Do many people pick publics because of money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are belief shifts happening about the value of education, as education has become astronomically expensive. People are starting to take seriously the idea that very good publics basically have the same outcomes. If your kid can get into a top 10 school, MAYBE worth the networks, but after that, research suggests that it's just not. And so a lot of smart people are stepping back and redefining what "best" means. Used to be "best" reputation/prestige. Now it's "best" outcomes. And when you spin it like that, a lot of smart folks are going to choose publics. A lot of people have come to understand that it's fundamentally a waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for private over public, or private with merit aid (unless your kid has very specific needs or interests).

I would absolutely advise my kid to go to a strong public rather than saddle themselves with years and years of debt to go to a private.

Definitely! My son even says it himself; why pay more? He’s thriving at a large instate public.

This is not new, if anything the period of MC kids were going to elite schools was a brief anomaly. We're now back to Gilded Age income disparity, there's no room for strivers. But read the posts here, most parents want their kid to be Dilbert--state school was always the route to that.

Wow. you are at least 20-30 years behind what is happening in higher ed. There are no Dilbert's anymore -it's all about struggling trying to make the best cost efficient choice in a wildly unpredictable system. Try to be more learned And charitabke. To become more learned in this area, I suggest The Chronicle of Higher Education, which I read daily

[Anonymous]

Living in Bethesda, I’ve realized that many people overextended to buy a house, only to not be able to afford anything but UMD tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Living in Bethesda, I’ve realized that many people overextended to buy a house, only to not be able to afford anything but UMD tuition.

or perhaps they just are very good with their money and know that undergrad is just undergrad. ... which is why we did UVA and bamked the difference so can now pay for grad work at Cambridge and law school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Living in Bethesda, I’ve realized that many people overextended to buy a house, only to not be able to afford anything but UMD tuition.

or perhaps they just are very good with their money and know that undergrad is just undergrad. ... which is why we did UVA and bamked the difference so can now pay for grad work at Cambridge and law school

Doing the same for our kid. UVA (Echols) will finish in 3 years; may stay for yr 4 to complete Masters. Private cost difference going into kid’s brokerage account. We are full pay and can easily afford private. Our practical kid’s choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has some fantastic state schools. Why pay for private when you can get a better education, with a larger alumni network, at a public?

VA state schools are good at some things but overall mediocre in STEM.

Virginia has schools that are among the tops among public schools in top pay in STEM fields, top feeders on a percentage basis to STEM PhD programs, and are among the best in admissions to medical schools and other medical programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has some fantastic state schools. Why pay for private when you can get a better education, with a larger alumni network, at a public?

VA state schools are good at some things but overall mediocre in STEM.

Virginia has schools that are among the tops among public schools in top pay in STEM fields, top feeders on a percentage basis to STEM PhD programs, and are among the best in admissions to medical schools and other medical programs.

I agree and I'm a product of VA in-state public colleges. It was all my parents could afford for the 3 of us on one Fed salary and part-time nurse.

I had the stats for much higher. I got a solid education, but it was a big state school which I compare to McDonald's. In and out and fast--but not particularly memorable in regards to professor relations or courses. My husband was a poor public k-12 product - but did get a Pell grant and was able to afford a T10 that way.

We always were very big public school proponents. Our kids received a great elementary school education, middle school middling--not challenged at all. No accountability. No hard deadlines. Grade adjustments/re-takes for everyone. We put them in a private HS and I was floored at the differences and the quality of education. The facilities and smaller class sizes with very dedicated teachers that had graduate degrees in the subjects they teach. My kids came alive academically and engaged so much with their teachers. There was none of the nonsense that comes with a big public HS--resources, fights, teaching to the lower denominator, unqualified teachers, crowding, large class sizes, much better HS college counselor and prep for college.

We can afford it so we are sending our kids to private college. Firstborn to a T10. Smaller in size than our state schools. Many more resources devoted to the student. Network and such. I lived the difference. If it were a struggle I would happily send my kid to a VA public university--but given the choice with the $, it's a no-brainer for me to give my kid that opportunity. I don't care about the 'outcomes'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has some fantastic state schools. Why pay for private when you can get a better education, with a larger alumni network, at a public?

VA state schools are good at some things but overall mediocre in STEM.

Virginia has schools that are among the tops among public schools in top pay in STEM fields, top feeders on a percentage basis to STEM PhD programs, and are among the best in admissions to medical schools and other medical programs.

