Best Academic Reputation vs. Best Price

[momofboiler1]

I was surprised to read that too. When my D negotiated a higher sign on bonus, her company retroactively gave the whole cohort that amount. The only variable was in relocation $ because it was based on distance. Since she’s graduated, they now do a cost of living bonus for higher costs areas as well. Absolutely nothing is based on the school attended.

[tsbna44]

@CollegeNerd67

Many parents place the responsibility on the college to turn out an employable grad, when it is actually on the student to manufacture their own success, no matter where they go.

100% but schools often thread the needle in marketing as they imply things.

[twogirls]

Another school that might (?) be a target is St. Lawrence University, also in upstate NY. Rural area with a cute little town. They have a business major and also a combined program with RIT (MBA). I don’t know about affordability but you can use the NPC.

Your daughter liked the University of Delaware. It’s a beautiful school and I know two recent grads who are quite successful. Glad she likes it!!

[thumper1]

You are looking at best academic reputation vs best price. I suggest you add…best fit for your kid (not the parents, the student). IMHO, the way a student views a school should be the key element in the college selection process…because the student is going to college, not the parent.

My opinion.

[CollegeNerd67]

@overlyinvolveddad

I went to Geneseo for accounting. And changed my mind on my major before I even got there . Took a business minor though, and loved the business classes and professors.

Cheers to SUNY! Was just speaking to fellow SUNY grad friend this past weekend whose daughter is in the accounting program at SUNY Oswego. She loves it and has already had two summer internships; the most recent one asked her to stay on and work part time remotely while she is back at college.

[twogirls]

@Ruff

I think she is turned off by places like PSU because she’s worked hard and her classmates with poor grades have consistently been admitted there. To me, that just means she will likely outperform them in college.

I understand that the school is not a good fit, but here is the academic data:

GPA- 3.84

SAT math mid 50% 620-720

SAT R/W mid 50% 620-700

ACT 27-32 mid 50%

You have not posted much about rigor but based on what you wrote it seems like the school could be an academic match for your daughter. This does not mean it is a good fit and I am not suggesting that she apply.

Looks to me like there are plenty of good students at Penn State.

[overlyinvolveddad]

Oswego is one of the few schools with a tech ed program. My local high school has big CAD, automotive, and carpentry programs and sends kids there every year for tech ed. There are a lot of jobs in that field right now.

[Twoin18]

@DadTwoGirls

Finally, the personality and drive on average of the students will matter some. Famous and highly ranked schools will tend to have a higher percentage of students who are likely to succeed. Any one highly driven student might be likely to do well wherever they attend university, and there will be some of these at any university, but there might be a higher percentage of them at a highly ranked university.

I have said this before in other threads but it might be worth repeating: The smartest and most highly driven graduates who I have met coming from U. Mass are just as strong and just as driven and just as successful as the smartest and most highly driven graduates who I have met coming from Harvard and MIT. The latter two schools just have a higher percentage of such graduates which impacts the average salary across all graduates from each school.

However, aspirations of those “highly driven” graduates differ in different parts of the country. My S’s classmates in LA mostly wanted to go to top cities (LA, SF, DC, NY), whereas D’s classmates in the Mountain West prioritized being in places with a great outdoor lifestyle after college.

It’s not surprising driven UMass grads would have similar aspirations to relatively nearby schools like Harvard. But the aspirations of state (or private) college grads in CO, UT, AZ etc are not necessarily the same.

Maybe OP’s kid is only considering schools in the northeast. But the further you go away from that area, the more likely that post-college aspirations may be different.

[SJ2727]

Yes. Money may be the easiest (and laziest) way to measure “success”, but success means different things to different people.

[tsbna44]

In the case of OP, or at least the parent, that seems a reasonable assumption given they’ve recommended accounting for the student as it will be less limiting - ie better chance at a good job - is how I see that.

There is a lot in this thread for OP to noodle on. Not sure if they are coming back. Hope so.

[twogirls]

@Ruff

We have visited a lot of schools, and she liked some a lot of them. She particularly liked the University of Delaware. She doesn’t like the idea of Penn State but did like Pitt. She also liked Bucknell and Lehigh but not enough to apply ED.

I actually think she is set. Hopefully the OP returns.

She could apply to Pitt, Delaware, and a few of the privates that she likes. I would add 1-2 more true safeties (maybe Hartwick, Susquehanna, Providence for example). Once all of the results are in they can compare fit and cost and then decide.

Hartwick’s cost is very reasonable. It is about finding the right fit for the student at a cost that is good for the family.