The students who get into top SLACs and top universities don't seem to be picking the former

[Anonymous]

This isn't a recent trend by any means. People regularly turn down even the very top LACs (Williams and Amherst) for universities ranked around ~15, ~20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope that the OP is right - it will help my son when he's applying to SLACs in two years! My other son is at a NESCAC and loves it. He figured he was likely to spend the rest of his life in a city and he wanted to spend his weekends hiking, kayaking, skiing, etc. and his class time is small discussion-based classes not large lecture halls. Not everyone cares about big football games and not everyone at a SLAC spends their weekends drinking. I really don't understand DCUM's obsession (and it truly is an obsession) with where kids chose to go to school. Are adults really so insecure that they have to question decisions made by teenagers and their parents? My son and his friends celebrated every single one of each other's college decisions - big state schools, SLACs, Ivy, urban, rural, Catholic, non-denomination, co-ed, women's colleges - they were happy for each other. Some of his friends had to make their decisions based on cost, others made it based on their intended major. But none of them questioned each other and none of us parents questioned their parents why they were sending their kids to these school.

This. People are different and can have very different needs and preferences in choosing a college. My two kids are very different in what they want with one now at a 30K student school and the other only wanting to look at rural LACs. Both will find what makes sense for them. Their only common interest was that both hated urban colleges. So I guess they are out-of-step with current trends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes small regional private colleges, as well as community colleges, are seeing drops in enrollment. Given the expense it’s not strange that kids who might have enjoyed a private college choose a large cheaper state school.

But it’s not some simple rural vs urban thing, that’s a lazy argument. There are plenty of rural state schools that are popular - University of Illinois is pretty much surrounded by cornfields, but its enrollment and prestige are doing just fine.

I know kids who are turned off by urban campuses where you can’t really tell where campus ends and city begins.

You don’t see a difference between a state flagship with 45,000 students in a town with 220,000 people and a SLAC with 3,000 students in a town with 8,000 residents? They may both be surrounded by cornfields, but they are completely different experiences.

Please. There are plenty of colleges in cute towns and plenty of large state schools in meh towns.

And you know there are private colleges that in the same towns as state schools, right?

We’ll, yes. That’s the point. What surrounds the town isn’t relevant. What matters is the town itself.

Unless you're an outdoors type who would like to go hiking or skiing on the weekends.

And let's face it. People are not attending Illinois State University because they want to be in Normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a recent trend by any means. People regularly turn down even the very top LACs (Williams and Amherst) for universities ranked around ~15, ~20.

LOL

What percentage of high school kids get into both top LACs and T15-20 universities? You're talking about a bubble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC who graduated from a NESCAC had a far superior education than my DC who will graduate shortly from an Ivy. The access to professors and research opportunities at LACs is objectively better. And I can’t even imagine attending some soulless public university where students are just a number and the majority of students come from a single state.

Get your head out of your a**

Lol…..ok state school grad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC who graduated from a NESCAC had a far superior education than my DC who will graduate shortly from an Ivy. The access to professors and research opportunities at LACs is objectively better. And I can’t even imagine attending some soulless public university where students are just a number and the majority of students come from a single state.

Get your head out of your a**

Lol…..ok state school grad.

I can’t imagine attending a glorified boarding school the size of a high school in bumf*k nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a recent trend by any means. People regularly turn down even the very top LACs (Williams and Amherst) for universities ranked around ~15, ~20.

LOL

What percentage of high school kids get into both top LACs and T15-20 universities? You're talking about a bubble.

Very true. First they have to apply to both and then get into both during regular decision.

