Why would you pay full freight to send your kid to Middlebury?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I come from a very wealthy family. We all attended public universities. None of us considered LACs like Middlebury. We consider LACs a big waste of money. Furthermore, we find they are not intellectually diverse.

This must be dummy again. Reads like a seventh grade book report.

This reads like a schizophrenic Middlebury alum or parent with a chip off their shoulder.

Chip on your shoulder, dummy.

[Anonymous]

The people who send their kid to Middlebury may only have $300K HHI but they have education trusts from grandparents to pay for everything. All the grandkids and parents stand to inherit at least a couple million bucks each. Kids almost always attended top day school or boarding school. College choice is made without any concern for money. Capital gains.

This thread is full of naive strivers. Enjoy your public high school and public U. Be sure to study engineering or accounting or nursing like a good worker bee. The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who send their kid to Middlebury may only have $300K HHI but they have education trusts from grandparents to pay for everything. All the grandkids and parents stand to inherit at least a couple million bucks each. Kids almost always attended top day school or boarding school. College choice is made without any concern for money. Capital gains.

This thread is full of naive strivers. Enjoy your public high school and public U. Be sure to study engineering or accounting or nursing like a good worker bee. The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools.

^ It's true and beautifully and persuasively stated. But when you look at the world through the lens of ROI, as the OP does, they can never be convinced by points you made. Their value system is just different. I long since gave up on trying to explain to public school parents why I sent DC to a private. It's a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people who send their kid to Middlebury may only have $300K HHI but they have education trusts from grandparents to pay for everything. All the grandkids and parents stand to inherit at least a couple million bucks each. Kids almost always attended top day school or boarding school. College choice is made without any concern for money. Capital gains.

This thread is full of naive strivers. Enjoy your public high school and public U. Be sure to study engineering or accounting or nursing like a good worker bee. The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools.

^ It's true and beautifully and persuasively stated. But when you look at the world through the lens of ROI, as the OP does, they can never be convinced by points you made. Their value system is just different. I long since gave up on trying to explain to public school parents why I sent DC to a private. It's a waste of time.

yes, you want your kids to be around rich people who are just like them. It's dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people who send their kid to Middlebury may only have $300K HHI but they have education trusts from grandparents to pay for everything. All the grandkids and parents stand to inherit at least a couple million bucks each. Kids almost always attended top day school or boarding school. College choice is made without any concern for money. Capital gains.

This thread is full of naive strivers. Enjoy your public high school and public U. Be sure to study engineering or accounting or nursing like a good worker bee. The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools.

^ It's true and beautifully and persuasively stated. But when you look at the world through the lens of ROI, as the OP does, they can never be convinced by points you made. Their value system is just different. I long since gave up on trying to explain to public school parents why I sent DC to a private. It's a waste of time.

yes, you want your kids to be around rich people who are just like them. It's dumb.

no I want them to get get the best possible education with small class sizes, teachers who are not teaching to the standards of learning test, with a school that emphasizes public service - see this is exactly what I was talking about -- dumb, ill-informed comments like yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people who send their kid to Middlebury may only have $300K HHI but they have education trusts from grandparents to pay for everything. All the grandkids and parents stand to inherit at least a couple million bucks each. Kids almost always attended top day school or boarding school. College choice is made without any concern for money. Capital gains.

This thread is full of naive strivers. Enjoy your public high school and public U. Be sure to study engineering or accounting or nursing like a good worker bee. The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools.

^ It's true and beautifully and persuasively stated. But when you look at the world through the lens of ROI, as the OP does, they can never be convinced by points you made. Their value system is just different. I long since gave up on trying to explain to public school parents why I sent DC to a private. It's a waste of time.

yes, you want your kids to be around rich people who are just like them. It's dumb.

NP I would not want kids around you! You are rude and judgemental. You also are rejecting a system that has worked for a long time because you are judgemental. In my family generational wealth is way more important than a one-off and it protects future generation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people who send their kid to Middlebury may only have $300K HHI but they have education trusts from grandparents to pay for everything. All the grandkids and parents stand to inherit at least a couple million bucks each. Kids almost always attended top day school or boarding school. College choice is made without any concern for money. Capital gains.

This thread is full of naive strivers. Enjoy your public high school and public U. Be sure to study engineering or accounting or nursing like a good worker bee. The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools.

