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[quote=Anonymous]SLACs offer a much higher quality undergraduate experience than most state flagships and even, in my opinion, than most of the top-20 National universities.  My wife and I both attended top-10 universities, medium size (4-5k undergrads), world-famous research institutions. 
Yes, our peers were smart and driven and were mostly very successful by DCUM standards. But the lived college experience was poor, in retrospect. The model of the research university - Ivies, State Flagships, whatever - is really substandard as to undergraduates. Particularly the first two years.

Our oldest child was a hs superstar by every measure. One of the top debaters in the country, near-perfect grades and test scores, 12 APS (5s) - the standard resume for an Ivy-bound kid. Who very deliberately chose to apply to no Ivies, and to attend a SLAC (one of the AWS schools). It worked out quite well, by all measures. First, a $120k job for two years at an Econ consulting firm, for a humanities major who had never taken an econ course. Then, a top-3 law school, editor-in-chief of law review, top law firm, federal clerkships etc. My point is that there are many such students who value the substance and approach of an excellent LAC more than they do the broadly recognized name-brand value of even the top-ranked Ivies. Number two kid went to a NESCAC as a recruited athlete, went into finance, got an Ivy MBA, now works in M&A. Number three is also likely to attend an SLAC.

My kids didn't choose SLACs because they couldn't get into large universities. And as for the "dumb rich kid" factor - more at some places than at others. You'll find plenty of them at the flagships, too, hiding in the back of 400-person lecture halls and starting their weekends on Wednesday. And another bunch at the Ivies, tucked away on the Lacrosse team.

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