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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow -- an extra $160K for college to prevent your kid from always wondering about Brown. Priceless. I guess, on this logic, if the kid doesn't get into Brown then she'll resent it for the rest of her life, but at least she won't blame her parents.

What other preferences (in the tens of the thousands of dollars range) must we all honor to stave off filial resentment? I guess for parents that don't have the $$, it's just inevitable.

Seriously, if she enjoys herself in college, she won't look back, filled with resentment, regardless of where she ended up. If she excels at UM, she'll have access to the same careers and grad schools she would have had if she'd graduated from Brown. If she doesn't excel at UM, it's unlikely she would have excelled at Brown (which, in and of itself, is not a golden ticket anywhere).

Whenever I see posts like this, I wonder if the poster has ever met anyone with an Ivy League degree. It is so much easier.

I'm that poster. Both my BA and my PhD are from HYPS schools. So are both of DH's degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Brown...

Do you know who gets into Brown today? Kids that don't get into HYPMS but get in pretty much everywhere else they apply. Which means they have 1550 SATs, and unweighted 4.0s, and have demonstrated some kind of sustained commitment to an academic or extracurricular pursuit that sets them apart from the 1550/4.0 kids that don't get into Brown.

These kids are highly motivated and accomplished. And now, suddenly, they're going to go off the rails because they have a choice of any course they want instead of having to take some introductory geology course that fulfills their science core requirement? Our family's experience has been that Brown is a great environment for students, because the students have affirmatively opted in to every single class they are taking and are not just checking off a core requirement box.

This nails it. Brown is full of kids who more or less qualify for HYPS and UChicago but those five schools have so many slots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow -- an extra $160K for college to prevent your kid from always wondering about Brown. Priceless. I guess, on this logic, if the kid doesn't get into Brown then she'll resent it for the rest of her life, but at least she won't blame her parents.

What other preferences (in the tens of the thousands of dollars range) must we all honor to stave off filial resentment? I guess for parents that don't have the $$, it's just inevitable.

Seriously, if she enjoys herself in college, she won't look back, filled with resentment, regardless of where she ended up. If she excels at UM, she'll have access to the same careers and grad schools she would have had if she'd graduated from Brown. If she doesn't excel at UM, it's unlikely she would have excelled at Brown (which, in and of itself, is not a golden ticket anywhere).

Whenever I see posts like this, I wonder if the poster has ever met anyone with an Ivy League degree. It is so much easier.

I'm that poster. Both my BA and my PhD are from HYPS schools. So are both of DH's degrees.

So you have no seat time at a state school - even a good state school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow -- an extra $160K for college to prevent your kid from always wondering about Brown. Priceless. I guess, on this logic, if the kid doesn't get into Brown then she'll resent it for the rest of her life, but at least she won't blame her parents.

What other preferences (in the tens of the thousands of dollars range) must we all honor to stave off filial resentment? I guess for parents that don't have the $$, it's just inevitable.

Seriously, if she enjoys herself in college, she won't look back, filled with resentment, regardless of where she ended up. If she excels at UM, she'll have access to the same careers and grad schools she would have had if she'd graduated from Brown. If she doesn't excel at UM, it's unlikely she would have excelled at Brown (which, in and of itself, is not a golden ticket anywhere).

Whenever I see posts like this, I wonder if the poster has ever met anyone with an Ivy League degree. It is so much easier.

I'm that poster. Both my BA and my PhD are from HYPS schools. So are both of DH's degrees.[/quote

Ah, then it makes sense why you are romanticizing state schools.

[Anonymous]

Took courses at the local community college and 2 state Us. PT for 2 yrs during HS. State flagship was my initial choice for grad school (over three HYPS alternatives) -- was there FT for a year. Have also taught in a state system (different state).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow -- an extra $160K for college to prevent your kid from always wondering about Brown. Priceless. I guess, on this logic, if the kid doesn't get into Brown then she'll resent it for the rest of her life, but at least she won't blame her parents.

What other preferences (in the tens of the thousands of dollars range) must we all honor to stave off filial resentment? I guess for parents that don't have the $$, it's just inevitable.

