WaPo's Wonkblog: "Private colleges are a waste of money for white, middle-class kids"

[Anonymous]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/18/private-colleges-are-a-waste-of-money-for-white-middle-class-kids/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

[Anonymous]

Ha...that made me laugh. Someone at the Post must have a kid applying to Harvard and are afraid of the competition.

[Anonymous]

Agree, unless you're getting into a really good private school. Cannot fathom paying sticker or near-sticker for American!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha...that made me laugh. Someone at the Post must have a kid applying to Harvard and are afraid of the competition.

The author of the Post piece is a recent Yale graduate in his mid-20s.

[Anonymous]

Read 'Excellent Sheep.'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ha...that made me laugh. Someone at the Post must have a kid applying to Harvard and are afraid of the competition.

The author of the Post piece is a recent Yale graduate in his mid-20s.

That yale grad also writes for an upper echelon journalistic outlet - Journalism is very elitist unless you have a track record of breaking a major story which you can leverage.

It's like the ivy league prof writing about the IL being overrated in the new republic. Have you ever seen the NR mast head now or in the past? It is teeming with HYP grads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree, unless you're getting into a really good private school. Cannot fathom paying sticker or near-sticker for American!

True - IMO the cut off is Carnegie Mellon or Emory but with the caveat that the GPA must be 3.7 or higher after every semester or else a force transfer to instate public will happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ha...that made me laugh. Someone at the Post must have a kid applying to Harvard and are afraid of the competition.

The author of the Post piece is a recent Yale graduate in his mid-20s.

That yale grad also writes for an upper echelon journalistic outlet - Journalism is very elitist unless you have a track record of breaking a major story which you can leverage.

It's like the ivy league prof writing about the IL being overrated in the new republic. Have you ever seen the NR mast head now or in the past? It is teeming with HYP grads.

Yep, unless you are *brilliant*, the IL is the entry ticket

[Anonymous]

It really depends on how you define middle class, what caliber of student, and financial aid decisions. Many of these private colleges have huge endowments and give a lot more financial aid than would be available at a state school. I'm white, middle class parents, and went to a small liberal arts school for far less than it would have cost me to attend a state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on how you define middle class, what caliber of student, and financial aid decisions. Many of these private colleges have huge endowments and give a lot more financial aid than would be available at a state school. I'm white, middle class parents, and went to a small liberal arts school for far less than it would have cost me to attend a state school.

+1

My school gave me a lot of financial aid. And I love having a liberal arts education. I loved living in a residential setting at an LAC for four years. It wasn't just about getting a major and a career; it was about becoming educated.

I think state schools do a great job teaching kids material in their majors, but they aren't always good thinkers across a broad range of topics, and they aren't educated in a well rounded way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on how you define middle class, what caliber of student, and financial aid decisions. Many of these private colleges have huge endowments and give a lot more financial aid than would be available at a state school. I'm white, middle class parents, and went to a small liberal arts school for far less than it would have cost me to attend a state school.

True, and Ivy will basically be free for most middle class folks.

So no harm in applying, and sort it out when financial aid settles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on how you define middle class, what caliber of student, and financial aid decisions. Many of these private colleges have huge endowments and give a lot more financial aid than would be available at a state school. I'm white, middle class parents, and went to a small liberal arts school for far less than it would have cost me to attend a state school.

+1

My school gave me a lot of financial aid. And I love having a liberal arts education. I loved living in a residential setting at an LAC for four years. It wasn't just about getting a major and a career; it was about becoming educated.

I think state schools do a great job teaching kids material in their majors, but they aren't always good thinkers across a broad range of topics, and they aren't educated in a well rounded way.

I find that ivy and elite educated women I date can easily speak to and discuss a really wide range of topics with ease and comfort more than state school girls (i'm a state school alum for UG myself).

Even controlling for the class, the biggest difference is verbal intelligence - both written and spoken.

A small sample for example - take OKC messages - I have noticed that ivy alum women write way more eloquently than state school alum (even if they have similar jobs).

[Anonymous]

This article is on to something. The Ivy League and other need-blind schools are still a premium product, because of their great financial aid and the doors they will open for a graduate. In some ways, HYPS are probably still under-priced in that their full pay customers would be willing to pay even more than they already do to attend, and that wouldn't affect the amount paid by financial aid recipients.

But non-selective private colleges are about to be in a real bind. They are not a premium product, they just charge premium prices. There is no quantifiable advantage in going to Loyola or American over UMaryland - and yet they cost more than twice as much.

I expect the competition for the truly elite schools to continue becoming even more intense. And I expect public schools to pick up more and more applications, and better qualified students - those who fall just short of the highly selective schools. But the non-selective private schools are going to realize that people are no longer willing to pay their ridiculously high prices, and are going to have to change their business model. Unfortunately, many of them are highly in debt and are heading for deep trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This article is on to something. The Ivy League and other need-blind schools are still a premium product, because of their great financial aid and the doors they will open for a graduate. In some ways, HYPS are probably still under-priced in that their full pay customers would be willing to pay even more than they already do to attend, and that wouldn't affect the amount paid by financial aid recipients.

But non-selective private colleges are about to be in a real bind. They are not a premium product, they just charge premium prices. There is no quantifiable advantage in going to Loyola or American over UMaryland - and yet they cost more than twice as much.

I expect the competition for the truly elite schools to continue becoming even more intense. And I expect public schools to pick up more and more applications, and better qualified students - those who fall just short of the highly selective schools. But the non-selective private schools are going to realize that people are no longer willing to pay their ridiculously high prices, and are going to have to change their business model. Unfortunately, many of them are highly in debt and are heading for deep trouble.

PP here - nailed on, great comment.

I can see a future where the top 30 private LACS and the top 30-40 privates in the country will do ok.

However the rest of the privates in this country are going to be a in world of hurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This article is on to something. The Ivy League and other need-blind schools are still a premium product, because of their great financial aid and the doors they will open for a graduate. In some ways, HYPS are probably still under-priced in that their full pay customers would be willing to pay even more than they already do to attend, and that wouldn't affect the amount paid by financial aid recipients.

But non-selective private colleges are about to be in a real bind. They are not a premium product, they just charge premium prices. There is no quantifiable advantage in going to Loyola or American over UMaryland - and yet they cost more than twice as much.

I expect the competition for the truly elite schools to continue becoming even more intense. And I expect public schools to pick up more and more applications, and better qualified students - those who fall just short of the highly selective schools. But the non-selective private schools are going to realize that people are no longer willing to pay their ridiculously high prices, and are going to have to change their business model. Unfortunately, many of them are highly in debt and are heading for deep trouble.

This is particularly true for law and grad schools. Why would one pay Harvard prices for an AU law degree?