Anonymous wrote:So first my background--I have experienced the range of schools: I attended a state school, went to a HYP for grad, and taught at a Top 25 liberal arts college.

I'm just curious...I went through this thread and I see a lot of people saying that they are going to stretch financially to send their kids to places like the place I used to teach. Which is to say schools like Bates or Pomona.

And I guess I'm just curious and trying to understand why. Based on my experience, these are places that are great and where a student will get a decent education and have a pleasant life for four years. But very honestly, they are a similar price as HYP without offering the same level of name recognition, facilities, faculty, peers, etc. You can get an equivalent education at the University of Maryland--maybe better if you are interested in doing undergraduate research--and typically go to the grad or professional school of your choice. So what draws people to faraway expensive colleges?

The answers I came up with myself are that for some parents college is not just about education but about DS/DD finding a partner, or maybe the family is interested in a religious education (Catholic schools, BYU, etc.), or maybe they think that four years on an idyllic campus and what are hopefully lifelong friendships are worth the $240k price tag. But I still honestly have some trouble wrapping my mind around that. I'd be curious to hear people's responses.

There are a myriad of reasons.

1. Some parents/students are strongly biased in favor of small colleges, where professors (not grad students, and definitely not other undergrads) are doing the teaching. Some dislike lecture classes and have a strong preference for small, seminar style classes. Some students particularly thrive in such environments and greatly benefit from close contact with professors.

2. It's an open question whether large research institutions offer better research opportunities for undergrads--OTOH, professors may be more likely to be engaged in cutting edge research but OTOH grad students usually get first crack at these opportunities.

3. These days, admission stats to flagship publics like UVA can be a crapshoot, so often the choice is not between UVA and, say, Colby or Bates, but between, say, JMU or CNU and Bates.

4. Many of the top SLACs are need blind and meet close to 100% of need, so for many families it's not actually more (or much more) expensive to go to Bates than it would be to go to UMD. Some of these SLACs have less daunting admissions odds than HYP, making them attractive additions to the college application list. Some kids actually prefer these SLACs to HYP, etc.

5. Some families have high enough incomes that full pay at Bates is no by deal.

6. Some students and their families are prestige conscious, and they would rather go to a school rated highly by USNWR, even if not HYP, then a UMD.

7. Some students are very interested in continuing to play a sport (or other EC), but aren't good enough to play at a big university or even in the Ivy League. Their special talent opens doors at SLACs, substantially increasing the odds of admission and even allowing access to a much more highly ranked school than they would otherwise be eligible for.

8. Some students who prefer smaller schools attend them for the same price (or close) as their in-state public because they are at the top of the applicant pool for the school and are offered substantial merit aid awards.

I'm sure there are many other reasons.

Anonymous wrote:1:14, that is correct. We are pushing our DS to get all of those medical badges (except in medicine - he is going to Cornell, then a top medical school, top residency, top fellowship and then top practice).

Well let's hope he never falls short of the mark. You'd have to disown him.

1:14, that is correct. We are pushing our DS to get all of those medical badges (except in medicine - he is going to Cornell, then a top medical school, top residency, top fellowship and then top practice).

Anonymous wrote:Yale. We are very pleased, especially because DH is a proud alum.

Next DS has got to focus on getting into a top law school in four years!

it never ends. Then he has to get into a big law firm. then make partner. then what? Get his kids into sidwell, of course. and so on. Life but a series of merit badges

I was an East Coast kid and I knew about the Claremont schools when applying to (East Coast) schools. But I also knew just about every dog breed, the names of presidents' wives, and lots of world capitals. The point is that it's kind of random as to whether you'd have heard of those schools, and passing familiarity with Pomona and Harvey Mudd doesn't really define you as an educated person. It might suggest you'd be reasonably good at Jeopardy.

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Anonymous wrote:What's a "Boston College"?

Is this sarcastic or have you really never heard of Boston College? You're like the PP who had never heard of Scripps...you guys need to do some serious research before you and your kids head into the college application process!

Not the PP, but calm down. BC has certainly come up in the world, but it is not in the same league as the Claremont Colleges.

LOL. Very few people on a easy coast know the Claremont colleges - they are regional.

Actually - no. We are all from the east coast and DD's first choice two years ago was Claremont McKenna but she didn't get in. Two kid's for DS's class are going to Pomona (I think) and Harvey Mudd. There are big in the private school world maybe as they are very expensive and selective.

I'm both a west coast and east coast person. All educated people know about the Claremont colleges and its design to offer University-type services to five distinct colleges. Money is pooled to create state of the art facilities like library and health center, but students apply to each college (very very walkable). The child of a friend of mine coming in from Boston could not get into Claremont McKenna so accepted Scripps (all women) but is taking classes at Claremont mcKenna and will reapply every year until she gets in. In my day, I got into Pomona, which is an xlnt school. Pitzer wasn't a serious contender then because they did not give grades, just teacher letters, and since I wanted to go onto law school, that concerned me. The dorms were nicer at Scripps so I thought I would board there but take classes at then Claremont Men's College and Pomona. I went to Stanford instead. But I would rank Pomona and Claremont McKenna very high.

