At $60k you will have a lot of options after merit. We had a tighter budget, $40k, and did rule out some schools that came in in the $50-$60k range. DD was mainly looking at LACs. She had lots of options in the $30-$40k range (generally ranked in the 60-80 range).

She ended up picking a LAC ranked in the 70-80 range (which costs us a bit under $30k) and I did worry a bit about the challenge in her 1st semester. Most of her 1st semester seemed to be repeat of senior year, retaking classes she'd done as IB/AP classes since her major required taking some of the foundation classes on campus. She just got general elective credits for good AP/IB scores. But 2nd semester has been very challenging. She feels like, while she's among the better-prepared students, she also has a lot of really smart peers and in group projects her teammates are good contributors. She likes her professors and knows a couple well enough to ask them to be references as she's applying for summer opportunities (which was definitely not the case with my older kid at a big state U). She is looking forward to some unique opportunities in sophomore year and she feels like it was the right choice.

Anonymous wrote:UGH.

The phrase is: punching below your weight.

Etymology
An allusion to the sport of boxing, where contenders fight in various weight classes.

Verb
punch below one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches below one's weight, present participle punching below one's weight, simple past and past participle punched below one's weight)

(idiomatic) To achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.

Do you have a similar explanation of “kiss me below the waist”? I would imagine you have heard that one plenty of times.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UGH.

The phrase is: punching below your weight.

Etymology
An allusion to the sport of boxing, where contenders fight in various weight classes.

Verb
punch below one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches below one's weight, present participle punching below one's weight, simple past and past participle punched below one's weight)

(idiomatic) To achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.

Enough with the pedantry. Answer the question or move on to another thread.

It's just that sometimes reading these threads, you can see intelligence is lacking in the family. Analytical reasoning absent as well.

It must be difficult being so much smarter than everybody else. Thanks for putting up with mere humans.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hate the characterization that you're "shooting below your weight". Choosing the best college is the whole package, bet fit, etc. If that's Auburn or St Joes, or where ever, then so be it. Don't both accept the $$$$$ and act like you're too good for the school.

Please. A kid with the grades and scores for Duke or Northwestern is going to be the cream of the crop for a school like St. Joe’s. It is definitely several tiers lower and that’s a real consideration for OP. Why wouldn’t it be?

Why is it a consideration? A kid with good stats is going to get a fine education no matter where they go. If you’re concerned about the tier of a certain colleges, you are concerned with prestige, not education.

That’s like saying any intelligent child will do fine in HS including the inner city public. You full well know that the environment matters.

No, it isn't the same. Not at all. Because high school is mandatory for everyone, and there isn't a single college in the U.S. that is anything like the toughest inner city high schools full of kids who don't want to be there and teachers who are essentially stuck babysitting and keeping the peace instead of teaching. But yes, it is absolutely true that "any intelligent child will do fine" in most US high schools.

College is a choice, and an expensive one. Other than wealthy kids there for a 4-year party, the classes are full of serious kids who want an education.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you will find that any school on the national list in top 120, and any school in the liberal arts list top 80 to 100 or so, and the top 10 regional college in each region will provide an excellent education and land your child a career or a spot in grad school.

Our DC had choices at schools ranked (at the time) 28-120 national and any one of them would have been awesome and a great fit. Chose one in the 60s with a lot of merit aid and is very happy and thriving. Classmates are super smart and motivated. Professors are accessible (no TA taught classes). Job and grad school placement is excellent.

Look at what schools are in the 120-175 range. There are some decent well-known universities there. So I think people can dip well below 120 & still get a fine education. The question is whether friends & family along the east coast can handle the humiliation.

Yes, that's true too. I think OP's kid can get great merit aid above 120 too though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hate the characterization that you're "shooting below your weight". Choosing the best college is the whole package, bet fit, etc. If that's Auburn or St Joes, or where ever, then so be it. Don't both accept the $$$$$ and act like you're too good for the school.

Please. A kid with the grades and scores for Duke or Northwestern is going to be the cream of the crop for a school like St. Joe’s. It is definitely several tiers lower and that’s a real consideration for OP. Why wouldn’t it be?

Not always true. Some kids with 4.0s aren't all that smart; they just had easy classes and easier grading. Some kids with 3.5 are brilliant with demanding teachers and a significantly harder curriculum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UGH.

The phrase is: punching below your weight.

Etymology
An allusion to the sport of boxing, where contenders fight in various weight classes.

Verb
punch below one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches below one's weight, present participle punching below one's weight, simple past and past participle punched below one's weight)

(idiomatic) To achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.

Enough with the pedantry. Answer the question or move on to another thread.

It's just that sometimes reading these threads, you can see intelligence is lacking in the family. Analytical reasoning absent as well.

You are showing low social and emotional intelligence. Pedantry is a classic sigh. Let it go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UGH.

The phrase is: punching below your weight.

Etymology
An allusion to the sport of boxing, where contenders fight in various weight classes.

