I was look at Carleton, Williams, etc. for my DD, but there's no way we could afford it without going into debt. State it is for us, can't justify it.

Anonymous wrote:I went to a very good state school, and a top-5 law school. My classmates in law school included a lot of harvard-princeton-yale grads, as well as other kids from good state schools. Just given my class rank, I can tell did better in law school than almost all of them. I know many ivy grads who went to top-25 law schools (outside of the top ten). Given limited resources (or a desire for a different experience), state schools are a great choice for college. It's what your child makes of it that really matters.

I work with a lot of recent grads, and there is a real state-of-mind difference between the ones with no debt and the ones who owe $80K. They simply have different outcomes on their adult lives. The ability to be flexible and take a career risk in your 20s is in the long run worth WAY more than where you got your degree. Picking up and moving overseas, or taking a low-paying but prestigious internship, is only possible if you have economic freedom. I wish more kids would take this into account when they're applying to colleges and playing the silly ratings game.

Many of us like to think like that pp and think hard work pays off and cream rises to the top and other Pollyanna nice stuff our parents taught us. But, unfortunately, it doesn't usually work that way.

I think the kid works much harder and ultimately becomes better for it coming from U of Nowhere.

My DH and I went to state for undergrad. I went to state also for law school and he went to a so-so priivate MBA School. We've both done fairly well. Our kid went to top Ivy and never had to prove to anyone how smart she was. Even Goldman Sachs CEOs know that they can't even buy their kids way into Havrard, Princeton, or Yale w/o a big donation. So, they know those kids are top brains. It is possible to go to University of Nowhere and end up at great places...but it's more likely to be a "diamond in the rough" star vs. a whole bunch of fellow workers from a class of Princeton or Harvard. And, then, the diamond in the rough may feel excluded and not part of the team.

So, yes, everything is possible...it's just harder to prove oneself coming from Nowheresville U

I went to a very good state school, and a top-5 law school. My classmates in law school included a lot of harvard-princeton-yale grads, as well as other kids from good state schools. Just given my class rank, I can tell did better in law school than almost all of them. I know many ivy grads who went to top-25 law schools (outside of the top ten). Given limited resources (or a desire for a different experience), state schools are a great choice for college. It's what your child makes of it that really matters.

Eh, DH and I met at a crappy Catholic college and he went on to a 4th tier law school. Sheer determination not to fall into his dirty cop father's ways, DH has worked like crazy and is now "rich." We know a lot of "self made" people whose didn't attend name brand colleges. A lot of them seem better off for it. Don't believe all the hype.

We've told our kids they can get whatever degrees they want from wherever they want go and they'll be debt-free at graduation. Three of them have chosen good state universities for undergrad and plan to go to the best grad schools they can for their next degrees (public or private). I think that's a great plan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a state school (Big Ten). It will mostly likely prevent a student from getting the very top business jobs (Carlyle, Goldman, etc), but not most jobs that most people want/will have.

The President of Goldman Sachs went to AU undergrad and has no graduate degree. If you are really good at what you do, finance industry companies are not as concerned about where you went to school. If you are not a star you better go to Harvard!

But he is the exception, not the rule. Bll Gates quit college. But most people are not Bill Gates. The good thing about a top school is that it speaks for you. You don't need to prove yourself to get a foot in the door. State school grads don't have that. Once they're in, of course they will do well if smart/hard working. But it is a whole heck of a lot easier to get in with a top degree.

I have a relative that graduated from UMBC and works for Goldman.

Yes, and Brad Pitt is a famous movie star who makes gazillions of dollars who didn't even graduate from his crappy college in Missouri. So that must mean that my kids will also be able to . . . oh wait, no.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a state school (Big Ten). It will mostly likely prevent a student from getting the very top business jobs (Carlyle, Goldman, etc), but not most jobs that most people want/will have.

The President of Goldman Sachs went to AU undergrad and has no graduate degree. If you are really good at what you do, finance industry companies are not as concerned about where you went to school. If you are not a star you better go to Harvard!

But he is the exception, not the rule. Bll Gates quit college. But most people are not Bill Gates. The good thing about a top school is that it speaks for you. You don't need to prove yourself to get a foot in the door. State school grads don't have that. Once they're in, of course they will do well if smart/hard working. But it is a whole heck of a lot easier to get in with a top degree.

I have a relative that graduated from UMBC and works for Goldman.

Okey dokey.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a state school (Big Ten). It will mostly likely prevent a student from getting the very top business jobs (Carlyle, Goldman, etc), but not most jobs that most people want/will have.

The President of Goldman Sachs went to AU undergrad and has no graduate degree. If you are really good at what you do, finance industry companies are not as concerned about where you went to school. If you are not a star you better go to Harvard!

But he is the exception, not the rule. Bll Gates quit college. But most people are not Bill Gates. The good thing about a top school is that it speaks for you. You don't need to prove yourself to get a foot in the door. State school grads don't have that. Once they're in, of course they will do well if smart/hard working. But it is a whole heck of a lot easier to get in with a top degree.

I have a relative that graduated from UMBC and works for Goldman.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost of college is out of control. There are only two types of students that can afford the top private schools that don't give merit aid- super rich and students that will receive lots of financial aid(free money- not loans)

Or students who have parents that are affluent and willing to save for their college. If one is willing and able to save for a $60k a year school and starts doing it when kids are young, you don't have to be super rich. Though I guess you might define super rich differently than I do.

+1 -- from a not-super-rich parent who saved for 3 college and grad school tuitions -- it took will and discipline, but not privation -- we have lived pretty darned comfortably, and, BTW, have plenty saved for retirement

Anonymous wrote:I went to state school, got accepted to a well ranked but not top grad program and work now with grads from Princeton, Harvard, MIT, as well some from George Mason. If you go into a field where your skills and intellect matter, a lot of that nonsense just fades away.

Agree completely. I couldn't even afford my own alma mater now and it wasn't all that impressive when I attended. Did just fine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a state school (Big Ten). It will mostly likely prevent a student from getting the very top business jobs (Carlyle, Goldman, etc), but not most jobs that most people want/will have.

The President of Goldman Sachs went to AU undergrad and has no graduate degree. If you are really good at what you do, finance industry companies are not as concerned about where you went to school. If you are not a star you better go to Harvard!

But he is the exception, not the rule. Bll Gates quit college. But most people are not Bill Gates. The good thing about a top school is that it speaks for you. You don't need to prove yourself to get a foot in the door. State school grads don't have that. Once they're in, of course they will do well if smart/hard working. But it is a whole heck of a lot easier to get in with a top degree.

Anonymous wrote:I went to a state school (Big Ten). It will mostly likely prevent a student from getting the very top business jobs (Carlyle, Goldman, etc), but not most jobs that most people want/will have.

The President of Goldman Sachs went to AU undergrad and has no graduate degree. If you are really good at what you do, finance industry companies are not as concerned about where you went to school. If you are not a star you better go to Harvard!

Yes. And if you'd ever worked for a university and understood the economics of education you'd agree.