Sadly, in my experience all educated people are definitely not familiar with the Claremont colleges--which is no reflection on the colleges' quality. Word about SLAC's just doesn't get around--my Swarthmore and Williams friends say many employers haven't heard of their schools either. I'm an East Coast academic and used to be a professor at a SLAC similar to those colleges on the East Coast--and even so I am only vaguely familiar with the Claremont schools and I didn't even know that they were some kind of consortium until I read that here.

You sound moronic.

Actually quite ignorant. Especialy for an "East coast academic". Everyone knows about the Claremont colleges and its unique system of cross-registation and sharing of faciltiies. Whom do you think publishes the "Claremont Review"

I attended FCPS my whole life and my parents were feds and I certainly knew about Claremont. Did you never peruse a college guide book or look at a college ranking list? Do you not read newspapers or magazines? I exist in the world and have my antenna up, taking in the stimuli that surround me, and therefore I know about these things that go on in other parts of the world. Just goes to show you that you can be educated but still narrow minded and clueless.

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Anonymous wrote:What's a "Boston College"?

Is this sarcastic or have you really never heard of Boston College? You're like the PP who had never heard of Scripps...you guys need to do some serious research before you and your kids head into the college application process!

Not the PP, but calm down. BC has certainly come up in the world, but it is not in the same league as the Claremont Colleges.

LOL. Very few people on a easy coast know the Claremont colleges - they are regional.

Actually - no. We are all from the east coast and DD's first choice two years ago was Claremont McKenna but she didn't get in. Two kid's for DS's class are going to Pomona (I think) and Harvey Mudd. There are big in the private school world maybe as they are very expensive and selective.

I'm both a west coast and east coast person. All educated people know about the Claremont colleges and its design to offer University-type services to five distinct colleges. Money is pooled to create state of the art facilities like library and health center, but students apply to each college (very very walkable). The child of a friend of mine coming in from Boston could not get into Claremont McKenna so accepted Scripps (all women) but is taking classes at Claremont mcKenna and will reapply every year until she gets in. In my day, I got into Pomona, which is an xlnt school. Pitzer wasn't a serious contender then because they did not give grades, just teacher letters, and since I wanted to go onto law school, that concerned me. The dorms were nicer at Scripps so I thought I would board there but take classes at then Claremont Men's College and Pomona. I went to Stanford instead. But I would rank Pomona and Claremont McKenna very high.

Sadly, in my experience all educated people are definitely not familiar with the Claremont colleges--which is no reflection on the colleges' quality. Word about SLAC's just doesn't get around--my Swarthmore and Williams friends say many employers haven't heard of their schools either. I'm an East Coast academic and used to be a professor at a SLAC similar to those colleges on the East Coast--and even so I am only vaguely familiar with the Claremont schools and I didn't even know that they were some kind of consortium until I read that here.

You sound moronic.

Actually quite ignorant. Especialy for an "East coast academic". Everyone knows about the Claremont colleges and its unique system of cross-registation and sharing of faciltiies. Whom do you think publishes the "Claremont Review"

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Anonymous wrote:So first my background--I have experienced the range of schools: I attended a state school, went to a HYP for grad, and taught at a Top 25 liberal arts college.

I'm just curious...I went through this thread and I see a lot of people saying that they are going to stretch financially to send their kids to places like the place I used to teach. Which is to say schools like Bates or Pomona.

And I guess I'm just curious and trying to understand why. Based on my experience, these are places that are great and where a student will get a decent education and have a pleasant life for four years. But very honestly, they are a similar price as HYP without offering the same level of name recognition, facilities, faculty, peers, etc. You can get an equivalent education at the University of Maryland--maybe better if you are interested in doing undergraduate research--and typically go to the grad or professional school of your choice. So what draws people to faraway expensive colleges?

The answers I came up with myself are that for some parents college is not just about education but about DS/DD finding a partner, or maybe the family is interested in a religious education (Catholic schools, BYU, etc.), or maybe they think that four years on an idyllic campus and what are hopefully lifelong friendships are worth the $240k price tag. But I still honestly have some trouble wrapping my mind around that. I'd be curious to hear people's responses.

Another academic here -- and, abstractly, I have the same reaction to SLACs vs. public schools (with some exceptions re specific schools and specific majors). But I'd also throw in the mix the facts that the best state universities are getting harder to get into for in-state residents and, of course, for those of us in DC, there's no high-quality public university. So, yeah, Berkeley over Bates but if the choice is Claremont vs. JMU (or Carleton vs. UC Merced), it's not so clear cut to me.