Verb
punch below one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches below one's weight, present participle punching below one's weight, simple past and past participle punched below one's weight)

(idiomatic) To achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.

Enough with the pedantry. Answer the question or move on to another thread.

It's just that sometimes reading these threads, you can see intelligence is lacking in the family. Analytical reasoning absent as well.

Anonymous wrote:UGH.

The phrase is: punching below your weight.

Etymology
An allusion to the sport of boxing, where contenders fight in various weight classes.

Verb
punch below one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches below one's weight, present participle punching below one's weight, simple past and past participle punched below one's weight)

(idiomatic) To achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.

Enough with the pedantry. Answer the question or move on to another thread.

UGH.

The phrase is: punching below your weight.

Etymology
An allusion to the sport of boxing, where contenders fight in various weight classes.

Verb
punch below one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches below one's weight, present participle punching below one's weight, simple past and past participle punched below one's weight)

(idiomatic) To achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's punching below your weight, OP.

What matters most is fit. Where your student feels most at home, comfortable. This is where I want to be. Single most important factor.

+1000

Where will your DC thrive socially and emotionally as well as academically? That’s the key question that is often missing in the process.

Please. Telling my friends and neighbors “my DC is so socially and emotionally happy their school” pales in comparison to “my DC goes to Yale.”

C’mon. You know this.

DP: I totally disagree with you on that.

+1 Yes it’s wunnerful that your kid got in Yale. But this isn’t 1980.

These days a Yale acceptance comes attached to a whole file cabinet full of suspicions that kid was cutting corners on phony charities, had family connections pulling strings, had daddy donate a new wing of the Chemistry building, had thousands of $ in SAT prep, had uncle provide documentation for bogus extra test time learning disability, and so on.

Everybody knows a dozen brilliant kids who didn’t even get waitlisted at a T10 because they weren’t related to f’ing Susan “Down with the capitalist patriarchy—but please wait til my kid graduates from Brown before starting the revolution” Sarandon.

First, wow, you need to deal with your anger, and …

Second, what are you talking about? 1980s Yale was predominantly white, rich and male, with all the elite private schools over represented. Is it perfect today, no! But at least it’s not just a majority of rich white legacy boys walking around campus.

There are dozens of threads here where people are asking if it’s even POSSIBLE for a normal smart kid to get in T10-20 schools if they aren’t a legacy, kid of a big donor, faculty kid, celebrity offspring, or athlete. There is widespread recalibrating of their college preferences by the unhooked. This is a relatively new phenomenon. While preppies were always at these schools in abundance, years ago there were always spots for regular ol’ smart kids. Nobody was asking if it was even POSSIBLE to get into Brown.

Anonymous wrote:My son has been advised to shoot below his weight for merit. He is a junior, top 10% of class at a competitive high school with APs across the board, but we make too much and so we will be looking for merit. Our flagship is extremely competitive. That will be his first choice, however.

I know this a very common predicament, and so I am curious how other kids have fared when they ended up at schools that were not particularly competitive. Did they end up thriving? Were they disappointed? Do you regret settling? What were the schools? Our tuition budget for him is $60k, which will open some doors but close many others.

Assuming your child has great grades and great AP scores they probably won't wind up in a school that's "not particularly competitive." They will likely get into something pretty competitive that's not as highly ranked and there will be plenty of really smart kids at those schools who are in the same position as your child in terms of finances. I think your child will be surprised how many valedictorians and brilliant kids are in any school in the T100.

My kid is in a T50 public. Around 1,000-1,500 of the student class has stats that would get them into HYSP. Another several thousand have very high stats but maybe didn't have the national awards or hooks that would get them into T10 or T20. The kids who can pay go to HYSP and others attend the public for far less money.

Your kid will still have the chance to interact with other smart kids and to take advantage of opportunities.

Several of my professors at my own public university were educated at HYSP. Were these professors suddenly "bad" because they graduated from HYSP yet worked for a public uni?

My take is I'm not going to worry about. The college kid has many opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]I love the 50-100 merit aid schools. [/b]They weed out the prestige-or-bust crowd, which lowers the intensity on campus. The merit aid eases the urgency for instant ROI, which creates a little space for kids to explore interests for the sake of curiosity alone. It’s a little easier for kids to access opportunities. The professors are still great, but the vibe is more relaxed. There’s less of a socioeconomic barbell effect.

If my kid were gunning for McKinsey I might think twice about eschewing the top schools, but otherwise merit aid seems the way to go.

Which schools are these?

Case
SMU
TCU
Santa Clara
Tulane
Pepperdine
Elon
U-Miami
Wake

Good list.

Anonymous wrote:“Shooting below your weight?”

The phrase is “punching below your weight.” It refers to boxing where competitors are in weight classes.

And, OP please just eliminate this phrase which breeds toxic thinking. So obnoxious. I can guarantee your kid will not be the smartest kid at any school he attends (the same goes for mine).