How many of you went to a top college or university or ????

[Anonymous]

However, I still use my top 25 undergrad education to hang over DH's head and insist that I am smarter than him.

I meant smarter than HE. Wait, which is it? Ugh. I'm an idiot. Degrees don't mean shit.

[Anonymous]

DH and I went to Harvard College and would like our children to go to Harvard College. Our children want to go there, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I went to Harvard College and would like our children to go to Harvard College. Our children want to go there, too.

hope you live in Nebraska, have given tons of money and have perfect children!

[Anonymous]

Don't have time to read the previous posts so this may have been stated.

State school for undergrad. Johns Hopkins for graduate school. Highly recommend this route after hearing about the grad. TA teaching courses from Ivy friends in grad. school.

Another option is to do very well for a year or two at a state school and transfer to an Ivy. I know people who did this for law school as well. Much less expensive if money's an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I went to Harvard College and would like our children to go to Harvard College. Our children want to go there, too.

hope you live in Nebraska, have given tons of money and have perfect children!

No, I live in the DC area. DH and I do give a lot of money to the college, but more importantly we are actively involved with the college in fundraising and in interviewing applicants.

Also my children are perfect (sarcasm, with eye-roll).

[Anonymous]

Legacy admits are generally 4x as likely to be admitted as non-legacy applicants according to a recent article.

[Anonymous]

What schools other than Southern schools give preferential treatment to legacies? Only ones I remember from applying back in 1992 were UVA and UNC-Chapel Hill.

I went to Big Ten undergrad, Big Ten grad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What schools other than Southern schools give preferential treatment to legacies? Only ones I remember from applying back in 1992 were UVA and UNC-Chapel Hill.

I went to Big Ten undergrad, Big Ten grad.

A lot of southern schools do that -- for example, Big 10 powerhouse University of Michigan, with Ann Arbor being in the southern part of the state, has a very strong legacy policy:

University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions wrote:Alumni Relationships

The University of Michigan values the relationship it has with current and former students. These students are part of the Michigan community; they provide service and support to the larger University community. As such, reviewers should take into consideration applicants who have a direct relationship, or stepfamily relationship, with someone who has attended the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor as a degree-seeking student.

Strongest consideration should be given to applicants whose parents or stepparents attended the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, followed by applicants who have a grandparent, sibling, or spouse, who has attended or is attending the University.

Consideration is not cumulative. In other words, additional consideration should not be given to applicants who have multiple generations of family who have attended Michigan.

To recognize the continuing service and support provided to the University, consideration will be given for certain alumni relationships:

Legacy – The applicant, whose parent or stepparent attended UM-Ann Arbor as a degree-seeking student, should be awarded discretionary consideration.
Or
Other Alumni Relationships – The applicant, whose grandparents, siblings, or spouse attended UM-Ann Arbor as degree-seeking students, should be awarded discretionary consideration.
Consideration cannot be awarded for both categories.

http://www.admissions.umich.edu/parents/eval_categories.php

[Anonymous]

Big 10 undergrad. Grad school at Hopkins (part-time in the evenings).

I just want my kids to go to good in-state school. So happy that VA has many good options for them.

Husband is a Terp. No way I'll pay out of state tuition to send my kids there, or to my alma mater. I'm trying to convince them to be Hokie fans.

[Anonymous]

A number of the state schools in VA are better than UMD anyway pp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Legacy admits are generally 4x as likely to be admitted as non-legacy applicants according to a recent article.

Is that still true if I only donate a $100 a year to my alma mater? Would be nice! But I am skeptical.

[Anonymous]

I grew up practically on a big 10 campus (prof parent) and literally could not have been paid enough by the time I graduated HS to go to a big state school (turned down a full scholarship plus generous-at-the-time stipend to the honors program in a better big 10 university). I went to a top 10 liberal arts college, then a top 5 PhD program and a top 10 law school. My husband went to the big 10 college I grew up near, and then got a PhD from a top 5 program in his field. Neither of us is doing notably better professionally or financially than my HS friends who went to state schools for undergrad, but I certainly enjoy my friendships with other liberal arts and PhD grads from the programs we were in.

I really don't know enough about the state schools around here to compare, so it's probably just regional prejudice that makes me think that they're not on the same level as most of the big 10 schools. I think there's a big difference between saying you'd be fine with your kid going to a state school for undergrad and meaning UCLA rather than Rutgers.

[Anonymous]

I went to solid liberal arts college -- that is, it was really challenging if you picked your classes well, but you could also cruise for four years if that was your goal. It is in the middle of nowhere, and it is virtually unknown here in DC. I had fun outside the classroom, I worked hard, and I did well.

Then I went to the #1-ranked graduate program in my field. On a full ride. Part of that was related to the job I had after undergrad, but I think a lot was my academic record and freakishly-high GREs. (I must have been on some kind of natural stimulant that morning ....)

My experience is a variant on the good-state-school/stellar-graduate-school path. And it really worked for me.

[Anonymous]

I really don't know enough about the state schools around here to compare, so it's probably just regional prejudice that makes me think that they're not on the same level as most of the big 10 schools. I think there's a big difference between saying you'd be fine with your kid going to a state school for undergrad and meaning UCLA rather than Rutgers.

Yes, state schools vary by state. I'm a Penn Stater and proud of it. However, I don't want my kids to go there b/c I don't think it's worth it out-of-state. UVA would be fantastic, but we all know how competitive it is from NoVA. VA Tech or William & Mary would both be solid choices in-state as well.

But I've got years to sort this out and we'll see where their interests and abilities take them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I went to Harvard College and would like our children to go to Harvard College. Our children want to go there, too.

hope you live in Nebraska, have given tons of money and have perfect children!

No, I live in the DC area. DH and I do give a lot of money to the college, but more importantly we are actively involved with the college in fundraising and in interviewing applicants.

Also my children are perfect (sarcasm, with eye-roll).

How do you define a lot of money? Unless you are talking about millions, Harvard isn't going to bat an eye. So many alumni donate to them, that unless you are talking donations for multi-million dollar capital projects, it's a drop in the bucket.