Schools ranked 100-150

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine turned down the Naval Academy for a lesser-ranked school. It's about fit, not prestige.

This.

If you tweaked the original question a bit and asked would you feel good if your DC attended HYPSM but would have been happier at a T150, what would the answer be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a school currently rated at 136. I ended up working for a FAANG. Sure, it took me longer to get there, but I got there with hard work, and some luck - right place, right time.

One of my kids will probably end up at a T100 or so.

Kind of a follow-up...location helps a ton too. San Jose State isn't even ranked as a national university...but it sends lots of kids to FAANG because of where it is located and because FAANG companies work with the school to design programs to train kids.

pp here. Yep. And that's where I went.

adding... this was back in the 90s though, before FAANGs had a tight relationship with the universities there.

Location for your area of interest definitely helps a lot. If you can't get into a T20 for your major, go to a university in an area that has a lot of jobs in your field.

that is what my DC will be doing. Our flagship is ranked much higher but doesn't have the major DC wants. So they are looking at a T100-110, and one that people around here consider a commuter school, but it's got the major DC wants and in an area that is known for that field.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it matters at all. It depends on your child. If he/she puts forth an effort, they will be fine.

Also, some of these lower ranked schools are in better areas for jobs.

[Anonymous]

Priority is fit and quality of life within field of interest. Fingers and toes are crossed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Priority is fit and quality of life within field of interest. Fingers and toes are crossed

He doesn't know what he wants to do. The specific school he got in is top 5 in the country for one thing, very good for another field. He "might" be interested in those two but completely undecided at this point. Big school so all sorts of majors offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Priority is fit and quality of life within field of interest. Fingers and toes are crossed

He doesn't know what he wants to do. The specific school he got in is top 5 in the country for one thing, very good for another field. He "might" be interested in those two but completely undecided at this point. Big school so all sorts of majors offered.

This is a good situation to be in - it means he has options.

[Anonymous]

My DH went to a school ranked near 150. He is very successful. He doesn’t want our kids to go to a T20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the kid the scores the track record. Why would a valedictorian opt to go to a 100 school if they have the money and options to go elsewhere? Mine wasn’t valedictorian but was high enough in the class that I would have been disappointed if that’s all they had as an option.

I worked with a valedictorian who was rejected from every excellent college she applied to. She was stellar in her thinking and work ethic, had a great sense of humor and was a collaborative colleague. Truly rare in these regards.

Maybe her high school didn’t support her, maybe they didn’t know how to advise her. Maybe it was really bad luck. I don’t know what wrong.
She’s fine; people like this find their way.

That’s why valedictorians wind up at 50-125 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the kid the scores the track record. Why would a valedictorian opt to go to a 100 school if they have the money and options to go elsewhere? Mine wasn’t valedictorian but was high enough in the class that I would have been disappointed if that’s all they had as an option.

I worked with a valedictorian who was rejected from every excellent college she applied to. She was stellar in her thinking and work ethic, had a great sense of humor and was a collaborative colleague. Truly rare in these regards.

Maybe her high school didn’t support her, maybe they didn’t know how to advise her. Maybe it was really bad luck. I don’t know what wrong.
She’s fine; people like this find their way.

That’s why valedictorians wind up at 50-125 schools.

OP here and my ds is not valedictorian (not sure why this poster thought he was!) He is top 10% at a very large high school. Some good students at his school got deferred/denied from the school this post is about. Our issue is our flagship is where every great in-state student wants to go, often over Ivies or prestigious private schools. Then other school is a theoretical target, but has become competitive. Even this school he got into is now difficult to get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the kid the scores the track record. Why would a valedictorian opt to go to a 100 school if they have the money and options to go elsewhere? Mine wasn’t valedictorian but was high enough in the class that I would have been disappointed if that’s all they had as an option.

The money is a big assumption here. I was valedictorian and I went to our in-state flagship (ranked in the 80s) for free with a stipend over the T20 I got into which claimed to meet 100% of financial need but offered me (with my project manager dad and stay-at-home mom) a whopping $1k a year. It wasn’t a hard choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you feel bad if your dc ended up attending one of them as opposed to a higher ranked one? A very good but not top student.

of course, those schools would have been terrible fits. DC did not apply to any below the T50, their in state likelies were UVA and W&M. The students at their prep school who end up at T100+ are the bottom quintile of the class, four math levels lower than the top students.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid did this. Applied to 8 schools, had a 4.1w and 1380 sat in Fcps Va. got waitlisted or rejected at top 50 us news in Va.

Accepted to 5 schools in the 70-150 range, all large state or D1 schools.

He is very happy where he is, he received merit aid and the major is great. He’s having fun too and I’m not worried about him getting a job.

DH and I had to get over our egos a bit because we went to higher ranked schools, but that was in the 90s. He’s getting a great education, and he can go to a top tier grad school if he ever wants a pedigree.

Did he apply to Vtech?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid did this. Applied to 8 schools, had a 4.1w and 1380 sat in Fcps Va. got waitlisted or rejected at top 50 us news in Va.

Accepted to 5 schools in the 70-150 range, all large state or D1 schools.

He is very happy where he is, he received merit aid and the major is great. He’s having fun too and I’m not worried about him getting a job.

DH and I had to get over our egos a bit because we went to higher ranked schools, but that was in the 90s. He’s getting a great education, and he can go to a top tier grad school if he ever wants a pedigree.

Did he apply to Vtech?

+1 Many of us who went to more selective schools during the 1990’s have had to deal with this issue and accept the current landscape. Glad things are working out well for your son! My kid looked at schools that I may never have considered for myself 30 years ago and it was a good eye-opener for me to see the world of opportunity outside T-50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the kid the scores the track record. Why would a valedictorian opt to go to a 100 school if they have the money and options to go elsewhere? Mine wasn’t valedictorian but was high enough in the class that I would have been disappointed if that’s all they had as an option.

The money is a big assumption here. I was valedictorian and I went to our in-state flagship (ranked in the 80s) for free with a stipend over the T20 I got into which claimed to meet 100% of financial need but offered me (with my project manager dad and stay-at-home mom) a whopping $1k a year. It wasn’t a hard choice.

Ms. Valedictorian, your first sentence makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a school currently rated at 136. I ended up working for a FAANG. Sure, it took me longer to get there, but I got there with hard work, and some luck - right place, right time.

One of my kids will probably end up at a T100 or so.

Kind of a follow-up...location helps a ton too. San Jose State isn't even ranked as a national university...but it sends lots of kids to FAANG because of where it is located and because FAANG companies work with the school to design programs to train kids.

pp here. Yep. And that's where I went.

I’m glad to hear this. Sounds like the school knows what they are doing.

My spouse works at a small school, and they focus on job placement for an area where they specialize. This is a smart strategy for a school.