I agree and I'm a product of VA in-state public colleges. It was all my parents could afford for the 3 of us on one Fed salary and part-time nurse.

I had the stats for much higher. I got a solid education, but it was a big state school which I compare to McDonald's. In and out and fast--but not particularly memorable in regards to professor relations or courses. My husband was a poor public k-12 product - but did get a Pell grant and was able to afford a T10 that way.

We always were very big public school proponents. Our kids received a great elementary school education, middle school middling--not challenged at all. No accountability. No hard deadlines. Grade adjustments/re-takes for everyone. We put them in a private HS and I was floored at the differences and the quality of education. The facilities and smaller class sizes with very dedicated teachers that had graduate degrees in the subjects they teach. My kids came alive academically and engaged so much with their teachers. There was none of the nonsense that comes with a big public HS--resources, fights, teaching to the lower denominator, unqualified teachers, crowding, large class sizes, much better HS college counselor and prep for college.

We can afford it so we are sending our kids to private college. Firstborn to a T10. Smaller in size than our state schools. Many more resources devoted to the student. Network and such. I lived the difference. If it were a struggle I would happily send my kid to a VA public university--but given the choice with the $, it's a no-brainer for me to give my kid that opportunity. I don't care about the 'outcomes'.

Not all VA public universities are comparable to one another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has some fantastic state schools. Why pay for private when you can get a better education, with a larger alumni network, at a public?

VA state schools are good at some things but overall mediocre in STEM.

Virginia has schools that are among the tops among public schools in top pay in STEM fields, top feeders on a percentage basis to STEM PhD programs, and are among the best in admissions to medical schools and other medical programs.

I agree and I'm a product of VA in-state public colleges. It was all my parents could afford for the 3 of us on one Fed salary and part-time nurse.

I had the stats for much higher. I got a solid education, but it was a big state school which I compare to McDonald's. In and out and fast--but not particularly memorable in regards to professor relations or courses. My husband was a poor public k-12 product - but did get a Pell grant and was able to afford a T10 that way.

We always were very big public school proponents. Our kids received a great elementary school education, middle school middling--not challenged at all. No accountability. No hard deadlines. Grade adjustments/re-takes for everyone. We put them in a private HS and I was floored at the differences and the quality of education. The facilities and smaller class sizes with very dedicated teachers that had graduate degrees in the subjects they teach. My kids came alive academically and engaged so much with their teachers. There was none of the nonsense that comes with a big public HS--resources, fights, teaching to the lower denominator, unqualified teachers, crowding, large class sizes, much better HS college counselor and prep for college.

We can afford it so we are sending our kids to private college. Firstborn to a T10. Smaller in size than our state schools. Many more resources devoted to the student. Network and such. I lived the difference. If it were a struggle I would happily send my kid to a VA public university--but given the choice with the $, it's a no-brainer for me to give my kid that opportunity. I don't care about the 'outcomes'.

Not all VA public universities are comparable to one another.

No--but UVA, VT, JMU are like that. WM is more like a SLAC.

[Anonymous]

Duh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are belief shifts happening about the value of education, as education has become astronomically expensive. People are starting to take seriously the idea that very good publics basically have the same outcomes. If your kid can get into a top 10 school, MAYBE worth the networks, but after that, research suggests that it's just not. And so a lot of smart people are stepping back and redefining what "best" means. Used to be "best" reputation/prestige. Now it's "best" outcomes. And when you spin it like that, a lot of smart folks are going to choose publics. A lot of people have come to understand that it's fundamentally a waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for private over public, or private with merit aid (unless your kid has very specific needs or interests).

I would absolutely advise my kid to go to a strong public rather than saddle themselves with years and years of debt to go to a private.

Definitely! My son even says it himself; why pay more? He’s thriving at a large instate public.

This is not new, if anything the period of MC kids were going to elite schools was a brief anomaly. We're now back to Gilded Age income disparity, there's no room for strivers. But read the posts here, most parents want their kid to be Dilbert--state school was always the route to that.

Wow. you are at least 20-30 years behind what is happening in higher ed. There are no Dilbert's anymore -it's all about struggling trying to make the best cost efficient choice in a wildly unpredictable system. Try to be more learned And charitabke. To become more learned in this area, I suggest The Chronicle of Higher Education, which I read daily

What? Every other thread is about CS or engineering, publics are the sensible choice for that. Not that different from 30 years ago, get the degree secure the cubicle.

