New "Dream Schools" from Selingo's new book ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this basically a list of very solid colleges and universities that aren't super selective or very expensive?

yes. nothing impressive.

I think the point of the book is that students, and parents especially, are looking at college search the wrong way. People try to get into the "best" college they can get into, without critically assessing fit or value or colleges that can provide both but aren't even on their radar. The book starts with a profile of student who got into Columbia but was unhappy and did not find the student culture a fit at all, he ended up transferring to University of Minnesota, where he did find better fit and vibe had more content and less stressed students. Top ranked college is not equal to happiness. We all know this but he shares some powerful stories and data. He also shares that there isn't enough space in top colleges and they don't give enough aid, so many more of these other schools should be considered. Like a person who got into Bowdoin with zero aid and ended up another college with nearly full aid and lots of oter perks.

Hi Jeff.

?? I'm a woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this basically a list of very solid colleges and universities that aren't super selective or very expensive?

yes. nothing impressive.

I think the point of the book is that students, and parents especially, are looking at college search the wrong way. People try to get into the "best" college they can get into, without critically assessing fit or value or colleges that can provide both but aren't even on their radar. The book starts with a profile of student who got into Columbia but was unhappy and did not find the student culture a fit at all, he ended up transferring to University of Minnesota, where he did find better fit and vibe had more content and less stressed students. Top ranked college is not equal to happiness. We all know this but he shares some powerful stories and data. He also shares that there isn't enough space in top colleges and they don't give enough aid, so many more of these other schools should be considered. Like a person who got into Bowdoin with zero aid and ended up another college with nearly full aid and lots of oter perks.

+100 This community would benefit from reading. We're the "worrying" generation he is writing about and he does reference the DMV mindset on schools.

facts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this basically a list of very solid colleges and universities that aren't super selective or very expensive?

yes. nothing impressive.

Agree. Nothing impressive about a NOVA kid attending W&M, VT Engineering, UMD CS… /s

Guys. The point is not to "be impressive." Literally, the point is to find a good fit without breaking the bank.

[Anonymous]

Don’t we already know these schools? I learned about them on here 4 years ago
lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this basically a list of very solid colleges and universities that aren't super selective or very expensive?

yes. nothing impressive.

I think the point of the book is that students, and parents especially, are looking at college search the wrong way. People try to get into the "best" college they can get into, without critically assessing fit or value or colleges that can provide both but aren't even on their radar. The book starts with a profile of student who got into Columbia but was unhappy and did not find the student culture a fit at all, he ended up transferring to University of Minnesota, where he did find better fit and vibe had more content and less stressed students. Top ranked college is not equal to happiness. We all know this but he shares some powerful stories and data. He also shares that there isn't enough space in top colleges and they don't give enough aid, so many more of these other schools should be considered. Like a person who got into Bowdoin with zero aid and ended up another college with nearly full aid and lots of oter perks.

that part I got. Ol' Miss over Rice (with lots of aid) made no sense to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t we already know these schools? I learned about them on here 4 years ago
lol

OP didn't included the longer blurbs on why each school stands out. I have the book and he adds specific commentary for each one. It's not just a list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this basically a list of very solid colleges and universities that aren't super selective or very expensive?

yes. nothing impressive.

I think the point of the book is that students, and parents especially, are looking at college search the wrong way. People try to get into the "best" college they can get into, without critically assessing fit or value or colleges that can provide both but aren't even on their radar. The book starts with a profile of student who got into Columbia but was unhappy and did not find the student culture a fit at all, he ended up transferring to University of Minnesota, where he did find better fit and vibe had more content and less stressed students. Top ranked college is not equal to happiness. We all know this but he shares some powerful stories and data. He also shares that there isn't enough space in top colleges and they don't give enough aid, so many more of these other schools should be considered. Like a person who got into Bowdoin with zero aid and ended up another college with nearly full aid and lots of oter perks.

but for this guy - full pay at Columbia vs in state MN is a jump ball imo.

but some of this seemed like, saving 10k a year for a WAY lower ranked, fewer resourced college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this basically a list of very solid colleges and universities that aren't super selective or very expensive?

yes. nothing impressive.

Agree. Nothing impressive about a NOVA kid attending W&M, VT Engineering, UMD CS… /s

Guys. The point is not to "be impressive." Literally, the point is to find a good fit without breaking the bank.

+1

exactly the point is literally sailing over the heads of many on this board lol.

[Anonymous]

OMG! We don’t need another batch of random school names! People are so stupid to spend time on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this basically a list of very solid colleges and universities that aren't super selective or very expensive?

yes. nothing impressive.

I think the point of the book is that students, and parents especially, are looking at college search the wrong way. People try to get into the "best" college they can get into, without critically assessing fit or value or colleges that can provide both but aren't even on their radar. The book starts with a profile of student who got into Columbia but was unhappy and did not find the student culture a fit at all, he ended up transferring to University of Minnesota, where he did find better fit and vibe had more content and less stressed students. Top ranked college is not equal to happiness. We all know this but he shares some powerful stories and data. He also shares that there isn't enough space in top colleges and they don't give enough aid, so many more of these other schools should be considered. Like a person who got into Bowdoin with zero aid and ended up another college with nearly full aid and lots of oter perks.

but for this guy - full pay at Columbia vs in state MN is a jump ball imo.

but some of this seemed like, saving 10k a year for a WAY lower ranked, fewer resourced college

The first profile wasn't just trading down for financial saving, it was about getting a better fit. The student felt stressed and isolated in Columbia's grinder culture. The student said he regretted not thinking about fit earlier, was obsessed only with getting into the highest ranked school he could get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG! We don’t need another batch of random school names! People are so stupid to spend time on this.

If he wrote a whole book around these recommended schools, I imagine he didn't pick them "randomly".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t we already know these schools? I learned about them on here 4 years ago
lol

OP didn't included the longer blurbs on why each school stands out. I have the book and he adds specific commentary for each one. It's not just a list.

True. I can see why they didn't tho. It would be like 50 pages long.

[Anonymous]

DCUM is going to vomit on this school list because DCUM is all about chasing prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UCs out of state are not affordable or worth the cost.

especially the CSU schools.

-signed a CSU grad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this basically a list of very solid colleges and universities that aren't super selective or very expensive?

yes. nothing impressive.

I think the point of the book is that students, and parents especially, are looking at college search the wrong way. People try to get into the "best" college they can get into, without critically assessing fit or value or colleges that can provide both but aren't even on their radar. The book starts with a profile of student who got into Columbia but was unhappy and did not find the student culture a fit at all, he ended up transferring to University of Minnesota, where he did find better fit and vibe had more content and less stressed students. Top ranked college is not equal to happiness. We all know this but he shares some powerful stories and data. He also shares that there isn't enough space in top colleges and they don't give enough aid, so many more of these other schools should be considered. Like a person who got into Bowdoin with zero aid and ended up another college with nearly full aid and lots of oter perks.

but for this guy - full pay at Columbia vs in state MN is a jump ball imo.

but some of this seemed like, saving 10k a year for a WAY lower ranked, fewer resourced college

The first profile wasn't just trading down for financial saving, it was about getting a better fit. The student felt stressed and isolated in Columbia's grinder culture. The student said he regretted not thinking about fit earlier, was obsessed only with getting into the highest ranked school he could get into.

I read it. And transferring out is the move, for sure. I'm saying - even having those two admissions in hand would have been a jump ball for me.

OTOH the girl went to SMU for the money - and admitted she was really unhappy there her first year. Like the Columbia guy. It got better when she found her people but she didn't seem to look back with a lot of fondness