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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I sit on a committee which awards college generous scholarships to local high school seniors, so I've seen a lot of bright applicants over the last decade plus. We also request updates from recipients and most tend to respond. From what I've seen, there is little difference in outcomes between those who went to a prestigious college and those who chose a less glamorous college. If you really pressed me, it actually seems like a teen becomes more likely to pursue something low paying and indulgent or artsy after attending an Ivy (or perhaps those artsy students were attracted to Ivies in the first pace?). Motivated teens who finish in the very top of their high school class do well in life, period, no matter where they go to college. And maybe you wouldn't believe it reading forums like this, but most extremely ambitious teens have zero interest in going to an Ivy League college or Duke or Vanderbilt. They are grew up wanting to attend a state school (often their family attended) or they fell in love with some semi-selective private college a few hours from home.[/quote]

Only true if you take into account that there are a lot of extremely ambitious teens who don't necessarily have the qualifications to gain admission to an Ivy or similar school.  And there's a fairly obvious disconnect between suggesting that a kid is an ambitious go-getting and then asserting they want to attend state schools attended by other family members.  [/quote]

"Asserting"? No. I've interviewed hundreds of applicants and read their scholarship applications and essays. Their bio, grades, class rank, SAT/ACT/AP scores, and where they're heading to college and why is all on the table. And then years later we ask for and publish updates. [/quote]

I agree. I think the DC mindset is a bit warped by the fact that so many people are from elsewhere, so going to the most elite college anyone has heard of matters in DC. New York may the only other place that is like this, but I think even in NY it matters to a lesser degree than DC. Anywhere else, you’ll see a few kids apply to the northeastern “elite” colleges, but a huge % of the top-scoring kids are aimed at their state flagship or, pp describes it, a “semi-selective private” nearby.  I have a relative that goes to a very good private school in another state, and I was surprised by the matriculation list. Very, very heavy on the in-state flagships. The school announces where everyone was accepted, as well as where they’re attending, and there were quite a few more highly rated colleges that were turned down. High scoring kids can attend the state flagship for free. For a kid that wants to go to graduate school, it’s hard to justify spending an extra $300k on your undergraduate degree. Add in the fact that, if you want to stay in state, the alumni network is amazing, and it’s a no brainer.  For example, the Zell Miller Scholarships allow top Georgia resident students to attend Georgia Tech for free (slightly lesser, but still high stats kids “just” get free tuition).  Especially if you’re a Georgia Tech legacy and want to live in Atlanta after graduation, why is it so hard to believe that an “ambitious, go getting” student wouldn’t take that deal? The ## of applications to Georgia state schools would indicate that they do.

FWIW, my kid has the stats to qualify for Ivy et al admission, but he is applying to state flagships and “semi-selective privates” in the state he wants to live in after college, and that’s true of our very highly qualified relative, as well. [/quote]

The reverse side of this argument is a lot of ivy kids turned down full rides elsewhere.  Most of them have the stats to get full rides at less competitive schools. It’s not unusual for them to turn down full rides to attend their dream schools.  [/quote]

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