While the decision seems like a tough one, the beauty of it is that no matter what she chooses, it’ll be a great choice.
As you know from your own experience, the Yale experience will leave her with a degree that is recognizable by the general public as “elite” and she’ll develop that network. She is likely to find that almost everyone she meets is an intellectual peer (not in the sense of smart but in engagement.)
M-C is, imho, more prestigious but less well known. It will open some amazing doors immediately and connect her with a smaller, but perhaps even more intellectually elite cohort now. She will get a lot of attention. And she will still have that money should grad school involve cost. (And that’s a second shot at the Ivies.) Or should she want/need it for her launch into the real world.
But these are likely to be two very different experiences. What is it she wants from the next 4 years? This is about everything from classroom experience to how she spends her weekends. She’ll be smart and driven in any situation. In which environment will she thrive best?
From your daughter’s pov, there is no bad / less good choice: it’s the place she feels drawn to.
From a parent pov, the only factor you need to consider is the $250K, and if you want to help her with her Masters, which will run $120-175K. The path she looks to be setting out on does not pay well for a very long time (if ever), and low-paid internships / early stage jobs are unavoidable, no matter how fancy your undergrad is.
It depends on what she wants to do after college. The ivy alumni network you have access to is a very real and valuable commodity as you pointed out in your original post. However, that commodity is only valuable in some sectors. I’d take a hard look at this and go from there. My BIL went to Harvard and (because I have college bound kids) we talk about this a lot. If she’s certain to go get a masters or PhD I’d do unc for free, get kick ass grades and get into the best grad school for her field. If she’s going into the workforce right after college I’d pick the ivy (especially if it’s finance or consulting).
My caveat is that if she feels that the fit at one or the other is better and that one school is her people and she’d be super happy there. Go there.
@one1ofeach There is no advantage attending an Ivy for finance or consulting over M-C. And I’d contend the advantage there goes to M-C. At an Ivy, the competition is fierce for MBB and the top banks. As an M-C scholar, the competition is other M-C scholars. I’m very familiar with recruiting for both areas and M-C is actually a drop down menu option on top finance and consulting firm applications. It’s a big deal. They want to interview these kids. My D is on a similar cohort scholarship program and those in the cohort have no problem getting MBB, Goldman etc. What you find instead is that a lot of the kids in these programs are pubic interest or pre-med so not very interested but the recruiters are excited about the few that are.
Congrats on both! Just curious, was your daughter nominated by her school for the Morehead-Cain? My daughter was nominated by UNC out of state, but finalists aren’t announced until 1/17. Just wondering if they’ve notified some already, or if your daughter was in the out-of-state pool (separate from the ARP pool).
Either way, congrats! I’ve been reading a lot about the Morehead this week and it seems amazing. But my son graduated from Yale last May and that is also amazing! I would think the experiences are quite different though, so as everyone says I think it comes down to the environment/experience she wants to have, assuming money is not the driving factor. That said, it’s hard to turn down free to a great school in a very prestigious program. Good luck!
I know graduates of HYP and similar who have good careers, and I also know graduates of state universities who have even better careers. I know a current HYP student who is doing nothing interesting and I know a student at state uni who is blazing trails. It’s really about the person, and I’m guessing that if your child is in the running for a super prestigious scholarship, she’s going to do well at any college she goes to.
@Wtwn93 Congratulations, your child must be exceptional to have these two options before her. Search for posts by @eadad While his son got the Morehead Cain a decade ago or so, he provides a lot of information about the benefits of the scholarship, what his son’s experience was like, and the choices that he and other scholars made. Also if you search “Morehead-Cain vs” you will get a lot of results dealing with just this question. Best of luck as she moves forward in the selection process.
@Wtwn93 let us know when you have made the decision and your reasoning if possible for future students and parents. Morehead Cain results came out yesterday.