What I don't get is why so many private school parents seem be more inclined to pay for Colby than to pay OOS tuition to send their kids to Ann Arbor or Madison. But then I'm biased toward major research universities and am not particularly invested in the public/private distinction. And I'm guessing that not many parents (or kids) are primarily interested in seeking out schools where the intellectual action is. They're looking at social environment, networks, job prospects, and grad school acceptance rates.

True. Michigan and Wisconsin have outstanding academics in so many fields and so many opportunities. Some parents can't see past small private schools.

Anonymous wrote:Macalester

My God-daughter is a Sophomore at Macalester and loves it!

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Anonymous wrote:My "B" student from FCPS is going to Nova for a year or two and then transferring. She got into others but the money is not there and she does not want to graduate 120k in debt.

I think she plans to transfer to American, hopefully in a year or two they will still offer the aid they offered.

Very odd acceptances for her. She's a white girl from FCPS with a 3.4 GPA and some good extracurriculars and held a part time job. I was surprised at some she got into and some she did not.

But in the end she made the call.

(Expecting the horrified responses any minute now...)

No horrified response from me. But I'm curious - can you please list the schools where she was accepted/rejected?

Thanks!

Accepted at American U (surprised) College of Charleston, University of Mass Amherst, Boston U (surprised).
Rejected at Marymount (surprised), GMU (surprised)
wait listed at Loyola (surprised)

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Anonymous wrote:What's a "Boston College"?

Is this sarcastic or have you really never heard of Boston College? You're like the PP who had never heard of Scripps...you guys need to do some serious research before you and your kids head into the college application process!

Not the PP, but calm down. BC has certainly come up in the world, but it is not in the same league as the Claremont Colleges.

LOL. Very few people on a easy coast know the Claremont colleges - they are regional.

Actually - no. We are all from the east coast and DD's first choice two years ago was Claremont McKenna but she didn't get in. Two kid's for DS's class are going to Pomona (I think) and Harvey Mudd. There are big in the private school world maybe as they are very expensive and selective.

I'm both a west coast and east coast person. All educated people know about the Claremont colleges and its design to offer University-type services to five distinct colleges. Money is pooled to create state of the art facilities like library and health center, but students apply to each college (very very walkable). The child of a friend of mine coming in from Boston could not get into Claremont McKenna so accepted Scripps (all women) but is taking classes at Claremont mcKenna and will reapply every year until she gets in. In my day, I got into Pomona, which is an xlnt school. Pitzer wasn't a serious contender then because they did not give grades, just teacher letters, and since I wanted to go onto law school, that concerned me. The dorms were nicer at Scripps so I thought I would board there but take classes at then Claremont Men's College and Pomona. I went to Stanford instead. But I would rank Pomona and Claremont McKenna very high.

Sadly, in my experience all educated people are definitely not familiar with the Claremont colleges--which is no reflection on the colleges' quality. Word about SLAC's just doesn't get around--my Swarthmore and Williams friends say many employers haven't heard of their schools either. I'm an East Coast academic and used to be a professor at a SLAC similar to those colleges on the East Coast--and even so I am only vaguely familiar with the Claremont schools and I didn't even know that they were some kind of consortium until I read that here.

You sound moronic.

LOL. Your response is getting old. Sorry you can't accept it. I grew up in a well-educated area of the NE. My public HS was an Ivy factory. A handful went to East Coast SLACs - most of the them were driven by family traditions rather than deep-rooted educational philosophies. People only went out to the West Coast for Stanford, Berkeley, USC, UW, etc.

Ask a broad group of people from the East Coast and see who has heard of them. I'm guessing a few people from SLACs, but that's it. Please report back when you've concluded your research.

Interesting, we have a similar background and different results. I grew up in a suburb of Boston that was also a public Ivy factory. 2 dozen of my classmates went to Harvard alone. We knew about the Claremont colleges. We had tons of professors kids in my HS, perhaps that was why.

Maybe that's why. Not a ton of academic families. More financial/executives.

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Anonymous wrote:What's a "Boston College"?

Is this sarcastic or have you really never heard of Boston College? You're like the PP who had never heard of Scripps...you guys need to do some serious research before you and your kids head into the college application process!

Not the PP, but calm down. BC has certainly come up in the world, but it is not in the same league as the Claremont Colleges.

LOL. Very few people on a easy coast know the Claremont colleges - they are regional.

Actually - no. We are all from the east coast and DD's first choice two years ago was Claremont McKenna but she didn't get in. Two kid's for DS's class are going to Pomona (I think) and Harvey Mudd. There are big in the private school world maybe as they are very expensive and selective.

