Reply to Did anyone's kid choose quality of life/social factors over prestige?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In this case the schools are largely the same so prestige doesn't matter so the child can choose the more social school without sacrificing academics and prestige.

But in other cases one has to consider the peer group. The other kids might be "fun" but will your kid have a lot in common with them? Will these kids go on to do the same level of things that grads of the higher ranked schools do? For many of us, our college friends are our lifelong friend group and network.[/quote]

Basically this. The peer group is important. UVA students, like many other state school students, are 2/3rds from one state. That by definition means a weaker peer group than an Ivy. [/quote]

If you’re a desperate striver you should definitely approach it this way. If you’re more of a normal person, you’ll likely realize that these differences are not major at these types of schools, as they all attract strong kids.[/quote]

Finally, someone who appears to have a functioning brain!  A minor difference in rank or average SAT scores is far less significant than the other differences having to do with location, attitudes, distractions, etc. [/quote]

NP, think the point is less about the minor differences and more about the peer group. I think UVA is wonderful. Live in a state with another top public of same or better caliber. There is a difference, the campuses and pulse feel vastly different. I can easily see why someone would have a strong preference for one or another. [/quote]

Of course, but there was a PP in this chain that mentioned that “peer group is important” because UVA peer group is “weaker.” But that difference is so minor. The other things you mentioned are much more meaningful.[/quote]

Yes, but some of that is the peer group strength. [b]Kind of like if a public’s honor college was the entire campus [/b]it would change how it felt and moved. [/quote]

But that’s not the difference here. The difference between a public honors college and the rest of the student body can be very large—hundreds of points on the SAT. The difference between UVA and Columbia is much smaller—80 points in the median SAT for the 23-24 CDS, and that’s with UVA reporting 50% versus 40% for Columbia. There is a small difference but it isn’t significant, nor would you necessarily notice it relative to other factors.[/quote]

I’m not talking about test scores, maybe I’m articulating myself poorly. I just mean the campus vibe is more serious. It feels different. All of the ivies and T10’s we visited had a current through them. I do not feel that on large flagships. It’s a bit breezier and fun. I think choosing what fits for a kid is important, one is not better than another. [/quote]

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