Reply to Brown $68K vs. UMich (in-state) $28K

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[quote=Anonymous]I'm a couple of decades out-of-date, but I chose to go to Stanford over UM in-state (got into both Residential College where my sister went and Honors College).  Both my siblings went to UM.  My brother got an engineering degree there and went on to do patent law at Harvard.

Of state schools, Michigan is one that will definitely give you a top-notch education if you work for it (it's also possible to slack there if you want).  And as my sister says, it carries the clout if you shine there whereas a place like Stanford carries clout even for the lowest performers.

For me, though, going to a small, top-ranked private was still the right option.  Something my Dad, who was a little skeptical of Stanford to begin with, was very adamant about when I graduated.  The classes and research opportunities are a cut above, and it's worth it if you take advantage of them.  For me, having always been at the top of my class, it was also good to be in a community of people who had similar experiences and to have to really struggle with the material.  In my STEM PhD program, it was clear to me that I was better-prepared than any of the other students...except, notably, the ones from Brown who seemed to have similar prep.  Also, the alumni network *is* better at a top-ranked private.

That said, Brown is a pretty different choice than an HYPS.  It doesn't quite have the name recognition or research opportunities.  But it provides a very specific college experience.  If you can afford it, it's worth checking out to see if it's an actual fit for your DD vs. a cool-seeming place to apply (it certainly was when I was in HS).

At the end of the day, though, UM is still a great option, and I seriously considered it.  It can be HS 2.0 if you want it to be, as it was for my brother who continued to live with his HS friends for all 4 years.  Or it can be a place to find yourself anew as it was for my sister who maintained some HS friendships (which, having felt homesick for the first time in CA is kind of nice) but mostly did her own thing.[/quote]

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