I'm both a west coast and east coast person. All educated people know about the Claremont colleges and its design to offer University-type services to five distinct colleges. Money is pooled to create state of the art facilities like library and health center, but students apply to each college (very very walkable). The child of a friend of mine coming in from Boston could not get into Claremont McKenna so accepted Scripps (all women) but is taking classes at Claremont mcKenna and will reapply every year until she gets in. In my day, I got into Pomona, which is an xlnt school. Pitzer wasn't a serious contender then because they did not give grades, just teacher letters, and since I wanted to go onto law school, that concerned me. The dorms were nicer at Scripps so I thought I would board there but take classes at then Claremont Men's College and Pomona. I went to Stanford instead. But I would rank Pomona and Claremont McKenna very high.

Sadly, in my experience all educated people are definitely not familiar with the Claremont colleges--which is no reflection on the colleges' quality. Word about SLAC's just doesn't get around--my Swarthmore and Williams friends say many employers haven't heard of their schools either. I'm an East Coast academic and used to be a professor at a SLAC similar to those colleges on the East Coast--and even so I am only vaguely familiar with the Claremont schools and I didn't even know that they were some kind of consortium until I read that here.

You sound moronic.

LOL. Your response is getting old. Sorry you can't accept it. I grew up in a well-educated area of the NE. My public HS was an Ivy factory. A handful went to East Coast SLACs - most of the them were driven by family traditions rather than deep-rooted educational philosophies. People only went out to the West Coast for Stanford, Berkeley, USC, UW, etc.

Ask a broad group of people from the East Coast and see who has heard of them. I'm guessing a few people from SLACs, but that's it. Please report back when you've concluded your research.

Interesting, we have a similar background and different results. I grew up in a suburb of Boston that was also a public Ivy factory. 2 dozen of my classmates went to Harvard alone. We knew about the Claremont colleges. We had tons of professors kids in my HS, perhaps that was why.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's a "Boston College"?

Is this sarcastic or have you really never heard of Boston College? You're like the PP who had never heard of Scripps...you guys need to do some serious research before you and your kids head into the college application process!

Not the PP, but calm down. BC has certainly come up in the world, but it is not in the same league as the Claremont Colleges.

LOL. Very few people on a easy coast know the Claremont colleges - they are regional.

Actually - no. We are all from the east coast and DD's first choice two years ago was Claremont McKenna but she didn't get in. Two kid's for DS's class are going to Pomona (I think) and Harvey Mudd. There are big in the private school world maybe as they are very expensive and selective.

I'm both a west coast and east coast person. All educated people know about the Claremont colleges and its design to offer University-type services to five distinct colleges. Money is pooled to create state of the art facilities like library and health center, but students apply to each college (very very walkable). The child of a friend of mine coming in from Boston could not get into Claremont McKenna so accepted Scripps (all women) but is taking classes at Claremont mcKenna and will reapply every year until she gets in. In my day, I got into Pomona, which is an xlnt school. Pitzer wasn't a serious contender then because they did not give grades, just teacher letters, and since I wanted to go onto law school, that concerned me. The dorms were nicer at Scripps so I thought I would board there but take classes at then Claremont Men's College and Pomona. I went to Stanford instead. But I would rank Pomona and Claremont McKenna very high.

Sadly, in my experience all educated people are definitely not familiar with the Claremont colleges--which is no reflection on the colleges' quality. Word about SLAC's just doesn't get around--my Swarthmore and Williams friends say many employers haven't heard of their schools either. I'm an East Coast academic and used to be a professor at a SLAC similar to those colleges on the East Coast--and even so I am only vaguely familiar with the Claremont schools and I didn't even know that they were some kind of consortium until I read that here.

You sound moronic.

LOL. Your response is getting old. Sorry you can't accept it. I grew up in a well-educated area of the NE. My public HS was an Ivy factory. A handful went to East Coast SLACs - most of the them were driven by family traditions rather than deep-rooted educational philosophies. People only went out to the West Coast for Stanford, Berkeley, USC, UW, etc.

Ask a broad group of people from the East Coast and see who has heard of them. I'm guessing a few people from SLACs, but that's it. Please report back when you've concluded your research.

Macalester

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Anonymous wrote:Curious where most of you live in the DC area. We moved to DC area this year in Loudoun. My dd is a sophomore so I'm doing my research. It seems most kids out here stick with state schools and from what I've heard, the counselors really push them in that direction. Your DC's school choices are more in line with what I expected to see out here. What's going on?

The counselors do push them toward the state schools. I'm not sure why myself. Would be interested in finding out.

Because they cost so much less? As a counselor, you don't really know each family's financial status so why push kids to possibly take out huge debt to go OOS or private. Often financial aid, which includes mostly loans for the most part, only brings costs down to what an in-state school might cost, if you have the grades or a hook.