[Anonymous]

This is my kid. Ivy vs state flagship, sure pick ivy. But slac vs state flagship. Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope that the OP is right - it will help my son when he's applying to SLACs in two years! My other son is at a NESCAC and loves it. He figured he was likely to spend the rest of his life in a city and he wanted to spend his weekends hiking, kayaking, skiing, etc. and his class time is small discussion-based classes not large lecture halls. Not everyone cares about big football games and not everyone at a SLAC spends their weekends drinking. I really don't understand DCUM's obsession (and it truly is an obsession) with where kids chose to go to school. Are adults really so insecure that they have to question decisions made by teenagers and their parents? My son and his friends celebrated every single one of each other's college decisions - big state schools, SLACs, Ivy, urban, rural, Catholic, non-denomination, co-ed, women's colleges - they were happy for each other. Some of his friends had to make their decisions based on cost, others made it based on their intended major. But none of them questioned each other and none of us parents questioned their parents why they were sending their kids to these school.

This. People are different and can have very different needs and preferences in choosing a college. My two kids are very different in what they want with one now at a 30K student school and the other only wanting to look at rural LACs. Both will find what makes sense for them. Their only common interest was that both hated urban colleges. So I guess they are out-of-step with current trends.

Yes. It’s about fit. My older child applied and was accepted ED to a rural SLAC. My younger child only wants larger schools and neither wanted urban (though I think the younger one would be less opposed).

Fortunately people in real life are nicer than people on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a recent trend by any means. People regularly turn down even the very top LACs (Williams and Amherst) for universities ranked around ~15, ~20.

LOL

What percentage of high school kids get into both top LACs and T15-20 universities? You're talking about a bubble.

Uh I can think of more than a handful in just this past cycle alone. Clearly the OP can as well.

[Anonymous]

Pomona has a $3 billion endowment and 1,700 students. Do the math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC who graduated from a NESCAC had a far superior education than my DC who will graduate shortly from an Ivy. The access to professors and research opportunities at LACs is objectively better. And I can’t even imagine attending some soulless public university where students are just a number and the majority of students come from a single state.

Get your head out of your a**

Lol…..ok state school grad.

I can’t imagine attending a glorified boarding school the size of a high school in bumf*k nowhere.

Haha i will repeat what PP above said: get your head out of your a**

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a recent trend by any means. People regularly turn down even the very top LACs (Williams and Amherst) for universities ranked around ~15, ~20.

LOL

What percentage of high school kids get into both top LACs and T15-20 universities? You're talking about a bubble.

Uh I can think of more than a handful in just this past cycle alone. Clearly the OP can as well.

Yes, you live in a bubble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is my kid. Ivy vs state flagship, sure pick ivy. But slac vs state flagship. Nope.

My kid picked a top slac over Ivy. Didnt even bother applying to a big state u. Did not want an urban setting.

🤷‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are kids even applying to SLACS then?

Colgate had something like 22000 applicants this year. A few years ago it was 9000.

Why are kids applying to 10+ schools period? They are casting a wide net.

There are plenty of large universities to cast a wide net without applying to SLACS. So why are kids still applying to SLACS?

If you asked my DC who just applied to 20 schools all over the map he would say:

For variety
For fun
Because I can

Maybe he does not understand the point of the process. Or does not know himself?

The "point of the process," one is led to believe, it to find a school, or group of schools, that will admit a student, and then pick one. It's not that complicated. He's not getting into Harvard, but also think that he can excel at a school beyond community college.

What 17-year-old boy really knows himself?

My response to you, and to PP who states that he still has time to pick up wisdom - is to say -- the system is set up for this. Once a student has slaved over a common app, what problem is it to push a button for a few more submits, especially when there is no application fee, as there is in a large number of these schools, both state universities and SLACs? Oh sure, he had to write a few more supplement essays, but those are largely cut and paste projects as well.

And voila - before he knows it, student ends up with applications submitted to 20 different schools - SLACs, large universities, smaller colleges - whatever you want. My DC ended up with a nice choice to pick from.

Creating more work for other people, applying to schools he’a not really interested in, would never really consider going to, and possibly taking away slots that one of his classmates might have received. I’m sure you don’t see it that way, you are teaching him that his own self is the most important thing, but not all of us have that worldview.

You’re absolutely right. I don’t see it that way at all.

As expected.