Best Academic Reputation vs. Best Price

I think that this is very true.

I have argued that legacy admissions is not needed. Kids whose parents attended highly ranked universities already benefit from having parents who understand the process. This might mean that a child whose parents have degrees from Stanford and Columbia might attend a highly ranked DVM program (which obviously won’t be at either Stanford or Columbia), but having parents who attended highly ranked schools or at least very good schools means that the students know more or less what is expected (which includes a lot of work, and more).

And yes, we did find very good alternatives that were way less expensive than the big name highly ranked private universities, and were a good fit for each child, and provided an excellent education with very good “appropriate” opportunities (whether these be research, clinical shadowing, internships, or something else).

I do wonder when you see a kid with a very high level of determination and drive just where that comes from. Is it genetic? Is it taught? Does a kid see others succeed and just decide “I am going to get there also, but for my version of *there*”?

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