Which would you prefer, school-wise?
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Anonymous
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If you were entering college and you had your choice between these two options:
1) Ivy league or other top private school (MIT, Stanford, etc.) in your chosen field. You would, of course, be among many capable students and wouldn't stand out. No financial aid because your parents are both government employees making a household income around the lines of 200k-250k a year so there would be no financial need from the school's point of view. 2) State university - not top flagship state but let's say a tier below that. A big school with some well-known programs but people from outside the region aren't too familiar with it. You would be a stand-out student and the university would give you greater access to resources, and you would also be given a merit-based scholarship to cover most of your tuition and fees which is renewable every year so long as you keep up a certain GPA. Basically do you think it's better in this day and age to go to the best school even if it's pricey and you won't stand out? Or do you think it's better to stand out at a large public state university? What about if you decide to go to law school or grad school afterward, is it better to have gone to the better school or the school where you can do really well as a student? |
Anonymous
| State university (which is what I did). Not in debit for decades afterward. Good, solid education in the real world. |
Anonymous
| I'd focus more on where I'd actually learn more and be best prepared for my chosen career, not whether I stood out. Priorities. |
Anonymous
| Hands down the state school bc of the scholarship. Save the debt and desire for impressive degrees (if DC still has this desire) come grad school. |
Anonymous
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What is the field in question? Is it something you would go to grad school for?
I wasn't as brilliant as your student and didn't apply to any Ivy League schools, but I stood out in my small liberal arts college, so professors went out of their way to encourage me with internships, summer research opportunities, and lots of good advice. This ensured that I had a choice of much higher caliber grad schools (and research fellowships to pay for my tuition and living expenses) when I graduated. |
Anonymous
| Scholarship. Then money can be spent on grad school. |
Anonymous
+1. I used to do admissions for a top 10 law school (not in DC) and believe me, GPA and LSAT matters so so so much more than the school attended. Save your $$$. DH and I will be able to afford for our 2 kids to attend private college but we'd need an extremely compelling reason to agree to do it. Not just...it's better. And I'm certainly not paying for a mediocre private - the Davidsons and University of Richmonds that are out there. Not that they are bad schools, but bang for the buck they are waaaaay overpriced. |
Anonymous
^ You're awesome! |
Anonymous
| #2 without a doubt. I went to an expensive private school and my husband went to JMU. I have a graduate degree and he doesn't. We are both successful, but my more expensive education did not get me *anything* that JMU couldn't have. |
Anonymous
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I think it depends on what profession your kid wants to be in.
One kid wants to me a doctor - and the chosen route is #2 for undergrad. Another wants to be in Wall street - I would think in this case the networking matters - so #1. In any case - if your kid needs to also get a graduate degree for any degree of success in their chosen field - I would still go with # 2. |
Anonymous
| Just send them to UMCP already. That's the school you're referring to, no? |
Anonymous
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OP,
How do you know your child has this option at this stage? You do appreciate that HYP reject plenty of valedictorians. |
Anonymous
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Depends on the kid, the major, your savings and priorities. How many other kids you have. Your ages, pensions. Is graduate or professional school likely? OP, I think you know you can't get meaningful answers from the limited facts disclosed in the original post.
I went to the honors program in a State U (similar to UMCP). Got a good education, but as I got older and my DC went into the process I realized there was much that my educational experienced missed -- and I didn't realize I had missed it. So when DC said his first choice school was an ivy-- while we didn't push for it and did push for many backups and downplayed the ivy -- I agreed we'd pay for it although DC could have gotten much merit aid at less selective schools. But again, I can do this and know it means less exciting vacations or no second home, or deferring a new car, but for us it doesn't mean no vacation at all or no dinners out or no movies. If it did -- that's what it would have meant to my parents -- the decision would be tougher. . |
Anonymous
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I think it depends in large part on whether the parents have the money and want to spend it this way. If they have it and the elite education is important to them, sure, go with #1 if you want. If they can pay for it only by saddling themselves and/or their child with huge debt, then the only responsible answer is #2.
That said, I think there can be great benefit to being a big fish in college, being tapped for research opportunities, noticed by professors, etc. Also note that there is a #3: Non-elite private colleges that offer merit aid. Sometimes the COA at these schools can be close to in-state public. This is the route to consider if your child prefers a small school to large. FWIW, OP's scenario describes my family situation. DC will be applying to a mix of in-state publics (we are in VA) and non-elite privates. We are not even considering privates that don't give merit aid. |
Anonymous
this times a million. it really is dependent on field. |