life.

See you snuck VT in there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be honest. Due to finances and the fact that we didn't push our kids like crazy and prioritized them being well-rounded, wanted them to enjoy hs and not be stressed out (dh and I were sad, perfect students with no lives) they are not going to get into any remotely impressive schools. Being a non-shiny A kid who is good at sports and well-adjusted but not top anything is not what colleges seem to care about at all. It'll likely be a regional university for them due to our flagship being hard to get into, and limited merit options elsewhere. I love my kids, and I know they will be fine wherever they go. I also agree with your statement fully. I know people from all college backgrounds who are doing very well! Yet I feel ashamed talking about my kids' college future with people and actively avoid irl college talk. I know people absolutely judge and it makes me feel terrible. I wish I truly did not care.

If you went to ivies and your kids are going to JMU, then yes, they are definitely going to judge.

But after they gradaute, the topic won't come up much unless you bring it up.

A lot of kids like yours end up going to good grad schools and that will wash away all your sins.

I know a lot of people who went to Ivies or similar and their kids are going to JMU and the like. It’s a hell of a lot harder to get into the top 20 schools now. Some of our kids are good students but not quite as academically achieving as we were - and that’s fine - I went to an Ivy and one of my kids will probably go somewhere more like tech or jmu and that’s fine - she’s waaaay more socially adept than I was and is a go getter in many ways so I’m not worried about her future. Some of our kids are great students but don’t see the need to pay out of state prices if UVA and WM are potential options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be honest. Due to finances and the fact that we didn't push our kids like crazy and prioritized them being well-rounded, wanted them to enjoy hs and not be stressed out (dh and I were sad, perfect students with no lives) they are not going to get into any remotely impressive schools. Being a non-shiny A kid who is good at sports and well-adjusted but not top anything is not what colleges seem to care about at all. It'll likely be a regional university for them due to our flagship being hard to get into, and limited merit options elsewhere. I love my kids, and I know they will be fine wherever they go. I also agree with your statement fully. I know people from all college backgrounds who are doing very well! Yet I feel ashamed talking about my kids' college future with people and actively avoid irl college talk. I know people absolutely judge and it makes me feel terrible. I wish I truly did not care.

If you went to ivies and your kids are going to JMU, then yes, they are definitely going to judge.

But after they gradaute, the topic won't come up much unless you bring it up.

A lot of kids like yours end up going to good grad schools and that will wash away all your sins.

Odd. I went to Brown and Cornell Law and couldn’t be prouder of my son who is at JMU and thriving. Get over yourself.

+1 I have a friend who went to and Ivy, and his kids went to JMU and Virginia Tech. Both are doing very well in their fields, and I don't know of any friends or family of his who give it a second thought.

[Anonymous]

The anxiety disorder or alcohol/drug addiction developed from stressing out about whether they will get into a Top 20 college will influence kids' future way more than where they end up getting their education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be honest. Due to finances and the fact that we didn't push our kids like crazy and prioritized them being well-rounded, wanted them to enjoy hs and not be stressed out (dh and I were sad, perfect students with no lives) they are not going to get into any remotely impressive schools. Being a non-shiny A kid who is good at sports and well-adjusted but not top anything is not what colleges seem to care about at all. It'll likely be a regional university for them due to our flagship being hard to get into, and limited merit options elsewhere. I love my kids, and I know they will be fine wherever they go. I also agree with your statement fully. I know people from all college backgrounds who are doing very well! Yet I feel ashamed talking about my kids' college future with people and actively avoid irl college talk. I know people absolutely judge and it makes me feel terrible. I wish I truly did not care.

Well if your educational pedigree meant anything, you wouldn’t be worried about finances and could pay to play your kids in to the T15. Looks like you just proved OP’s point.

T15 are need blind as are many more. Pell grant kids get a huge boost, full pay is neutral or negative. Get up to date. The truth based on data is 75% of students who got into ivy+ in the late 80s to mid90s are not smart enough to get in now, so their progeny have little chance unless they are a recruited athlete.

This is, sadly,true. I'm Living this truth right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

This is true. Best to avoid places that might turn your kid into a McKinsey clown.

I would do McKinsey. They end up as CEOs everywhere.

Yes, we definitely need to churn out more drones to r@pe the environment and the working class simultaneously so some mom has bragging rights

Yup. CEOs are some of the most worthless, resource-hogging people on earth. Awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No this is true. A similar class at Princeton is not the same as at GWU and is not the same at UMD and is not the same at Towson. The rigor is less, the course material is not the same, and the students are not the same which is a big deal. So yes this is all true.

Still can rule the world from Towson if you have it in you. Just not as likely.

Ding ding ding! It matters

Didn't Joe Biden attend U. of Delaware and Kamala Harris attend Howard?

To be fair, they are running against Trump. Intelligence is not what is driving the election these last few cycles otherwise, people would still be donating to the Clinton Foundation.

And also look at any other part of our government. The Supreme Court has one non Ivy grad. Congress is basically a Harvard alumni association.