Brown $68K vs. UMich (in-state) $28K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why Brown tends to cause some controversy for some people. I knew Brown pretty well (sibling went there, many friends went there and while I was at another Ivy not far away I visited Brown a few times while in college). Most Brown students are indistinguishable from students at other Ivy schools. While Brown offers a more open curriculum the truth is that the vast majority of students take a very structured approach and you still have to declare a major and meet the major's requirements. And Brown students flock off to all the best professional and graduate schools and all the big banks and consulting firms recruit at Brown. Brown probably has the weakest graduate/professional schools compared to the other Ivies but the undergraduate is top notch, and that's what really matters for people applying to undergraduate.

That aside, is Brown "worth" the money? Only you can tell. It's your money. If it was easy for me to pay the additional tuition, I'd be happy to spend it. If money is an issue, then I'd be happy with Michigan (the comparison is true for all colleges save Harvard, Yale, MIT, CalTech and maybe Stanford). A bright kid will do just as well out of life graduating from Michigan.

As for meeting prospective mates....well...this is wading into a pool filled with crocodiles so I'll refrain from commenting.

Not looking to meet prospective mates here, are you?

[Anonymous]

The girls and boys she meets at Brown at 10x the peers she will meet at UMich. That's worth the $160K alone.

Out of state students go to UMich because they were rejected from all the Ivies - notably Cornell and Penn. Just a fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The girls and boys she meets at Brown at 10x the peers she will meet at UMich. That's worth the $160K alone.

Out of state students go to UMich because they were rejected from all the Ivies - notably Cornell and Penn. Just a fact.

Either there's one crazy person in this thread, or there's a whole contingent of folks who went to Brown just to find a husband.

I know where NOT to send my son

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The girls and boys she meets at Brown at 10x the peers she will meet at UMich. That's worth the $160K alone.

Out of state students go to UMich because they were rejected from all the Ivies - notably Cornell and Penn. Just a fact.

Either there's one crazy person in this thread, or there's a whole contingent of folks who went to Brown just to find a husband.

I know where NOT to send my son

your son will not be excited by the talent available at brown. Maybe 3% of the women at best would be attractive to him. If you want a hot and smart spouse for your son, tell him to go to usc or vandy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brown boys are rich and/or smart. After college Brown friends are more likely to introduce you to higher status men and social circles on the East Coast and major international cities.

Michigan boys could be rich and/or smart ... or an average-ambition drunk. After college Michigan friends are most likely to introduce you to Metro Detroit or Chicago state-school men.

The posters such as this are speaking home truths that college counselors and 'polite society' doesn't talk about but it is increasingly true in our stratified society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The girls and boys she meets at Brown at 10x the peers she will meet at UMich. That's worth the $160K alone.

Out of state students go to UMich because they were rejected from all the Ivies - notably Cornell and Penn. Just a fact.

Either there's one crazy person in this thread, or there's a whole contingent of folks who went to Brown just to find a husband.

I know where NOT to send my son

your son will not be excited by the talent available at brown. Maybe 3% of the women at best would be attractive to him. If you want a hot and smart spouse for your son, tell him to go to usc or vandy

USC (and Stanford) is indeed something he's considering

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The girls and boys she meets at Brown at 10x the peers she will meet at UMich. That's worth the $160K alone.

Out of state students go to UMich because they were rejected from all the Ivies - notably Cornell and Penn. Just a fact.

Either there's one crazy person in this thread, or there's a whole contingent of folks who went to Brown just to find a husband.

I know where NOT to send my son

I'm the 'crazy' PP. The OP mentioned her daughter was only interested in Brown and Michigan. The things I said also go for the 20 or so colleges that are superior to Michigan: Ivy League, Stanford, Northwestern, UChicago, Georgetown, Hopkins, MIT, Duke, Notre Dame, Tufts, Vanderbilt, the elite LACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a similar situation when I went to university of Wisconsin. Tons of people from my high school went to UW and several lived in my dorm. However, it was totally different from high school and I don't think that's a good reason to not go to UMich (I did graduate work at UMich, so know both schools). If that's the main reason, I would tell her that you'll pay for all of UMich, but she will be responsible for the difference in tuition.

Yes. Same here. Wisconsin and Michigan are both great schools that are big and attract students from all over the country and world. Neither are anything like high school. If you are instate it is hard to go anywhere else because of the value of the degree vs paying high tuition for a private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brown boys are rich and/or smart. After college Brown friends are more likely to introduce you to higher status men and social circles on the East Coast and major international cities.

Michigan boys could be rich and/or smart ... or an average-ambition drunk. After college Michigan friends are most likely to introduce you to Metro Detroit or Chicago state-school men.

Because the boys at Brown never get drunk or high. Please

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The girls and boys she meets at Brown at 10x the peers she will meet at UMich. That's worth the $160K alone.

Out of state students go to UMich because they were rejected from all the Ivies - notably Cornell and Penn. Just a fact.

Either there's one crazy person in this thread, or there's a whole contingent of folks who went to Brown just to find a husband.

I know where NOT to send my son

your son will not be excited by the talent available at brown. Maybe 3% of the women at best would be attractive to him. If you want a hot and smart spouse for your son, tell him to go to usc or vandy

USC (and Stanford) is indeed something he's considering

I think (Brown vs. Stanford) vs. Michigan is a different argument. I wouldn't take on the debt for Brown, but would do it for Stanford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think (Brown vs. Stanford) vs. Michigan is a different argument. I wouldn't take on the debt for Brown, but would do it for Stanford.

And if you were an alumni from either Brown or Stanford, you'd be among the lowest earners in your class if you needed debt to pay for your child's college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think (Brown vs. Stanford) vs. Michigan is a different argument. I wouldn't take on the debt for Brown, but would do it for Stanford.

And if you were an alumni from either Brown or Stanford, you'd be among the lowest earners in your class if you needed debt to pay for your child's college.

True, because you'd know which investments make sense, and which one don't.

Which is why I still don't understand what OP's daughter is trying to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think (Brown vs. Stanford) vs. Michigan is a different argument. I wouldn't take on the debt for Brown, but would do it for Stanford.

And if you were an alumni from either Brown or Stanford, you'd be among the lowest earners in your class if you needed debt to pay for your child's college.

Do you have proof for that? I know alums of both who are normal middle class people for whom sending their kids to college is a stretch. One has sent 3 to college on football scholarships. Another is getting grandparents help for private school, and will probably get that same help for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think (Brown vs. Stanford) vs. Michigan is a different argument. I wouldn't take on the debt for Brown, but would do it for Stanford.

And if you were an alumni from either Brown or Stanford, you'd be among the lowest earners in your class if you needed debt to pay for your child's college.

Do you have proof for that? I know alums of both who are normal middle class people for whom sending their kids to college is a stretch. One has sent 3 to college on football scholarships. Another is getting grandparents help for private school, and will probably get that same help for college.

Isn't that the point? How many Michigan grads do you know who have grandparents paying for private school?

[Anonymous]

This is a good problem to have! A no-lose situation, right?
Is she good at self-organizing? If not I think either of those schools could be challenging, UMich because it's so large and Brown because of their odd structure.
This is circa 1986 info but...the one girl from our private school who did choose Brown was looking for a rich Jewish husband. Just a fact. She was a talented actress and very smart, she got into a number of other top schools.
Sort of the way that the smug super smart school president with social connections went to Princeton and the science whiz went to Cal Tech and the athlete douche went to Dartmouth and those two girls who were good at everything went to Yale and Harvard. And the rest of us went to Williams and Pomona and Boston U and UC Santa Cruz.