[Anonymous]

We chose private because after merit aid, it was the cheapest option. If public had been the cheapest, we would have sent our kids to public. It was ALL about the $$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has some fantastic state schools. Why pay for private when you can get a better education, with a larger alumni network, at a public?

VA state schools are good at some things but overall mediocre in STEM.

Virginia has schools that are among the tops among public schools in top pay in STEM fields, top feeders on a percentage basis to STEM PhD programs, and are among the best in admissions to medical schools and other medical programs.

I agree and I'm a product of VA in-state public colleges. It was all my parents could afford for the 3 of us on one Fed salary and part-time nurse.

I had the stats for much higher. I got a solid education, but it was a big state school which I compare to McDonald's. In and out and fast--but not particularly memorable in regards to professor relations or courses. My husband was a poor public k-12 product - but did get a Pell grant and was able to afford a T10 that way.

We always were very big public school proponents. Our kids received a great elementary school education, middle school middling--not challenged at all. No accountability. No hard deadlines. Grade adjustments/re-takes for everyone. We put them in a private HS and I was floored at the differences and the quality of education. The facilities and smaller class sizes with very dedicated teachers that had graduate degrees in the subjects they teach. My kids came alive academically and engaged so much with their teachers. There was none of the nonsense that comes with a big public HS--resources, fights, teaching to the lower denominator, unqualified teachers, crowding, large class sizes, much better HS college counselor and prep for college.

We can afford it so we are sending our kids to private college. Firstborn to a T10. Smaller in size than our state schools. Many more resources devoted to the student. Network and such. I lived the difference. If it were a struggle I would happily send my kid to a VA public university--but given the choice with the $, it's a no-brainer for me to give my kid that opportunity. I don't care about the 'outcomes'.

Not all VA public universities are comparable to one another.

No--but UVA, VT, JMU are like that. WM is more like a SLAC.

I can’t speak for VT and JMU because I do not have kids there; however, comparing UVA to fast food is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We chose private because after merit aid, it was the cheapest option. If public had been the cheapest, we would have sent our kids to public. It was ALL about the $$.

Smart decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Living in Bethesda, I’ve realized that many people overextended to buy a house, only to not be able to afford anything but UMD tuition.

or perhaps they just are very good with their money and know that undergrad is just undergrad. ... which is why we did UVA and bamked the difference so can now pay for grad work at Cambridge and law school

Doing the same for our kid. UVA (Echols) will finish in 3 years; may stay for yr 4 to complete Masters. Private cost difference going into kid’s brokerage account. We are full pay and can easily afford private. Our practical kid’s choice.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has some fantastic state schools. Why pay for private when you can get a better education, with a larger alumni network, at a public?

VA state schools are good at some things but overall mediocre in STEM.

Virginia has schools that are among the tops among public schools in top pay in STEM fields, top feeders on a percentage basis to STEM PhD programs, and are among the best in admissions to medical schools and other medical programs.

I agree and I'm a product of VA in-state public colleges. It was all my parents could afford for the 3 of us on one Fed salary and part-time nurse.

I had the stats for much higher. I got a solid education, but it was a big state school which I compare to McDonald's. In and out and fast--but not particularly memorable in regards to professor relations or courses. My husband was a poor public k-12 product - but did get a Pell grant and was able to afford a T10 that way.

We always were very big public school proponents. Our kids received a great elementary school education, middle school middling--not challenged at all. No accountability. No hard deadlines. Grade adjustments/re-takes for everyone. We put them in a private HS and I was floored at the differences and the quality of education. The facilities and smaller class sizes with very dedicated teachers that had graduate degrees in the subjects they teach. My kids came alive academically and engaged so much with their teachers. There was none of the nonsense that comes with a big public HS--resources, fights, teaching to the lower denominator, unqualified teachers, crowding, large class sizes, much better HS college counselor and prep for college.

We can afford it so we are sending our kids to private college. Firstborn to a T10. Smaller in size than our state schools. Many more resources devoted to the student. Network and such. I lived the difference. If it were a struggle I would happily send my kid to a VA public university--but given the choice with the $, it's a no-brainer for me to give my kid that opportunity. I don't care about the 'outcomes'.

Not all VA public universities are comparable to one another.

No--but UVA, VT, JMU are like that. WM is more like a SLAC.

I can’t speak for VT and JMU because I do not have kids there; however, comparing UVA to fast food is absurd.

+1. and woefully ignorant