Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An LSU degree will open as many doors as an Ivy degree. It's all about the person wielding it.

Maybe, but they ain't the same doors.

Anonymous wrote:I went to a T10 from a very small town. I had been a big fish in a small pond, so I entered that school with the confidence of a lion. Obviously, I was knocked down a few pegs as I was no longer the smartest, funniest, or most popular. I learned to manage that and remain confident, but it was hard. I was also intimidated by all of the money that my peers had, but I learned a lot about the lifestyles and habits of wealthy people.

That said, I graduated and took all of that to my new career. I remained fairly confident and advanced easily. It was helpful to know how to stand up after you've been knocked down. IT was also invaluable to know a little about wealth and wealthy people. You could say that any success I've achieved is due to the name on my degree, but I don't think so. I think it's due to the fact that I have never discounted myself or assumed I deserved anything less than what I wanted. It's a "never say die" attitude that was instilled in me back in my small town. The big school could knock me around but it was already ingrained within me.

Conversely, my children have not grown up as big fish in a small pond. Their confidence has been rocked by going to high school in such a competitive and "dog eat dog" atmosphere. They are cynical but are trying to remain hopeful about life, in general. Although we are not wealthy, wealth does not intimidate them. It's very interesting for me to observe.

When it came to choosing a school for my oldest, we focused on fit and comfort. I couldn't have cared less about the rankings of those schools. I wanted DC to feel strong and confident about themselves again. I truly believe that one's attitude is what makes the difference. DC will be graduating from a small SLAC that gets no attention from DCUM. He has really blossomed there and has taken advantage of all the opportunities he was given there. He is looking forward to being employed when he graduates and is hoping to use that employment as a springboard towards his Master's. DD is heading towards a similar college decision and we are 100% on board.

TLDR: it's not necessarily prestige or reputation, it's fit. I needed one thing out of college and my kids need(ed) another.

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some top tier jobs that are much more accessible from top schools. Your double state school lawyer friend is far less likely to ever be a Supreme Court Justice, White House counsel or Solicitor General than a dual Harvard / Yale / Stanford graduate. It doesn't mean it's impossible from other schools, just more difficult.

Anonymous wrote:College itself does.

Which college you attend, not as much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College had a massive influence on the trajectory of my life, but I'm not typical of the college bound kids whose parents post on this board.

I was a working class kid who was only the second person to earn a bachelor's degree in my family over many generations. I earned two bachelor's, a master's, then a JD.

My college education didn't result in a massive change to my standard of living, as the burden of student loans ate up most of my earnings beyond what I paid basic living expenses (and I lived not a lot better than I did as a student) because I went into public service lawyering (legal aid, then public defense, then prosecution) and earned a modest income. I got some assistance from LRAP at my former law school, but was only chipping away at my student loans when very serious health issues caused me to be forced to leave the practice of law. I'll be repaying my student loans until I die.

I'm an entirely different person than I would have been had I not gone to college. While many aspects of my core personality remain the same (empath, loving, trusting, hopelessly idealistic, down to earth) my world view was very shaped by the knowledge I gained in my university studies, and sadly to some degree alienated me from many members of my immediate family who are very conservative, very anti-intellectual and cannot put politics aside for the sake of family bonds.

I struggle with my feelings about whether I made the right choice going to college. I am certain that had I not gone, I'd be better off financially than I am now and better situated in retirement. I know that might sound absurd to some of you, but it's a truth that many working class/lower middle class kids experience whose parents don't help them with financing college and whose student loan burden often stands as an obstacle to home ownership and even parenthood. I have many peers who did technical programs or associates degrees or apprenticeships or started businesses who own homes, have shiny new cars every few years, have kids, etc. It's frustrating.

On the other hand, where I grew up and the people I knew and associated with - I think I would have been a person with a worldview that from where I stand now I would find sad, if not repugnant. But I'd be blissfully ignorant! So there would be that.

I have a very curious mind and I'm glad I had the opportunity to fill it with so many years of learning and that I continue to be a critical thinker who is still always learning and open-minded about new ideas, new horizons, etc. But it's hard to have one foot in one world and the other in a different world. I really wish I'd been born into a different kind of family, I guess. I do spend a fair amount of time wondering 'what if?', and I wish I could know how my life would have turned out on a different trajectory. I'm not sure that's a normal preoccupation for people whose college experience isn't so intensely transformative as mine was, for the reasons articulated.

Thank you for sharing. The post moved me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Answer honestly.

I'm thinking of some of the most fulfilled people I know. One is a restaurateur who didn't go to college. One is a lawyer who went to two state schools and is doing what he loves. Another is an author who went to an "average" school and is wildly successful.

I know this is a stressful time, but the long view helps. What do you think?

I went to a school (Wash. U.) that’s seen as prestigious by some and just OK by some. My cousins all had comfortable middle-income or upper-income parents, and all went to schools ranging from Harvard to University of California schools.

I have friends who’ve gone to all sorts of schools.

I think “higher-ranked schools” tend to be more comfortable and more fun. But I don’t think going to a higher-ranked school makes a big difference in terms of financial outcomes.

I think what distinguishes high-earning kids from lower-earning kids are general intelligence; social graces; parental connections; the ability to play golf and tennis; and the ability to make intelligent comments about baseball, football and basketball games. Excellence at sailing may be able to compensate for general sports illiteracy.

Parents who are obsessed about having high-earning kids should obsess less about SAT prep and more about joining a golf club or signing their kid up for sailing lessons.

The difference between kids of lower-earning parents and higher-earning parents are their teeth and how good they are at downhill skiing*.

* Except kids whose lower-earning parents work in the ski industry.

It depends more on the choice of toothpaste. If you brush your teeth with Colgate, your smile with become your career asset.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My HS junior DD LOVES WashU and I know she’d get a great education but is it worth paying full-price for? It has a good reputation, but not great. Where’s the line?

I’m the PP who went to Wash. U.

I loved it there, and it does have some merit aid.

In my opinion, for undergraduates, for most programs, it’s probably roughly at the same level as UVa., UNC or Texas. Those are all great schools, and good graduates from those schools probably have about the same chance of getting into top grad schools and professional schools as otherwise similar Harvard grads, but no employer will swoop in and suck up the Wash. U. or UVa. art history majors with a tractor beam just to get into their contact lists.

Wash. U. probably has a lot less red tape than a typical state school, but it was big enough and cold enough that when I was there, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, anxious people had problems.

So, it was great for a serious student who wanted a flexible curriculum and a reasonably down-to-earth atmosphere, but it wasn’t necessarily any better than UVa. for students intimidated by the idea of going to a big school.

If I could figure out how to make it happen, I’d be open to paying $10,000 or $15,000 more for Wash. U. than my state flagship if the state flagship was known mainly for its sports teams. But I wouldn’t be quick to pay more for Wash. U. if the flagship was UVa. or UNC.

If I were willing to pay extra because I had a nervous kid, I’d focus more on liberal arts colleges than on a place like Wash. U.

Anonymous wrote:An LSU degree will open as many doors as an Ivy degree. It's all about the person wielding it.