NE/Mid-Atlantic bias on this forum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCUM is one of the biggest boards of this kind. That's why you get people from the midwest and even the west coast coming on here.

I've assumed that people who say they've lived in other regions live here now. Is anyone who currently lives outside the DMV reading this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No, she wants to go to Chicago Urban Moms and ask if they'll respect her kid if s/he goes to Wash U or Kenyon or Marquette. Or to ask LA Urban moms how they'd compare job applicants from UCSB vs. USC.

I don't live in DC, I just follow mom blogs and forums. The only forum that comes close to this extensive is the Berkeley parents network and city-data for some cities. I've been pretty impressed by the breadth of topics covered on this site, as well as the number of people active on it. I also think the website is intuitively designed.

At least one other person was able to figure out what OP was looking for. Berkeley Parents Network is a good suggestion:

http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/teens/findingcollege.html#0312

[Anonymous]

I understand that OP was looking for local forums, but this lengthy thread on College Confidential supposedly is devoted to local perspective:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/132602-post-your-own-states-college-reputations.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The UVA love on this board is hilarious. Outside VA, UVA is just another state school, but DCUM thinks it's Harvard.

This is preposturous. WHy do you make such a baseless claim on a board where you know there's a UVA following? As is often the case on the other threads...this has all the makings of a "troll". Welcome to this thread!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The UVA love on this board is hilarious. Outside VA, UVA is just another state school, but DCUM thinks it's Harvard.

That is not true. Years ago when I was in college many didn't know it was state supported unless they or friends applied. People in PA, NJ, NY, etc apply there along with the NESCACS, GW, Georgetown etc. Plus it is cheaper for those out of staters than the privates. Stupid of VA legislators.

Precisely. And the reason for the level of UVA discussion on this board is that you can get a fabulous education in VA if you are a resident IF you can get in. From our public high in NoVA there was no point in even trying because only a handful make it into UVA every year. The competition is simply too fierce from NoVa and the legislators have let in too many OSS. So we are in another VA University and getting an xlnt education for less than $10K. Toured Yale last weekend. Total package: $60,900 per year in after tax dollars, which for us means making $500,000 for four years of education (and most kids are taking 5 years now) for one child. What choice would you make if you lived in VA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The UVA love on this board is hilarious. Outside VA, UVA is just another state school, but DCUM thinks it's Harvard.

That is not true. Years ago when I was in college many didn't know it was state supported unless they or friends applied. People in PA, NJ, NY, etc apply there along with the NESCACS, GW, Georgetown etc. Plus it is cheaper for those out of staters than the privates. Stupid of VA legislators.

Precisely. And the reason for the level of UVA discussion on this board is that you can get a fabulous education in VA if you are a resident IF you can get in. From our public high in NoVA there was no point in even trying because only a handful make it into UVA every year. The competition is simply too fierce from NoVa and the legislators have let in too many OSS. So we are in another VA University and getting an xlnt education for less than $10K. Toured Yale last weekend. Total package: $60,900 per year in after tax dollars, which for us means making $500,000 for four years of education (and most kids are taking 5 years now) for one child. What choice would you make if you lived in VA?

What choice would you make if you lived in VA?

Depends on what lifestyle changes I'd have in go through to afford the better education at Yale. My family has always placed a premium on education; as a result the relative burden has gotten lighter and lighter with each generation. No one likes to pay an additional $200-300K for education and there are certainly plenty of successful people coming out of UVA, but the odds are stacked in your favor if you have a Yale degree. What better use can you make of that $200-300K than setting your DC up for life. Because my parents made an investment in my education, I’m able to invest in my DC without too much pain. Don’t scrimp on education.

[Anonymous]

Well, lucky you to have so much money. I have three kids and cannot afford $60,900 x 3 for college anually (that would require us to make an additional $210,000 per year PLUS take care of three elderly grandparents PLUS plan for retirement, which is never going to happen because we can't afford it. For many of us, private colleges and universities have priced themselves out of the market; the great recession depleted 1/3 of what had been put away for college; and we made the great mistake of going "private" for the first ten years, so what was frittered away at a private for a so-so education further depleted savings. The VA system provides an excellent education for less than $10 at the undergrad level. Yes, I would agree with you for postgrad (Yale law grad) but not at the undergrad level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The UVA love on this board is hilarious. Outside VA, UVA is just another state school, but DCUM thinks it's Harvard.

That is not true. Years ago when I was in college many didn't know it was state supported unless they or friends applied. People in PA, NJ, NY, etc apply there along with the NESCACS, GW, Georgetown etc. Plus it is cheaper for those out of staters than the privates. Stupid of VA legislators.

