Did you wish you listened to your parents about college?

[Anonymous]

Op here- college consultant it is!

[Anonymous]

My parents hadn't gone to college so didn't have much advice. But the one thing my dad insisted on was that I visit/consider one particular regional college that was his favorite place to hire new grads (while not a college grad he was a corporate executive.).

Ultimately my choice came down to that school vs. a better-known, higher-ranked school. Years later my mom said dad was really worried I'd pick the name school. I went with his favorite without any input from him. Ultimately, it just felt like a better fit. It was smaller, more undergrad-focused. It turned out to be a great fit and the experiences I had there set me up well for my career.

I was much more involved in my kids' college process but the basis of my advice was to help them understand what fit for them and tune out the external noise. In the end, I think they both felt really good about their choices (which were completely different from each other's) and picked schools that are good fits. But, also, both had things I'd valued from my experience - strong undergrad support and lots of opportunities for hands-on experience.

[Anonymous]

My super high stats kid didn't listen to me. While they are pretty happy where they are at, they did tell DC#2 who is going through college app now that I was right.