^ It's true and beautifully and persuasively stated. But when you look at the world through the lens of ROI, as the OP does, they can never be convinced by points you made. Their value system is just different. I long since gave up on trying to explain to public school parents why I sent DC to a private. It's a waste of time.

yes, you want your kids to be around rich people who are just like them. It's dumb.

NP I would not want kids around you! You are rude and judgemental. You also are rejecting a system that has worked for a long time because you are judgemental. In my family generational wealth is way more important than a one-off and it protects future generation.

So, you are saying that the Middlebury education -- as part of the "system that has worked for a long time" -- is for those kids who won't have to worry about getting a job, supporting themselves, getting a good financial return for their education. Which, sure, IF you are in that position, go for it. It sounds lovely and I do not begrudge you or your child getting that education.

But, for the great majority of parents/teens making the college decision it DOES have to be a financial ROI decision. I guess I could go into debt for my child to go to Middlebury and hang with the generationally wealthy to get those supposed connections or marry rich. If they'd even want to hang out with my MC kid? From PPs statements, sounds like they'd be shunned so I don't see how the potential "connections" are going to come through.

All the research on college outcomes shows that, except for minorities and first-gen students, the selectiveness of the college has zero impact on outcomes. So, yes, for my non-generationally-wealthy family, we'll end up sending our kids to the best schools they can get into that we can afford. By doing that, we'll have more money to someday pass on to our kids and they won't have college debt to pay off. Maybe we can someday be generationally-wealthy too and my grandchildren can put down others who make reasonable financial decisions about college.

[Anonymous]

Is Williams worth it?

[Anonymous]

This is such an asinine discussion. I graduated from Middlebury over 20 years ago and plenty of kids were from middle class families, most of my friends got some sort of financial aid. The school is a lot more economically, geographically and racially diverse now with a lot fewer private school kids. It’s truly stupid to think that it’s all trust fund kids whittling away 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is such an asinine discussion. I graduated from Middlebury over 20 years ago and plenty of kids were from middle class families, most of my friends got some sort of financial aid. The school is a lot more economically, geographically and racially diverse now with a lot fewer private school kids. It’s truly stupid to think that it’s all trust fund kids whittling away 4 years.

Yes but you’re not an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is such an asinine discussion. I graduated from Middlebury over 20 years ago and plenty of kids were from middle class families, most of my friends got some sort of financial aid. The school is a lot more economically, geographically and racially diverse now with a lot fewer private school kids. It’s truly stupid to think that it’s all trust fund kids whittling away 4 years.

NP.

There's clearly kids on this thread, they exhibit a shocking lack of grasp of fiscal reality and what it means to be an adult and how expensive life is even for the affluent and the long run cost/benefit of making various choices.

I'm sure what you say is true, all the top LACs and the Ivies are saying similar things, I'm confident my Ivy undergrad, which had demographics comparable to Middlebury, is even more diverse today. But the demographic change that has also happened is that a whole cohort of upper middle class families who could manage the tuition at expensive private colleges without any financial aid can no longer really do so or can only do so at great financial sacrifice and at the cost of retirement savings, mortgages and quality of life. From what I can tell what's happening is the student demographics are shifting towards a very affluent segment and heavily financial aid segment and full freight but not that affluent, the "normal" upper middle classes and now termed the donut hole families, are being left out.

As a product of an Ivy and DH also went to AWS for undergrad we would love to give our children the intimate, stellar and resource-rich education we experienced. But it will come at a great cost. We're years away from college and we're also fortunate to be comfortable but even with our income and healthy savings rate I am having second thoughts about having to spend so much money for we will not qualify for financial aid. $600,000 for two kids for undergrad is a stunning amount of money. If we instead went in-state for half the cost and left the other $300,000 into retirement accounts and the stock market for another 20 years we would get back so much more. Or we could use the extra money to help pay for graduate school, which is now increasingly more important than where you went for undergrad. Or use it to give our kids each $75,000 for a down payment on their first property after they graduate and get them on the property ladder. Or pay off our mortgage and free up more disposable income.

