Where would YOU attend if you (the parent) could choose any school as a freshman in 2026? And why?

[Anonymous]

myself: yale/mit followed by cal/umich

my kid: cal/umich followed by u florida

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious. It's fun to see the schools that parents identify with or fall in love with through their kids' college process.

Per Fortune

The top 10 dream schools among students
Massachusetts Insitute of Technology
Harvard University
Stanford University
Princeton Unversity
Yale University
Columbia University
New York University
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
University of Pennsylvania
University of California–Los Angeles

The top 10 dream schools among parents
Princeton Unversity
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford University
Harvard University
Yale University
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Columbia University
Duke University
New York University
University of Texas–Austin

[Anonymous]

Some that seem cool to me:

UCLA
Northwestern
Columbia
Brown
Harvard, just for being Harvard
Stanford

I would want to not feel like a poor, dumber classmate of all of these people, though so we’re really dreaming, I am academically, socially, and monetarily on par with the other students. This is really key, which would’ve been hard for me in all circumstances.

[Anonymous]

I'd choose an LAC too if I got a do-over. Probably Middlebury or Carleton. I grew up in the Southwest and had never heard of those schools back in the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middlebury

why? I really like what I know about it but why your top choice?

Wasn't my post but it would be up there for me too, so I'll answer. Top academics, LAC, plus the skiing!

Same. I'd pick Dartmouth over Middlebury for the same reason, though. I think Dartmouth is effectively a SLAC but technically an Ivy. But they would be my 1 and 2.

[Anonymous]

Harvard for the resources, Rice, Carleton, Davidson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some that seem cool to me:

UCLA
Northwestern
Columbia
Brown
Harvard, just for being Harvard
Stanford

I would want to not feel like a poor, dumber classmate of all of these people, though so we’re really dreaming, I am academically, socially, and monetarily on par with the other students. This is really key, which would’ve been hard for me in all circumstances.

Good list, I like all of these for slightly different reasons

[Anonymous]

UCSB
Pomona
Stanford

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn

Penn, Yale or UChicago

[Anonymous]

Davidson or Pomona

[Anonymous]

Harvard
Duke
Vanderbilt
Stanford

[Anonymous]

Im not picky
MIT
Harvard
Columbia
NYU
Stanford
Berkeley/UCLA/Michigan

[Anonymous]

Harvard or Brown.

Also loved time spent in Cambridge in UK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd go to Columbia. I'd love to be a college student in NYC.
I'd prefer this over a state school (I have kids at UVA and Michigan) or a rural liberal arts college (which I attended).

Funny because I went to Columbia, and if I did it over again, i would choose Michigan or Penn!

[Anonymous]

Dartmouth