Precisely. And the reason for the level of UVA discussion on this board is that you can get a fabulous education in VA if you are a resident IF you can get in. From our public high in NoVA there was no point in even trying because only a handful make it into UVA every year. The competition is simply too fierce from NoVa and the legislators have let in too many OSS. So we are in another VA University and getting an xlnt education for less than $10K. Toured Yale last weekend. Total package: $60,900 per year in after tax dollars, which for us means making $500,000 for four years of education (and most kids are taking 5 years now) for one child. What choice would you make if you lived in VA?

What choice would you make if you lived in VA?

Depends on what lifestyle changes I'd have in go through to afford the better education at Yale. My family has always placed a premium on education; as a result the relative burden has gotten lighter and lighter with each generation. No one likes to pay an additional $200-300K for education and there are certainly plenty of successful people coming out of UVA, but the odds are stacked in your favor if you have a Yale degree. What better use can you make of that $200-300K than setting your DC up for life. Because my parents made an investment in my education, I’m able to invest in my DC without too much pain. Don’t scrimp on education.

HOW has the burden gotten lighter and lighter? Everyone knows college and university fees have vastly outstripped inflation. Ready Andy Ferguson's "Crrazy U". You do not have children of college age or have gone through the madness of the college applicaton process, have you? Let me guess. Relatively young. White, got into Yale or similar institution on affirmative action as a woman or legacy. Legacy connections got you a job out of Yale because we all know undergrad majors are useless. If you do have children, you are working full time and have a nanny. You have zero experience at being laid off or making do in a bad economy. You have zero experience at being part of the "sandwich generation", that is taking care of the elderly parents, young children, college fees, or trying to amass retirement savings in a lousy economy.

The first problem for your children will be getting into Yale. Only 6.8% are accepted. You need to be a minority, an athelete, a legacy, or very poor to get in. Only the rich or those on full scholarship can afford it - we are neither. The student loan packages offered are laughable. My niece who just graduated from a SLAC out west has $200K in loans to pay off, no job and no chance of discharging the debt through consolidation because her "major" doesn't bring in money and doesn't provide W-2s. She shares one room with another woman similarly situated. She waits tables at a local restaurant. You do realize that people like you and me could no longer get into their own SLACs or Law Schools? My own crummy LAC is somehow now a SLAC and requires a 4.2+ GPA, AP courses a mile long and other extraordinary feats to get in. Definitely not worth $65,000 a year at all.

And, yes, my family put a tremendous value on education. I am first generation at everything in my family. I would not be where I am had my parents not pushed and had I not been lucky along the way and had I not worked hard. But that luck has run out for most (previously) upper middle class white families. I simply don't understand how you can say the burden is getting lighter unless you are quite young and simply still have rose-colored glasses on. Or you have family trust funds or expect legacies to carry your children.

But the topic was why UVA is discussed so much on this board. I explained that: because it's a good deal and because not enough seats are reserved for Virginia students, so competition for the NoVA slots is fierce . . . .and because most middle class families cannot afford the obscene fees charged by our nation's colleges and universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The UVA love on this board is hilarious. Outside VA, UVA is just another state school, but DCUM thinks it's Harvard.

That is not true. Years ago when I was in college many didn't know it was state supported unless they or friends applied. People in PA, NJ, NY, etc apply there along with the NESCACS, GW, Georgetown etc. Plus it is cheaper for those out of staters than the privates. Stupid of VA legislators.

Precisely. And the reason for the level of UVA discussion on this board is that you can get a fabulous education in VA if you are a resident IF you can get in. From our public high in NoVA there was no point in even trying because only a handful make it into UVA every year. The competition is simply too fierce from NoVa and the legislators have let in too many OSS. So we are in another VA University and getting an xlnt education for less than $10K. Toured Yale last weekend. Total package: $60,900 per year in after tax dollars, which for us means making $500,000 for four years of education (and most kids are taking 5 years now) for one child. What choice would you make if you lived in VA?

What choice would you make if you lived in VA?

Depends on what lifestyle changes I'd have in go through to afford the better education at Yale. My family has always placed a premium on education; as a result the relative burden has gotten lighter and lighter with each generation. No one likes to pay an additional $200-300K for education and there are certainly plenty of successful people coming out of UVA, but the odds are stacked in your favor if you have a Yale degree. What better use can you make of that $200-300K than setting your DC up for life. Because my parents made an investment in my education, I’m able to invest in my DC without too much pain. Don’t scrimp on education.

HOW has the burden gotten lighter and lighter? Everyone knows college and university fees have vastly outstripped inflation. Ready Andy Ferguson's "Crrazy U". You do not have children of college age or have gone through the madness of the college applicaton process, have you? Let me guess. Relatively young. White, got into Yale or similar institution on affirmative action as a woman or legacy. Legacy connections got you a job out of Yale because we all know undergrad majors are useless. If you do have children, you are working full time and have a nanny. You have zero experience at being laid off or making do in a bad economy. You have zero experience at being part of the "sandwich generation", that is taking care of the elderly parents, young children, college fees, or trying to amass retirement savings in a lousy economy.