20 years ago when I was in college the tuition at Middlebury and other comparable schools were expensive but manageable and justified. I would have no hesitations. But today, as much as I love the liberal arts environment I just don't know if it's worth the stiff tuition we'd have to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people who send their kid to Middlebury may only have $300K HHI but they have education trusts from grandparents to pay for everything. All the grandkids and parents stand to inherit at least a couple million bucks each. Kids almost always attended top day school or boarding school. College choice is made without any concern for money. Capital gains.

This thread is full of naive strivers. Enjoy your public high school and public U. Be sure to study engineering or accounting or nursing like a good worker bee. The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools.

^ It's true and beautifully and persuasively stated. But when you look at the world through the lens of ROI, as the OP does, they can never be convinced by points you made. Their value system is just different. I long since gave up on trying to explain to public school parents why I sent DC to a private. It's a waste of time.

And thank goodness for that. Your values are abhorrent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people who send their kid to Middlebury may only have $300K HHI but they have education trusts from grandparents to pay for everything. All the grandkids and parents stand to inherit at least a couple million bucks each. Kids almost always attended top day school or boarding school. College choice is made without any concern for money. Capital gains.

This thread is full of naive strivers. Enjoy your public high school and public U. Be sure to study engineering or accounting or nursing like a good worker bee. The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools.

^ It's true and beautifully and persuasively stated. But when you look at the world through the lens of ROI, as the OP does, they can never be convinced by points you made. Their value system is just different. I long since gave up on trying to explain to public school parents why I sent DC to a private. It's a waste of time.

And thank goodness for that. Your values are abhorrent.

Not sure who you're responding to but if it's this: "The Middlebury kids will study whatever they want, pursue a passion, marry well, and still live in better neighborhoods and send their kids to top schools," then it's just fact, not abhorent, except maybe the part about living in better neighborhoods. That is not necessarily true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such an asinine discussion. I graduated from Middlebury over 20 years ago and plenty of kids were from middle class families, most of my friends got some sort of financial aid. The school is a lot more economically, geographically and racially diverse now with a lot fewer private school kids. It’s truly stupid to think that it’s all trust fund kids whittling away 4 years.

NP.

There's clearly kids on this thread, they exhibit a shocking lack of grasp of fiscal reality and what it means to be an adult and how expensive life is even for the affluent and the long run cost/benefit of making various choices.

I'm sure what you say is true, all the top LACs and the Ivies are saying similar things, I'm confident my Ivy undergrad, which had demographics comparable to Middlebury, is even more diverse today. But the demographic change that has also happened is that a whole cohort of upper middle class families who could manage the tuition at expensive private colleges without any financial aid can no longer really do so or can only do so at great financial sacrifice and at the cost of retirement savings, mortgages and quality of life. From what I can tell what's happening is the student demographics are shifting towards a very affluent segment and heavily financial aid segment and full freight but not that affluent, the "normal" upper middle classes and now termed the donut hole families, are being left out.

As a product of an Ivy and DH also went to AWS for undergrad we would love to give our children the intimate, stellar and resource-rich education we experienced. But it will come at a great cost. We're years away from college and we're also fortunate to be comfortable but even with our income and healthy savings rate I am having second thoughts about having to spend so much money for we will not qualify for financial aid. $600,000 for two kids for undergrad is a stunning amount of money. If we instead went in-state for half the cost and left the other $300,000 into retirement accounts and the stock market for another 20 years we would get back so much more. Or we could use the extra money to help pay for graduate school, which is now increasingly more important than where you went for undergrad. Or use it to give our kids each $75,000 for a down payment on their first property after they graduate and get them on the property ladder. Or pay off our mortgage and free up more disposable income.

20 years ago when I was in college the tuition at Middlebury and other comparable schools were expensive but manageable and justified. I would have no hesitations. But today, as much as I love the liberal arts environment I just don't know if it's worth the stiff tuition we'd have to pay.

I agree with everything you wrote, and like you, we are a donut hole family without generational wealth.

Our DC is going to a SLAC this fall that will cost almost twice what our in-state public would cost, but not $300k either. DC got a great merit scholarship and we can cover the rest with college savings. No debt, student or otherwise, necessary.

I recognize it is a luxury and acknowledge that it would be rational and practical to limit DC to our excellent in state public, but am glad we can make the LAC experience possible for them. It is worth it to us.

[Anonymous]

Is Middlebury worth it?