Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Lots of factors come into play: how many kids do you have (and can you afford tuition for all of them), what type of career is your son aiming for (and on the same note does your son plan on going to grad school), what type of college experience is your son hoping for (and does UVA have a much different vibe/experience than what your son wants) etc. From a pure job prospects, potential connections, and general recognition perspective your safest bets would probably be Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Duke, UPenn, Yale, Columbia, and Caltech. After that I think it becomes a much more difficult discussion.
+1 There are maybe ~10 schools in the entire country that should really be considered over UVA for middle class and upper-middle class families. Otherwise the difference just isn't worth it given how strong UVA already is. If you have money to blow that's different, then it's really the whole "luxury good" argument and you can spend your discretionary money how you wish; but if you do that, don't kid yourself into thinking that it's objectively much better for your DS. UVA has top departments and a great alumni network already. Even for those top of the totem pole colleges that PP mentioned, I get that it might "sound better" for your DS to say the went to Harvard or Duke, but he can get wherever he wants from UVA as well. Good luck and I hope your son gets into UVA OP!