For Which Elite Colleges and Universities Would You Pay Full Price ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that paying full price included taking out a total of $30,000 in loans over 4 years (average of $7,500 per year), for which elite colleges and universities would you pay full price ? (I specify the loan amounts to depict one who must sacrifice to attend an elite school at full sticker price.)

Assume that the student is undecided regarding major and career.

I would say none if your kid is undecided regarding major and career. I think elite schools pay off for kids that have a good understanding of what they want to study and what they want to get out of the school in terms of a career and network. They are not a great place for a MC kid that really doesn't know what they want to study or what they want to do after college...these are the parents/kids that come on to DCUM and lament how the elite school was a bust for their kid.

Interesting perspective.

My opinion is the opposite of yours. I think that a degree from an elite school is more important for an undecided student than for one with a clear-cut plan regarding college major & career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Rice?

(OP here)

Yes, regarding an undergraduate degree from Rice University at full pay including $30,000 in student loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:(OP again)

Among LACs, my list would be limited to Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Claremont McKenna College, and Middlebury College.

East Coast Bias-Pomona is excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Easy. Any Ivy, MIT, Stanford, Cal Tech, Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Hopkins. Preference for any Ivy. Out of State, probably Berkley, maybe Michigan. We are in state Virginia so that would not be full price.

Easiest question ever on DCUM.

Um, it’s spelled “Berkeley.”

Oh wow you told her off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that paying full price included taking out a total of $30,000 in loans over 4 years (average of $7,500 per year), for which elite colleges and universities would you pay full price ? (I specify the loan amounts to depict one who must sacrifice to attend an elite school at full sticker price.)

Assume that the student is undecided regarding major and career.

I would say none if your kid is undecided regarding major and career. I think elite schools pay off for kids that have a good understanding of what they want to study and what they want to get out of the school in terms of a career and network. They are not a great place for a MC kid that really doesn't know what they want to study or what they want to do after college...these are the parents/kids that come on to DCUM and lament how the elite school was a bust for their kid.

Interesting perspective.

My opinion is the opposite of yours. I think that a degree from an elite school is more important for an undecided student than for one with a clear-cut plan regarding college major & career.

My experience is the more elite the school, the less that school thinks your kid's finding a job/career are important to them. Sure, the professors know that McKinsey, GS, and all these other companies will visit campus, however, the school and professors find all that beneath them.

Also, the specific scenario is a MC kid...not low-income, not rich...those are the kids that have it really tough if they arrive clueless as to degree and career.

[Anonymous]

None

[Anonymous]

Stanford, Caltech, Harvard MIT and Berkeley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stanford, Caltech, Harvard MIT and Berkeley.

Princeton ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stanford, Caltech, Harvard MIT and Berkeley.

Princeton ?

NP — I wouldn’t want my kid to go to Princeton. It’s full of elitist a-holes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that paying full price included taking out a total of $30,000 in loans over 4 years (average of $7,500 per year), for which elite colleges and universities would you pay full price ? (I specify the loan amounts to depict one who must sacrifice to attend an elite school at full sticker price.)

Assume that the student is undecided regarding major and career.

I would say none if your kid is undecided regarding major and career. I think elite schools pay off for kids that have a good understanding of what they want to study and what they want to get out of the school in terms of a career and network. They are not a great place for a MC kid that really doesn't know what they want to study or what they want to do after college...these are the parents/kids that come on to DCUM and lament how the elite school was a bust for their kid.

Interesting perspective.

My opinion is the opposite of yours. I think that a degree from an elite school is more important for an undecided student than for one with a clear-cut plan regarding college major & career.

My experience is the more elite the school, the less that school thinks your kid's finding a job/career are important to them. Sure, the professors know that McKinsey, GS, and all these other companies will visit campus, however, the school and professors find all that beneath them.

Also, the specific scenario is a MC kid...not low-income, not rich...those are the kids that have it really tough if they arrive clueless as to degree and career.

Use the career center.

Interesting as I never viewed a professor's duty as finding employment for students. The school's obligation is to provide resources--such as a career center / job postings--to enable one to engage in job seeking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stanford, Caltech, Harvard MIT and Berkeley.

Only 1 Ivy and 4 non-Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:(OP again)

Among LACs, my list would be limited to Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Claremont McKenna College, and Middlebury College.

East Coast Bias-Pomona is excellent.

(OP here)

Certainly a reasonable conclusion based on my list, but I was aware that I did not include Pomona even knowing that it is an outstanding school. Personalpreference.

[Anonymous]

We are Virginia residents. Our kids were smart but not reasonable Ivy League candidates. Few students are. So for us the question was “what private schools are worth full pay over UVA or William & Mary” and the answer was none. We had one kid get into Notre Dame who ended up at UVA. We had another who ended up at Grinnell over William & Mary but only with merit aid covering half of the tuition. That kid also got into Carleton full pay and we strongly discouraged it. I will say, though, that she also applied to Brown on a whim and has she gotten in we would have let her go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stanford, Caltech, Harvard MIT and Berkeley.

Only 1 Ivy and 4 non-Ivies.

I think above 5 are the only ones truly worth paying full price. Yale, Duke, Princeton blah, blah ,blah are all just noise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Rice?

they give quite a few kids merit. My neighbors daugher got $15K per year and choose over Cornell.