For Which Elite Colleges and Universities Would You Pay Full Price ?

[Anonymous]

For my junior, who's classically well-rounded, probably will major in the humanities or social sciences but may then pursue med school, and would benefit from both personal attention academically and a lively environment socially: Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Davidson, Rice, Pomona, maybe Princeton.

[Anonymous]

DS is a CS major. We only were willing to pay full price for CMU and MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Rice?

they give quite a few kids merit. My neighbors daugher got $15K per year and choose over Cornell.

Hopefully, for engineering and wants to not live on the East Coast but Texas or in the South.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no colleges in the world I would send my child to that required them to take loans. Period.

Thank you for responding. Valid & insightful answer.

I think you misunderstand. It’s not because we are rich. I will pay up to $50k a year for instate (VA) or OOS/private with merit. But no loans. There is a suitable school for every child in those parameters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that paying full price included taking out a total of $30,000 in loans over 4 years (average of $7,500 per year), for which elite colleges and universities would you pay full price ? (I specify the loan amounts to depict one who must sacrifice to attend an elite school at full sticker price.)

Assume that the student is undecided regarding major and career.

Any T20. If student is undecided, probably top school would be more beneficial.

That being said, loan should be under student's name, even if you intend to pay it. Life is unpredictable and a young person has more time to pay off loans then one looking at aging and retirement in next 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no colleges in the world I would send my child to that required them to take loans. Period.

Thank you for responding. Valid & insightful answer.

I think you misunderstand. It’s not because we are rich. I will pay up to $50k a year for instate (VA) or OOS/private with merit. But no loans. There is a suitable school for every child in those parameters.

Thank you for clarifying your response. (I believe that I did understand your message in a broad sense, but the specifics really give it life.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stanford, Caltech, Harvard MIT and Berkeley.

Princeton ?

NP — I wouldn’t want my kid to go to Princeton. It’s full of elitist a-holes.

But Harvard doesn’t have any? Lol. You’re clueless

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that paying full price included taking out a total of $30,000 in loans over 4 years (average of $7,500 per year), for which elite colleges and universities would you pay full price ? (I specify the loan amounts to depict one who must sacrifice to attend an elite school at full sticker price.)

Assume that the student is undecided regarding major and career.

I would say none if your kid is undecided regarding major and career. I think elite schools pay off for kids that have a good understanding of what they want to study and what they want to get out of the school in terms of a career and network. They are not a great place for a MC kid that really doesn't know what they want to study or what they want to do after college...these are the parents/kids that come on to DCUM and lament how the elite school was a bust for their kid.

Interesting perspective.

My opinion is the opposite of yours. I think that a degree from an elite school is more important for an undecided student than for one with a clear-cut plan regarding college major & career.

Definitely 💯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that paying full price included taking out a total of $30,000 in loans over 4 years (average of $7,500 per year), for which elite colleges and universities would you pay full price ? (I specify the loan amounts to depict one who must sacrifice to attend an elite school at full sticker price.)

Assume that the student is undecided regarding major and career.

I would say none if your kid is undecided regarding major and career. I think elite schools pay off for kids that have a good understanding of what they want to study and what they want to get out of the school in terms of a career and network. They are not a great place for a MC kid that really doesn't know what they want to study or what they want to do after college...these are the parents/kids that come on to DCUM and lament how the elite school was a bust for their kid.

Interesting perspective.

My opinion is the opposite of yours. I think that a degree from an elite school is more important for an undecided student than for one with a clear-cut plan regarding college major & career.

My experience is the more elite the school, the less that school thinks your kid's finding a job/career are important to them. Sure, the professors know that McKinsey, GS, and all these other companies will visit campus, however, the school and professors find all that beneath them.

Also, the specific scenario is a MC kid...not low-income, not rich...those are the kids that have it really tough if they arrive clueless as to degree and career.

Use the career center.

Interesting as I never viewed a professor's duty as finding employment for students. The school's obligation is to provide resources--such as a career center / job postings--to enable one to engage in job seeking.

I got it...and no I don't think it is a professor's duty to find employment. However, it is a difference in attitude between schools and professors who disdain the professional world vs. those who appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

OP, focus on where your DC can get into. It's not like you can buy whatever you want as long as you have the money.

[Anonymous]

This hypothetical is silly. My DC doesn’t need loans and if they did, that 30k would be paid off as soon as they graduated. You asked which elite colleges? Any elite college that was their preference. By using “elite”, your already narrowing the colleges to at least the top 100.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Rice?

they give quite a few kids merit. My neighbors daugher got $15K per year and choose over Cornell.

Also overall cost of attendance is lower than east or west coast top schools and easier to get into medical schools (if you establish Texas residency) or entry into fortune 500 companies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This hypothetical is silly. My DC doesn’t need loans and if they did, that 30k would be paid off as soon as they graduated. You asked which elite colleges? Any elite college that was their preference. By using “elite”, your already narrowing the colleges to at least the top 100.

Yes, my intention was to narrow the field to the top 50 National Universities and the top 50 LACs.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you're looking at it the wrong way. Not sure how you define "elite" but there are many colleges (even so called "non-elite" ones) that I would pay full cost for as long as its a great fit for the student and would provide them a great educational experience and opportunities and allow them to develop as a student and as a person. I know many on this board would define "fit" as being equivalent to "loser" but that to me is more important than some ranking.

[Anonymous]

HSM