<p>On the subject of whether you lose out by not going to a name school, I am someone who fell in love with a rather obscure language during my undergraduate years and went on to make a profession out of it. Had I gone to a different school I might never have encountered this language and my future would have been quite different. I do think it’s a shame if your child has a particular talent which ends up not being nurtured in the environment where they wind up. I’m thinking of places like the SUNYs where they are apparently cutting language departments. It’s a shame if the kid who did so great in French in high school never has a chance to try German or Chinese because they end up at a school where it is not taught.</p>