The first problem for your children will be getting into Yale. Only 6.8% are accepted. You need to be a minority, an athelete, a legacy, or very poor to get in. Only the rich or those on full scholarship can afford it - we are neither. The student loan packages offered are laughable. My niece who just graduated from a SLAC out west has $200K in loans to pay off, no job and no chance of discharging the debt through consolidation because her "major" doesn't bring in money and doesn't provide W-2s. She shares one room with another woman similarly situated. She waits tables at a local restaurant. You do realize that people like you and me could no longer get into their own SLACs or Law Schools? My own crummy LAC is somehow now a SLAC and requires a 4.2+ GPA, AP courses a mile long and other extraordinary feats to get in. Definitely not worth $65,000 a year at all.

And, yes, my family put a tremendous value on education. I am first generation at everything in my family. I would not be where I am had my parents not pushed and had I not been lucky along the way and had I not worked hard. But that luck has run out for most (previously) upper middle class white families. I simply don't understand how you can say the burden is getting lighter unless you are quite young and simply still have rose-colored glasses on. Or you have family trust funds or expect legacies to carry your children.

But the topic was why UVA is discussed so much on this board. I explained that: because it's a good deal and because not enough seats are reserved for Virginia students, so competition for the NoVA slots is fierce . . . .and because most middle class families cannot afford the obscene fees charged by our nation's colleges and universities.

For a family with household income well above $1,000,000 (thanks in part to an elite education), the burden of $300,000 K for DC education is not as great as the $30,000 burden was for a family making $40,000 "back in the day."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
For a family with household income well above $1,000,000 (thanks in part to an elite education), the burden of $300,000 K for DC education is not as great as the $30,000 burden was for a family making $40,000 "back in the day."

I doubt very much you're the poster who was asked this question. It's fascinating, however, that you have some of the same grammar issues as the "back in the day" poster from General Schools forum. Hmm......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, lucky you to have so much money. I have three kids and cannot afford $60,900 x 3 for college anually (that would require us to make an additional $210,000 per year PLUS take care of three elderly grandparents PLUS plan for retirement, which is never going to happen because we can't afford it. For many of us, private colleges and universities have priced themselves out of the market; the great recession depleted 1/3 of what had been put away for college; and we made the great mistake of going "private" for the first ten years, so what was frittered away at a private for a so-so education further depleted savings. The VA system provides an excellent education for less than $10 at the undergrad level. Yes, I would agree with you for postgrad (Yale law grad) but not at the undergrad level.

Choose the best that YOU can afford and don't covet what OTHERS can afford. Happiness

Sometimes having money to afford the finer things comes from wise choices, not luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
For a family with household income well above $1,000,000 (thanks in part to an elite education), the burden of $300,000 K for DC education is not as great as the $30,000 burden was for a family making $40,000 "back in the day."

I doubt very much you're the poster who was asked this question. It's fascinating, however, that you have some of the same grammar issues as the "back in the day" poster from General Schools forum. Hmm......

I'm quite certain that there is more than one person for whom the basic point applies. Affordability depends on one's resources. It's foolish to spend more than YOU can afford on anything, including education. It is also foolish to scrimp on education. UVA may well be a better "value," but it is NOT a better school than Yale.

[Anonymous]

Well, one thing is true. The odds are "stacked in your favor" coming out of Yale, but chances are they were stacked in your favor long before that. Unless you are asserting it was your smarts and hard work that birthed you into an affluent family who could get you in and pay for it. What you have to realize is that for some, no matter the intellect, their resources and "odds" are on a totally different scale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, one thing is true. The odds are "stacked in your favor" coming out of Yale, but chances are they were stacked in your favor long before that. Unless you are asserting it was your smarts and hard work that birthed you into an affluent family who could get you in and pay for it. What you have to realize is that for some, no matter the intellect, their resources and "odds" are on a totally different scale.

The "odds" are never even at birth - of course some start out with an advantage. Even people born in the worst possible circumstances in THIS country start off better than 2/3 of the people on earth. Virtually every "affluent family" can trace its wealth to someone who had a comparatively humble start and took advantage of the opportunities available in this country. I did not grow up in an "affluent family," but my children will - why? because my family invested in me and provided the best education and other opportunities that they could. They sacrificed a vacation home for my education and now they go on vacations that only dreamed of.

[Anonymous]

It must have been hard growing up without a vacation home, I don't know how you managed to survive. It was a valiant sacrifice for your family to make. You are out of touch to think that is within the realm of possibility for every student and family, no matter how hard the student works or the family hustles, scrimps, and saves. Enjoy your life, but don't look or talk down to others like the only difference is that your family held education as a priority and theirs didn't.