Seriously, if she enjoys herself in college, she won't look back, filled with resentment, regardless of where she ended up. If she excels at UM, she'll have access to the same careers and grad schools she would have had if she'd graduated from Brown. If she doesn't excel at UM, it's unlikely she would have excelled at Brown (which, in and of itself, is not a golden ticket anywhere).

Whenever I see posts like this, I wonder if the poster has ever met anyone with an Ivy League degree. It is so much easier.

I agree. It's a different world.

[Anonymous]

I was in a long relationship with someone that went to Wharton. He was a liar, a cheater, and ended up back at the family business living off his rich parents. Having a degree from an Ivy does not mean anything. It is all about the individual. The OP's daughter would do great at either school. Having the ability to go to either school is an amazing opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Brown...

Do you know who gets into Brown today? Kids that don't get into HYPMS but get in pretty much everywhere else they apply. Which means they have 1550 SATs, and unweighted 4.0s, and have demonstrated some kind of sustained commitment to an academic or extracurricular pursuit that sets them apart from the 1550/4.0 kids that don't get into Brown.

These kids are highly motivated and accomplished. And now, suddenly, they're going to go off the rails because they have a choice of any course they want instead of having to take some introductory geology course that fulfills their science core requirement? Our family's experience has been that Brown is a great environment for students, because the students have affirmatively opted in to every single class they are taking and are not just checking off a core requirement box.

This nails it. Brown is full of kids who more or less qualify for HYPS and UChicago but those five schools have so many slots.

This is not correct. If you go to the Business Insider site

http://www.businessinsider.com/smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9/#24-tie-carnegie-mellon-university-26

Brown's average student SAT score is given as 1,440 (24= in the US). HYP+UChicago are listed each with mean SATs just over 1500 and in the top 5 nationally. Lots of schools in between.

A score of 1550+ would not be typical of entering Brown students. I am sure that students going to Brown are very impressive kids who will do very well, but let's not get carries away.

[Anonymous]

^ 99-98 percentile vs 98-97 percentile. Wowwwww

[Anonymous]

If you want to go with BI stats here's one on starting salaries. UMich is ranked higher than Brown so maybe OPs daughter wouldn't be doomed to a life of poverty after all.

http://www.businessinsider.com/colleges-with-the-highest-starting-salaries-2015-8/#50-clemson-university-1

[Anonymous]

What is business insider. I use .gov's college scorecard, which actually accesses tax returns of former students. Brown alums make more $

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is business insider. I use .gov's college scorecard, which actually accesses tax returns of former students. Brown alums make more $

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

3% higher. And I thought there were big questions about the reliability of this salary data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, no, no. Totally not worth it.

Michigan is a huge place. She can distance herself from her high school friends (in a friendly way) and find different friends at university.

I am from NY and 20 people from my HS class went to Michigan. I only ever saw the ones with whom I chose to socialize.
I had a great education, the only thing that would have made it better is if I was able to receive that same education for in-state tuition.

She should go to Michigan and use the savings toward grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow -- an extra $160K for college to prevent your kid from always wondering about Brown. Priceless. I guess, on this logic, if the kid doesn't get into Brown then she'll resent it for the rest of her life, but at least she won't blame her parents.

What other preferences (in the tens of the thousands of dollars range) must we all honor to stave off filial resentment? I guess for parents that don't have the $$, it's just inevitable.

Seriously, if she enjoys herself in college, she won't look back, filled with resentment, regardless of where she ended up. If she excels at UM, she'll have access to the same careers and grad schools she would have had if she'd graduated from Brown. If she doesn't excel at UM, it's unlikely she would have excelled at Brown (which, in and of itself, is not a golden ticket anywhere).

Whenever I see posts like this, I wonder if the poster has ever met anyone with an Ivy League degree. It is so much easier.

I agree. It's a different world.

No, it's the same world. And she's the same person. She can get an excellent education at either school and will have access to the same grad schools and job opportunities. So the question is whether you want to spend an additional $160K over four years because she thinks she'd prefer Brown or because you believe she'll have access to a different world because she went to an Ivy. From an educational standpoint (or an investment standpoint), it's not worth the extra money. So this is a decision about social life/lifestyle (student's) and a certain vision of social status (parents').

[Anonymous]

Sorry -- that was unclear. What you'd be paying the additional $160K for would be social life/status. The choice between the schools isn't inherently about that. But that seems to be what's driving the preference for Brown.