I think that college is for developing/honing intellectual curiosity, developing areas of interest and providing the student with opportunities for personal growth. My DC will soon graduate from a college that is frequently disparaged on this forum. DC has thrived intellectually, personally and socially, has gained an amazing breadth of knowledge (go LACs!), is doing original research in her field (another field disparaged by this forum as leading to a future of long-term unemployment) and has met a loving partner. Freud said that the ability to work and to love are the hallmarks of healthy adulthood. In the end, student success is more important than prestige.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The illusion of prestige is perpetuated by the upper class. Is an education from Harvard teaching more than an education at another reputable school? No, but if everyone wants Harvard, then fewer people can have it and it becomes more desirable.

The difference between Harvard and school #85 is not the education, but the person you are sitting next to.

That's true. You're just as likely now to be sitting next to 1st generation at Harvard though. The clubs are the real network.

Anonymous wrote:Can a kid who is not wealthy and doesn’t have family connections succeed at these schools? Yes, but they often never feel like they quite fit. They tend to carve their own path and congregate toward clubs that have people like them. They’re not suddenly playing squash with Rockefellers and joining dining clubs.

Exactly. Just look at Brett Kavanaugh.

Anonymous wrote:The illusion of prestige is perpetuated by the upper class. Is an education from Harvard teaching more than an education at another reputable school? No, but if everyone wants Harvard, then fewer people can have it and it becomes more desirable.

The difference between Harvard and school #85 is not the education, but the person you are sitting next to.

General prestige is about the parents’ ego and ability to signal to others how smart their kid is or how deep their pockets are.

Practical questions like you raised are specific to the major and make sense. I went to a school that is prestigious for engineering. Not so much for English majors.

Anonymous wrote:O/T but what is a service academy?

United States Militart Academy (West Point)
United Statess Naval Academy (Annapolis)
United States Air Force Academy
United States Coast Guard Academy
United States Merchant Marine Academy

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My prestigious degrees (more than one HYPS degree) have made it really easy to make two career changes. That's the value to me...not everyone would care about this.

I went to SUNY Binghamton and then five years later, to Boston U for law school. Neither is prestigious. I was a CPA and then became a lawyer, then went in-house. The fact that I didn't go to a prestigious school either time hasn't hurt me at all.

Yea, but it also depends on what your end game is. If you wanted to be a SCOTUS clerk right out of law school, for example, "prestige" matters.

Being a Republican matters more

At this point, I just want my kids to go to a not-rapey college, where they will socialize with boys who will not assault them. Boys richer than my kids seem at little rapey right now.

I think it certainly means something to kids with a "motor" who will capitalize on it. But a shocking # of peers I know who went to Ivies just live super normal lives and married non-Ivy alums (if not people they knew from our back home region).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My prestigious degrees (more than one HYPS degree) have made it really easy to make two career changes. That's the value to me...not everyone would care about this.

I went to SUNY Binghamton and then five years later, to Boston U for law school. Neither is prestigious. I was a CPA and then became a lawyer, then went in-house. The fact that I didn't go to a prestigious school either time hasn't hurt me at all.

obviously you're hurt quite badly back your lack of prestige given that you've been posting on a talk board for moms at 2.30pm in the afternoon of a Thursday.

are you unemployed as well as lacking prestige?

Anonymous wrote:I went to St. John's University in Queens NY and Trumps parents lived right next to campus. Everyone knew Trumps mother as she shopped at same supermarket right by campus and always bagged her own groceries to give the girls bagging a break.

So you can meet VIPs anywhere. Fred Trump was a little stern but his wife was very nice and no comment on Donald.

Ivy League is a thing of the past like rotary phones and beepers. Chutzpah is how you move ahead today.

So, no college at all then. Gotcha. Because, you know, chutzpah is everything now.

Commence backtracking...

Anonymous wrote:Ivy League is a thing of the past like rotary phones and beepers. Chutzpah is how you move ahead today.

Agree. There are so many great colleges out there that have so much to offer. I graduated from an Ivy and I don't understand the hysteria surrounding them!

DD turned down 3 top 20 schools and a few other Top 30 schools to attend a BS/MD program at our state school. Truthfully, it was a little painful to turn those down but she knew the program was right for her. She has no regrets and is really enjoying her undergrad education. Medical school is incredibly hard to get into these days.

I went to St. John's University in Queens NY and Trumps parents lived right next to campus. Everyone knew Trumps mother as she shopped at same supermarket right by campus and always bagged her own groceries to give the girls bagging a break.

So you can meet VIPs anywhere. Fred Trump was a little stern but his wife was very nice and no comment on Donald.

Ivy League is a thing of the past like rotary phones and beepers. Chutzpah is how you move ahead today.

Anonymous wrote:I think all of the people talking about dating must be women. As a guy, I can tell you, we don't care where a woman goes to school. Just looks.

Then I hope you’re rich because you’re not very smart and your kids aren’t likely to be either. Nor will they have a decent sense of values to make life interesting and meaningful in other ways.