Anonymous wrote:Wake for the kids who want a well-rounded package with great academics and big time sports.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying that these are bad schools. They're not. They're basically on the level of the better state flagships, which are also very good in many cases and great in others. So I'm left scratching my head over why families are picking them, and it can only come down to snobbery. Right? What am I missing?

But snobbery for what? If your kid goes to UVA, it's just as well respected and more so than virtually all of the schools on this list and for only half the price or less. People will argue that Wash U or Emory are "better" but their academic reputations aren't better and in fact UVA is ahead of both of them in its "peer assessment" score. At most, one can plausibly claim they're a "little" better but no so much as to justify the price.

The claim here that "you're jealous that you can't afford them" or the flagships are for poor kids is laughable. UVA is full of rich kids -- in fact, that's one of the most common knocks against it.

It can only be snobbery, but it's misplaced because the schools listed don't have real snob appeal.

Well, we live in DC so we don’t have a “flagship” to go to. Also, my DD is gay, so doesn’t feel safe going south. She is a very good student and wants a mid-sized school with a campus. So, WashU and Tufts are on her list. We can afford it so why wouldn’t we want to look at schools that fit the criteria she is interested in?

Respectfully, can I ask (1) does DD go to private high school and (2) are you a Jewish family?

NP, come on, nothing about this is respectful. it's just playing to stereotypes.

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Anonymous wrote:Poor OP, so insecure and miserable that they need to go online picking fights with people and pretending to be Ivies or bust.

Sucks to be you, I guess.

Not Ivy or bust at all. Just saying that private school parents who can’t get their kids into Ivies tell themselves that these schools are great just because they’re private and expensive — but they’re not great. At all. Many state flagships are better, certainly the ones around here.

Why can’t you just worry about your own kids? You are insufferable. Everyone isn’t looking to compete with your kid and many choose based on fit, not the “perceived prestige” you are obsessed with.

You really need help.

+1. Plenty of public school parents sending their kids to the supposedly Ivy-reject-private-school-parent-cope schools OP disdains. I know because my kid (who had no interest in the Ivies and did not apply) is at one of those schools and their roommate attended public school.

I love the “my kid had no interest in the Ivies” posters—what they really mean is that they knew the kid wouldn’t get in. There is not a kid enrolled in any of the schools on my list who wouldn’t be in an Ivy League school if they could get in.

Not true. There are also plenty of kids at these schools who were WL/Spring start/Soph start at several T25 schools and are attending those in the 30-50 range. My kid is at one and out of their 20+ friend group, everyone has that for 2+ T25 schools. Everyone is happy where they are. They had the resume for T25 but didn't win the lottery. Not difficult to understand with single digit acceptance rates.
But they are surrounded by very smart, motivated kids who will all excel at life. You don't have to attend an Ivy to do that. The next level is filled with very similar students.

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Anonymous wrote:Poor OP, so insecure and miserable that they need to go online picking fights with people and pretending to be Ivies or bust.

Sucks to be you, I guess.

Not Ivy or bust at all. Just saying that private school parents who can’t get their kids into Ivies tell themselves that these schools are great just because they’re private and expensive — but they’re not great. At all. Many state flagships are better, certainly the ones around here.

Why can’t you just worry about your own kids? You are insufferable. Everyone isn’t looking to compete with your kid and many choose based on fit, not the “perceived prestige” you are obsessed with.

You really need help.

+1. Plenty of public school parents sending their kids to the supposedly Ivy-reject-private-school-parent-cope schools OP disdains. I know because my kid (who had no interest in the Ivies and did not apply) is at one of those schools and their roommate attended public school.

I love the “my kid had no interest in the Ivies” posters—what they really mean is that they knew the kid wouldn’t get in. There is not a kid enrolled in any of the schools on my list who wouldn’t be in an Ivy League school if they could get in.

Anonymous wrote:People who choose BU or Wake tend not to be prestige-mongers. They’re people looking for a specific type of college experience. BU for kids who want to be completely immersed in city life and Wake for the kids who want a well-rounded package with great academics and big time sports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying that these are bad schools. They're not. They're basically on the level of the better state flagships, which are also very good in many cases and great in others. So I'm left scratching my head over why families are picking them, and it can only come down to snobbery. Right? What am I missing?

But snobbery for what? If your kid goes to UVA, it's just as well respected and more so than virtually all of the schools on this list and for only half the price or less. People will argue that Wash U or Emory are "better" but their academic reputations aren't better and in fact UVA is ahead of both of them in its "peer assessment" score. At most, one can plausibly claim they're a "little" better but no so much as to justify the price.

The claim here that "you're jealous that you can't afford them" or the flagships are for poor kids is laughable. UVA is full of rich kids -- in fact, that's one of the most common knocks against it.

It can only be snobbery, but it's misplaced because the schools listed don't have real snob appeal.

What’s funny is you could make the same claim about all the OOS kids that pick UVA, right?

Why would anyone pay over $90k to study engineering or business at UVA vs going to what is likely a good to great in state flagship? Especially for most STEM fields where UVA isn’t even a thought.

That’s insane, right?

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying that these are bad schools. They're not. They're basically on the level of the better state flagships, which are also very good in many cases and great in others. So I'm left scratching my head over why families are picking them, and it can only come down to snobbery. Right? What am I missing?

But snobbery for what? If your kid goes to UVA, it's just as well respected and more so than virtually all of the schools on this list and for only half the price or less. People will argue that Wash U or Emory are "better" but their academic reputations aren't better and in fact UVA is ahead of both of them in its "peer assessment" score. At most, one can plausibly claim they're a "little" better but no so much as to justify the price.

The claim here that "you're jealous that you can't afford them" or the flagships are for poor kids is laughable. UVA is full of rich kids -- in fact, that's one of the most common knocks against it.

It can only be snobbery, but it's misplaced because the schools listed don't have real snob appeal.

Well, we live in DC so we don’t have a “flagship” to go to. Also, my DD is gay, so doesn’t feel safe going south. She is a very good student and wants a mid-sized school with a campus. So, WashU and Tufts are on her list. We can afford it so why wouldn’t we want to look at schools that fit the criteria she is interested in?

Respectfully, can I ask (1) does DD go to private high school and (2) are you a Jewish family?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying that these are bad schools. They're not. They're basically on the level of the better state flagships, which are also very good in many cases and great in others. So I'm left scratching my head over why families are picking them, and it can only come down to snobbery. Right? What am I missing?

But snobbery for what? If your kid goes to UVA, it's just as well respected and more so than virtually all of the schools on this list and for only half the price or less. People will argue that Wash U or Emory are "better" but their academic reputations aren't better and in fact UVA is ahead of both of them in its "peer assessment" score. At most, one can plausibly claim they're a "little" better but no so much as to justify the price.

The claim here that "you're jealous that you can't afford them" or the flagships are for poor kids is laughable. UVA is full of rich kids -- in fact, that's one of the most common knocks against it.

It can only be snobbery, but it's misplaced because the schools listed don't have real snob appeal.

Well, we live in DC so we don’t have a “flagship” to go to. Also, my DD is gay, so doesn’t feel safe going south. She is a very good student and wants a mid-sized school with a campus. So, WashU and Tufts are on her list. We can afford it so why wouldn’t we want to look at schools that fit the criteria she is interested in?

Anonymous wrote:People who choose BU or Wake tend not to be prestige-mongers. They’re people looking for a specific type of college experience. BU for kids who want to be completely immersed in city life and Wake for the kids who want a well-rounded package with great academics and big time sports.