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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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').

Agree -- and, FWIW -- since a PP raised this point -- my undergrad degree is from an Ivy and my law degree from a top 5. One caveat, though, top investment banks will recruit on campus at Brown, but might not go to Michigan. I'm basing this on second-hand reports from parents of recent college grads, though I'd gladly defer to others with better data.

[Anonymous]

Michigan is a safety school - - - I wouldn't want it on my resume/LinkedIn for the rest of my life.

[Anonymous]

It's not a safety school for in-state students. It's the flagship and indisputably one of the best public universities in the country. Basically, if you're eligible for in-state tuition, it's like Berkeley. Unless you have some esoteric academic/professional interest which skews your search, it doesn't make sense to turn Michigan down on educational grounds unless you get into one of a handful of world-renowned universities or unless FA or scholarships give you a high-quality alternative that costs the equivalent or less.

It *is* a safety school for talented OOS students whose families are willing and able to pay $60K/year for UM if their kid doesn't get into HYPS. In that sense, it occupies a similar niche to Brown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not a safety school for in-state students. It's the flagship and indisputably one of the best public universities in the country. Basically, if you're eligible for in-state tuition, it's like Berkeley. Unless you have some esoteric academic/professional interest which skews your search, it doesn't make sense to turn Michigan down on educational grounds unless you get into one of a handful of world-renowned universities or unless FA or scholarships give you a high-quality alternative that costs the equivalent or less.

It *is* a safety school for talented OOS students whose families are willing and able to pay $60K/year for UM if their kid doesn't get into HYPS. In that sense, it occupies a similar niche to Brown.

Calling an Ivy, with an 8% acceptance rate, a safety is just trolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not a safety school for in-state students. It's the flagship and indisputably one of the best public universities in the country. Basically, if you're eligible for in-state tuition, it's like Berkeley. Unless you have some esoteric academic/professional interest which skews your search, it doesn't make sense to turn Michigan down on educational grounds unless you get into one of a handful of world-renowned universities or unless FA or scholarships give you a high-quality alternative that costs the equivalent or less.

It *is* a safety school for talented OOS students whose families are willing and able to pay $60K/year for UM if their kid doesn't get into HYPS. In that sense, it occupies a similar niche to Brown.

Agree with this assessment. The overall admit rate was 26% (24% for men) last year, and while Mich doesn't show in-state vs out-of-state rates it's likely lower for OOS (much like UVA) so while that's certainly a higher admit rate than the Ivy league, it's not a great safety school unless you've got really good stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not a safety school for in-state students. It's the flagship and indisputably one of the best public universities in the country. Basically, if you're eligible for in-state tuition, it's like Berkeley. Unless you have some esoteric academic/professional interest which skews your search, it doesn't make sense to turn Michigan down on educational grounds unless you get into one of a handful of world-renowned universities or unless FA or scholarships give you a high-quality alternative that costs the equivalent or less.

It *is* a safety school for talented OOS students whose families are willing and able to pay $60K/year for UM if their kid doesn't get into HYPS. In that sense, it occupies a similar niche to Brown.

Calling an Ivy, with an 8% acceptance rate, a safety is just trolling.

No different than calling Michigan a safety. Both are reaches for most applicants (and so out-of-reach that kids with average credentials are told don't even bother to apply). And yet both get applications from people who aspire to more selective schools. Both, of course, are also dream schools for some exceptionally well-qualified students. Safety is relative and preferences vary.

Personally, I think that the whole safety/match/reach framing is screwed-up. But if Michigan's a safety for some kids, so's Brown. In my DC's cohort, the two schools are often safeties/back-up plans for the same caliber of student.

[Anonymous]

Goodness, I'd never call Michigan a safety school. And I'm from Ohio with an inborn dislike of the place. (Go Buckeyes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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').

I agree it is possible to get an excellent education at either school, but that doesn't mean the only difference between the two is social. In many ways the schools are very different and any given kid might thrive more at one than the other.

[Anonymous]

$160K more?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think a Brown degree carries the same weight as a degree from another Ivy. Too many stories of rich people just buying their kids' way into Brown. So no - not worth it. Michigan is a very good school.

Right. Brown is so much more lightweight than Cornell, Dartmouth and Penn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Goodness, I'd never call Michigan a safety school. And I'm from Ohio with an inborn dislike of the place. (Go Buckeyes

At some elite privates like GDS, U of M is a quasi-safety for most applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Did you date Mr. Donald J. Trump?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

[b]Don't listen to people who say that only where you go to grad school matters.

This poster is spot on! The only people that say that it doesn't matter where you go for undergrad are the ones who went to lower ranked schools.

I'd say 4 out of 5 colleagues with high-status degrees are doing everything they can to prepare their kids for their elite alma mater (or a peer college). Those that aren't haven't raised their kids the right way, so they already know they don't have a shot, so declaring they don't care about the "rat race" is just saving face. One example is my boss: He and his wife are too busy with work and travel to sink time into micro-managing their kids. His obnoxious slacker daughter is headed to GW (a school anyone with $ can attend).

This has been my experience as well - in the workplace as well as at a Big 3. Parents doing *everything* they can to help their child to get into an elite school. OP, your child has voiced his/her preference. If your child ends up going to UM, s/he will always wonder about Brown, which may turn into resentment later. I doubt that the reverse would be true.

Is the Big 3 still Harvard, Princeton, Yale or has Stanford dethroned one of the three?

[Anonymous]

Would the analysis be the same if it were Harvard vs Michigan or Princeton vs Michigan?

[Anonymous]

Yes, depending on family resources and career goals.