My child attends an elite college. It is overrated.

[Anonymous]

What we you expecting? Sheesh. Bitter much.

[Anonymous]

You think those kids going into consulting are only making $60k? Kind of makes me doubt the rest of your post, honey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern? That's not elite, elite.

My god, your obsession with this school is unhealthy.

[Anonymous]

You sound really bitter and you’re making unmerited generalizations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op are you just figuring out that rich people hang outside with other rich people? That’s why people send their kids to private school.

No, I send my DD to private school because her public school SUCKS! I am NOT rich, I make sacrifices.

[Anonymous]

Crazy that DCUM is bashing OP because elite colleges are all that DCUM respects. If DCUMers know that top schools won’t transform lives, then why the hype and frustration about not getting into one? For what it’s worth, I went to a Top 15 school, and my kid is going to UVA. Never allowed him to consider the overpriced, overhyped schools.

[Anonymous]

I think this is a very helpful post. Helping us not go crazy at this application season! Not worth it. Go somewhere you like that’s affordable and at the end of the day you’ll be fine. Thanks, OP

[Anonymous]

Depends on Major. Education, Nursing, Kinesiology, PT, Social Work? Yes you overpaid. Those majors don’t value the school over the degree. Careers where connections and prestige are key-Finance, Pre-Law, Business, Computer Science and Engineering to a Lesser extent.

[Anonymous]

The elite school obsession is crazy to me. Two of my closest friends went to Harvard. Great school, clearly, but super expensive. One of friend is a SAHM and the other is a consultant barely scraping by (she opted for a low paying field). I went to a flagship state school and public law school. I make more than both of them, though can't say that I went to Harvard. IMHO, we're all well educated, thoughtful humans, and it doesn't matter much where we went to school in the long run.

Trust funds, however, are life changing. If you've got one of those, you likely just want to add to your perceived list of elitisms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's too early to tell or maybe she just didn't capitalize on all the opportunities (I suspect very few do) but it most certainly has not changed her life. The thing I do notice is overall a higher percentage of deeply committed pre-med students than my son's peers at the state flagship. Other than that there's this laughable idea that an elite college is a golden ticket to a $150,000 job offer and a rich spouse and that's just not accurate. The plum six-figure job offers are scarce and go to the connected and elbowy overachievers with perfect grades. And generally the rich socialize with the rich. If you want your child in that orbit they need to be in that orbit by 9th grade at some ritzy prep or boarding school.

I have a niece at Cornell who is close with my daughter and she has had a similar experience. At Cornell the rich are in the rich kid sororities and fraternities.

A few years back we were caught up in the admissions frenzy but in retrospect it seems so nutty. I'm [now] far more impressed with a parent who tells me their kid is at a less selective school but just got into medical school than some Ivy League parent who tells me their ubiquitous kid is going into "consulting" for $60,000 a year or some second rate grad program.

Your points are valid and you could have chosen to make them and tell this story many other ways which would have been positive and affirming. But the way you chose seems embittered and jealous, and it will be much less effective as a result.

I don't think this person sounds bitter or jealous. I think their objective description of what the "promised land" looks like might be like salve to kids who just learned they will not be going to college there. It might also come across as a cautionary tale to parents and kids who are contemplating unhealthy sacrifices to obtain what they perceive to be a golden ticket. Thank you OP.

[Anonymous]

+1

[Anonymous]

My only child goes to Northwestern. It was her choice. We are full pay. She is pre-med and struggles but is doing ok. She is surrounded by high achievers who care about learning and most are Liberals which is a nice change from her high school.

Never thought in a million years that NU (or really any college) is any kind of golden ticket. Not sure why any educated parent would think that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My only child goes to Northwestern. It was her choice. We are full pay. She is pre-med and struggles but is doing ok. She is surrounded by high achievers who care about learning and most are Liberals which is a nice change from her high school.

Never thought in a million years that NU (or really any college) is any kind of golden ticket. Not sure why any educated parent would think that.

Please! You don’t think the hype about school ratings, the effort to get into the best ranked schools, and parents endangering their and their kid’s financial future is not a quest for something more than a good education? Perhaps, this is a Come to Jesus Moment. The veil has been lifted.

[Anonymous]

The Unibomber went to Harvard. Just sayin’

[Anonymous]

How do you know the problem is with the school not the student?