Anonymous wrote:Neither my DH nor I went to an Ivy. Imagine how thrilled we were when one of our kids got into not one, but two Ivys!

...She turned them both down and went to the University of Florida. It needs to be about what your child wants, not about where you went to school.

I don't understand. Why apply to an Ivy if she preferred the University of Florida?

I am secured enough to get that an ivy is not the be all and end all. Some ivy grads do fantastic and end up as captains of industry/academics etc, most ivy grads do fine career wise, and some end up struggling. Guess what -- same is true for grads of every state school too. Going to PSU won't "prevent" you from doing anything. -Holder of 2 ivy degrees

Um, yeah. I am proud of him every day. He is a lovely young man.

He is better than me at some things, and I better than him at others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing wrong with Paterno State.

The reality is a lot of today's parents of teenagers would have a tough time being accepted to their alma mater, Ivy or otherwise. College admissions at the top 50 to 100 colleges and universities are far more competitive (and with generally much bigger applicant pools) than was the case 20 to 30 years ago.

But why? Is it because kids apply to more schools? The Baby Boomers were a huge group back in the 70s going through the process.

More kids filing more applications. Thanks to the Common App a kid can now file 8-12 applications, so long as you're willing to lay out $80 per app.

Way more kids go to college these days. A lot more. Fewer kids going straight to work from high school which used to be a viable option thirty years ago when we had manufacturing and more trades.

But then why is the yield to a lot of the top non-ivy 35-40%? It means they must be applying and getting into a lot of schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing wrong with Paterno State.

The reality is a lot of today's parents of teenagers would have a tough time being accepted to their alma mater, Ivy or otherwise. College admissions at the top 50 to 100 colleges and universities are far more competitive (and with generally much bigger applicant pools) than was the case 20 to 30 years ago.

But why? Is it because kids apply to more schools? The Baby Boomers were a huge group back in the 70s going through the process.

More kids filing more applications. Thanks to the Common App a kid can now file 8-12 applications, so long as you're willing to lay out $80 per app.

Way more kids go to college these days. A lot more. Fewer kids going straight to work from high school which used to be a viable option thirty years ago when we had manufacturing and more trades.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing wrong with Paterno State.

The reality is a lot of today's parents of teenagers would have a tough time being accepted to their alma mater, Ivy or otherwise. College admissions at the top 50 to 100 colleges and universities are far more competitive (and with generally much bigger applicant pools) than was the case 20 to 30 years ago.

But why? Is it because kids apply to more schools? The Baby Boomers were a huge group back in the 70s going through the process.

More kids filing more applications. Thanks to the Common App a kid can now file 8-12 applications, so long as you're willing to lay out $80 per app.

Anonymous wrote:Nothing wrong with Paterno State.

The reality is a lot of today's parents of teenagers would have a tough time being accepted to their alma mater, Ivy or otherwise. College admissions at the top 50 to 100 colleges and universities are far more competitive (and with generally much bigger applicant pools) than was the case 20 to 30 years ago.

But why? Is it because kids apply to more schools? The Baby Boomers were a huge group back in the 70s going through the process.

Anonymous wrote:Neither my DH nor I went to an Ivy. Imagine how thrilled we were when one of our kids got into not one, but two Ivys!

...She turned them both down and went to the University of Florida. It needs to be about what your child wants, not about where you went to school.

+1 Go gators!!!

I loved my southern SEC college experience and wouldn't trade that for all the Ivy League schools in the world.

I would be happy that my kid chose the cheaper option...