Ivy undergrad education worth debt?

BrownParent
Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:55:24 +0000

I think you have an opportunity to go there at a pretty good rate. I’m a little surprised the package isn’t better, though. My daughter could have gone to a good state school, UC Berkeley, but she has been very happy at Brown (for a lower cost, however) and very happy of the opportunities to do research and work closely with prominent professors in her field. And now she has one PhD acceptance, in a funded area, from a top 15 school, awaiting others, so that is another hidden payoff.

She recently commented that she received an entire education just by attending visiting speakers lectures. She was able to see Hillary and Obama speak before they were even running for President. And the colloquia gives another dimension and exposure to profs at other schools.

However, as others have said, your expectations are wildly out of touch. I know people at Brown (which was traditionally heavily recruited by Goldman and other IB’s) who can’t get an interview. And these are stars in the Econ department, and virtual machines when it comes to work and discipline. And yes, dear, the grownups here know about Econ majors working on wall street.

I’m disturbed by your big plan. I don’t think it is a good idea to make such detailed plans when you are in high school. It is important to have an open mind and discover things in college. My daughter has been a peer advisor and one of the things she was asked to do, by the program, was to encourage people in her major to explore, get out of their comfort zone and try new and cross-disciplinary avenues.

Best wishes.