Anonymous wrote:

Twice as many kids going to college, and the number of slots at the top schools hasn't gone up appreciably.

This. Schools that were not that selective when we were kids have moved way up the list today. I was surprised at how much things had changed when my first started the college application process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got goosebumps reading this - this is us and we will be lucky to manage $25-$30K per year so it looks like UMD for ds. Nothing wrong with that but I don't quite know how to tell him, not to bother applying to the more prestigious schools his friends will be applying to because they don't offer merit aid.

This is us as well. I think there are many families like us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently attended an awards ceremony for the kids graduating in the top 5% of their MoCo public high school class (about 30 kids). Of that number, I'd estimate only about 50% (roughly 12-15 kids) were going to Ivies or elite private universities. Most of the rest were either attending UMCP or a 2nd tier university (think SMU, U Alabama, etc) on a full ride scholarship. I've no doubt that money was the prevaling reason, as these kids all had GPA's in the 4.6+ range and many were National Merit Semifinalists. Money talks, unless you are fortunate enough to be wealthy.

It would be interesting which Ivy kids were full pay, I doubt many were full pay.

Generally, the kids who can get into Ivies are the same kids who are likely to receive generous, even full, tuition aid. There were several kids in DC's MoCo graduating class who turned down Yale, Columbia and other schools for full rides at 2nd-tier, even 3rd-tier colleges. These kids are getting great educations for little or no debt, so all power to them.

The 1% figure for public school kids getting into top-tier schools is a little off - you have to factor in that many public school kids aren't going to ANY college, and many others are going to Montgomery College because that's what they can afford. To do an accurate comparison you'd need tables of applications and acceptances, which exist, but there are several DCUM threads on that already and there's no need for us to descend into all that acrimony on this thread.

Very few kids turn down Ivies. Harvard's yield is over 80% and no doubt a lot of the 20% are going to other Ivies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak to the motivations of parents who can afford Big 3 tuition, but I know that for many public school families in wealthy areas perceive the cost of top schools (which typically offer ONLY financial aid) to be prohibitive.

We are an upper middle class family living in a close-in, wealthy suburb of DC. We are a federal government employee and a county government employee. We live in a <2000 square foot house, drive 6- and 8-year-old cars, and take most of our vacations within driving distance of DC. We save diligently for retirement. We are comfortable but hardly living high on the hog. Our FAFSA-generated expected financial contribution is $45,000 per year. Although we have saved steadily for college, we won't have anywhere near this amount saved. Rather, we project we can afford about $30k per year for college. Since virtually all of the top colleges will certainly charge us much more than that, they are all off our DC's list. Instead, DC will be applying (a) to state schools, both in-state and in other states with costs of attendance ~$30-$35k, or to lower-tier schools that give merit aid to an excellent student like DC. IOW, they are all sub-25 in the rankings. That may disappoint some people, but it won't disappoint my bank account.

Got goosebumps reading this - this is us and we will be lucky to manage $25-$30K per year so it looks like UMD for ds. Nothing wrong with that but I don't quite know how to tell him, not to bother applying to the more prestigious schools his friends will be applying to because they don't offer merit aid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently attended an awards ceremony for the kids graduating in the top 5% of their MoCo public high school class (about 30 kids). Of that number, I'd estimate only about 50% (roughly 12-15 kids) were going to Ivies or elite private universities. Most of the rest were either attending UMCP or a 2nd tier university (think SMU, U Alabama, etc) on a full ride scholarship. I've no doubt that money was the prevaling reason, as these kids all had GPA's in the 4.6+ range and many were National Merit Semifinalists. Money talks, unless you are fortunate enough to be wealthy.

It would be interesting which Ivy kids were full pay, I doubt many were full pay.

Generally, the kids who can get into Ivies are the same kids who are likely to receive generous, even full, tuition aid. There were several kids in DC's MoCo graduating class who turned down Yale, Columbia and other schools for full rides at 2nd-tier, even 3rd-tier colleges. These kids are getting great educations for little or no debt, so all power to them.

The 1% figure for public school kids getting into top-tier schools is a little off - you have to factor in that many public school kids aren't going to ANY college, and many others are going to Montgomery College because that's what they can afford. To do an accurate comparison you'd need tables of applications and acceptances, which exist, but there are several DCUM threads on that already and there's no need for us to descend into all that acrimony on this thread.