Is it normal to want your kids to go to better colleges than you did?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nah. I went to an Ivy and actively don’t want my kids to go there.

I'm in the same boat. What's interesting though is that the legacy makes it more likely that my kids will get into my alma mater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want my kids to have easier life, more money, and same or better mental and physical health than their parents.
College did nothing for me and will do nothing for my kids. I just hope they like it enough to get a degree and get out.

Uh.

[Anonymous]

Sure, in theory I want that for my kids. But I also know that by the time they get to college, it's going to be even more competitive than it is today. I don't know what things are going to look like at that point. I also know that I thrived at my alma matter and have built a nice life for myself and my family. I trust that my kids will land somewhere that's a good fit for them and I hope they make the most of what the school offers for whatever they want to do with their lives. I'm trying not to have any preconceived ideas about where they might end up or what my preferences may be because I have no idea how it will go.

[Anonymous]

Having gone to Harvard and then another Ivy for med school, I couldn’t possibly have expectations for my kids to do same/better in terms of “prestige”. It would be cruel and unusual mental pressure. Between my spouse and I, we have degrees from or turned down HYPSM, Columbia, UPenn, Brown, Hopkins, Northwestern, NYU, UCLA and Berkeley. I feel bad for my kids having that kind of expectation to live up to.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids went to my alma mater and the other is attending a top 100 school. My stepdaughter went to a lower ranked school.

[Anonymous]

It's harder to get in these days.

[Anonymous]

I was a first gen college student obsessed with rankings and prestige and landed at a Top 30 university. I turned down a couple of fantastic scholarships at lower ranked and regional schools to attend the higher ranked institution. I’m a senior professional now and have peers in my organization and industry that went to undergrad schools I’ve never heard of. Looking back, I don’t think there was anything all that special about my alma mater (a large research institution).

Like a pp mentioned, unless my DC express an interest in a field like investment banking or top tier management consulting, I don’t care about school ranking, and just want them to attend a school where they will thrive.

[Anonymous]

I will be honest. I did want my kids to go to the same or better schools. I also wanted them to go to schools that were an excellent fit for them. It worked out.

[Anonymous]

I would like better for my kids, because I feel they are more deserving and more accomplished than I was at their age.

But college admissions are a crapshoot these days and have had to temper back my hopes for my kids to do well in this regard.

[Anonymous]

Theoretically yes, but hard to ignore $$$. My kid got into schools equivalent to my Alma mater JHU. BUT he also got free ride to our state school, which is strong but not top in his area of study.
We will end up not paying a dime for his education and he’ll have nice nest egg for later.
It’s a completely different calculation with tuition so insanely high.

[Anonymous]

Ranking/prestige, not so much. But I do want my kid to have more options than I did. I grew up working class and for the most part, the choices my cousins and I had were community college or if an instate public offered a full ride. We made 529 savings a huge priority to take the pressure off of ds (a full merit is a lot harder these days). We won’t be able to cover full pay private, but hopefully he will have more good options.

[Anonymous]

Wife and went to top 50s. One kid at top SLAC and another going to top 50 in desired location.

It's all good. Just get the education. It can't be taken away from you.

[Anonymous]

Top10/ivy for me as a low income kid and wanted similar experiences for my kids. Both landed at different ivies

[Anonymous]

I went to Stanford. Husband went to Yale. No way our kids are getting into either of those schools.

[Anonymous]

My kid is the first to go to an Ivy. Spouse went at a T10. I went in-state for undergrad/grad.—never applied to any privates because we didn’t have the $ as donut hole/3 kids.

I’m thrilled for him and he’s very happy there.