Competitive, but not most Competitive

[Anonymous]

At first I thought all of the "Ivy' references on this post were sort of a generalized way of referring to the most competitive schools. Now I'm not so sure - parents - if you sent your child to one of the top DC privates (Sidwell/GDS/Maret/NCS/St. Albans etc.) and your child ended up at a school such as Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, University of Michigan, Vassar etc. would you consider your money well spent?

[Anonymous]

Of course. Successful people can come out from any college and many the ones you name seem like decent schools. If I can afford to do it, I'd rather have my 5 year old have have fun with PE, recess twice per day, music, art, no homework and worksheets. If I couldn't afford it, I am sure it would be fine too. Life is short, DC is joyful at her school and the education in middle and high school promises to be incredible. Why would I be upset if she ends up at Michigan?

[Anonymous]

I am not sending my child to an independent school because of where I hope it will ultimately land her. I am senidng her to an independent school because of the education she is getting NOW. My hope is that she will learn to be a happy and well-rounded person in addition to being book smart. Because I expect that of her, I also trust her to pick the right college for her, not the one somebody else thinks is right.

[Anonymous]

I would be disappointed if they went to one of the schools you mentioned, but I wouldn't consider the money wasted. I want my kids to attend top colleges, but I don't send them to private school as a means to that goal.

[Anonymous]

You sound like a labeller, OP, and you're showing your Eastern roots. The schools you just listed are TOP colleges in this country and have resources and R&D that can run rings around most of the Ivy League schools. U of M is consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the country in a number of fields. Your child would be really lucky to get in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not sending my child to an independent school because of where I hope it will ultimately land her. I am senidng her to an independent school because of the education she is getting NOW. My hope is that she will learn to be a happy and well-rounded person in addition to being book smart. Because I expect that of her, I also trust her to pick the right college for her, not the one somebody else thinks is right.

Yes, this is what should drive the choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You sound like a labeller, OP, and you're showing your Eastern roots. The schools you just listed are TOP colleges in this country and have resources and R&D that can run rings around most of the Ivy League schools. U of M is consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the country in a number of fields. Your child would be really lucky to get in there.

Yeah, I would be delighted if dd got into Michigan.

[Anonymous]

It's a very good school, but it accepts about half of applicants, and the freshman class has about 6,000 spaces, so I think it's fair to say as OP does that it's not among the "most competitive."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a very good school, but it accepts about half of applicants, and the freshman class has about 6,000 spaces, so I think it's fair to say as OP does that it's not among the "most competitive."

Is that in-state or out-of-state. I think it's much more competitive when you're talking about out-of-state applicants.

[Anonymous]

I send my kids to private schools b/c I want them to have the chance to fully live up to their potential, whatever that may be, and want to make sure that no doors/opportunities are unnecessarily closed to them. I don't know what they will want or need out of college right now, but I am choosing schools that I hope will allow them to find it.

[Anonymous]

U of M has over 50,000 students spread out over 4 campuses. It is very hard to get into, esp. if you are out of state and the Ann Arbor campus. Their engineering and science departments are tops in the country. Law school one of top 5. Undergrad system contains honor colleges reserved for the creme de la creme of students. Resources boggle the mind.

You can't go on the number of apps. All you really need to do is to look at all the studies coming out of there. U of M is known for their research and studies.

God help any kid with a parent who does cursory work on colleges without doing the research. Educators would laugh at you if you denigrated any of the above schools.

[Anonymous]

Whatever.

[Anonymous]

ITA with PP, and would add that I am not even confident I know which HIGH school will be appropriate much less which college!! I see private school as an opportunity for DC to become well educated right now and enjoy life right now ... the future will take care of itself later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At first I thought all of the "Ivy' references on this post were sort of a generalized way of referring to the most competitive schools. Now I'm not so sure - parents - if you sent your child to one of the top DC privates (Sidwell/GDS/Maret/NCS/St. Albans etc.) and your child ended up at a school such as Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, University of Michigan, Vassar etc. would you consider your money well spent?

Utterly devastated. I would be a complete failure as a parent to have sent a child to a top DC school and have he or she decide that verdant Vanderbilt or bustling Michigan was really the better fit. I would be appalled that the parents and the school had produced a...mature young adult.

[Anonymous]

Um, Vanderbilt is ranked 17th. That's pretty damn good if you ask me.