Schools ranked 100-150

[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.

[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?

Yes. He applied to uva, wm, Va tech and jmu. Rejected from uva, admitted for spring semester WM, waitlisted but never got off the waitlist for Va tech, and accepted at jmu.

The issue we think was him applying as a business major, not being first gen, and not being an URM, and being from a top nova high school and being male, all did not work in favor for Va tech. His friends with lower stats got in to Va tech but not as business majors.

For the business school for his demographics, I think he needed like a 4.2w and like a 1450+ gpa.

He’s happy now at a great OOS public business school program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous, so being truthful. If my very good student ended up at a school in the 100-150 range I would not be thrilled. I could deal with up to about 75. Indiana University and the like.

[Anonymous]

Parent of an ultra high stats kid. If I’m being totally honest…this would not bother me even a tiny bit. It wouldn’t even cross my mind to be upset about it.

She can be successful as a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond. She does not require everyone at the school to be in competition with her or to be her “intellectual equal” in order to have a good experience. Realistically she’ll probably have less pressure and more opportunities (research, etc) if she goes a tier down. And if undergrad is free, that just opens up more opportunities for grad school or to start her life with a bigger safety net.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of an ultra high stats kid. If I’m being totally honest…this would not bother me even a tiny bit. It wouldn’t even cross my mind to be upset about it.

She can be successful as a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond. She does not require everyone at the school to be in competition with her or to be her “intellectual equal” in order to have a good experience. Realistically she’ll probably have less pressure and more opportunities (research, etc) if she goes a tier down. And if undergrad is free, that just opens up more opportunities for grad school or to start her life with a bigger safety net.

I know it’s a red state but Alabama is perfect for kids like this - they throw money and research opportunities to ultra high stats kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of an ultra high stats kid. If I’m being totally honest…this would not bother me even a tiny bit. It wouldn’t even cross my mind to be upset about it.

She can be successful as a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond. She does not require everyone at the school to be in competition with her or to be her “intellectual equal” in order to have a good experience. Realistically she’ll probably have less pressure and more opportunities (research, etc) if she goes a tier down. And if undergrad is free, that just opens up more opportunities for grad school or to start her life with a bigger safety net.

+1. This is how I see it too.