Understood. Do you know how many specifically to Princeton, or the last time a student was admitted?
Afaik, there was one student last year who got in and the year before that nobody did.
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This means that Princeton admissions is definitely aware of your private school’s existence. This doesn’t mean that this will provide you with any type of admissions edge. Do you know if the student last year enrolled at Princeton or opted for a different school?
There is also a little bit of calibration that happens — the school said this and that about the student in the recc letters. The student came into Princeton. Now is he all that was claimed? This has some influence on how the school’s reccs, rigor etc are callibrated for the next student.
As a parent, to me that sounds like rhetoric meant to make a certain impression, not to be taken at face value.
@Bot1 , some families are wealthy enough (or sacrificial enough) that cost is no object: “If you get into Harvard, we’ll pay no matter what the cost is”. But for many parents, cost is a big factor. I suggest you sit down w/ a parent and go through net price calculators for HYPS as well as some of your “safeties” so you have a rough idea.
If, for example, it turns out you’d pay sticker price ($91k/yr) at Harvard but UFL is $25k/yr, both you and your parents may feel different about those options.
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A lot of us would have a tough time deciding which way to go if these were the main options available to us.
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It wouldn’t be tough :). There are likely many kids at UF that are Ivy and similar admits. UF is also amongst the leaders in National Merit, or at least historically has been.
Of course, it’s always a family call. All families have their own thought process into finances, value and ability to pay, etc.
It’s only “tough” if you don’t have the money and wish you did.
The people who HAVE the money have already figured out their own values, what the alternative use of those funds might be, where they are professionally and what the next decade will bring them financially.
Don’t assume that someone savvy enough to be full pay (assets plus income) is too stupid to understand that money is fungible. I wouldn’t spend money on a Disney vacation when my kids were young- yeah, I’m mean and cheap. And now I won’t spend money on a Disney vacation for my grandchildren- the costs have soared, and there are so many other things I would happily pay for. But getting a hug from Cinderella isn’t one of them.
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Well it’s the jar of spaghetti sauce phenomenon: there will likely be a full range of options, all the way from $25k/yr (or even below) all the way up to $91k/yr in small increments. No discrete clusters (“cheap” vs. “expensive”), every price point will be covered.
Having some experience in higher ed (yes, deliberately vague), I personally do not believe a HYPS professor has a magic formula to impart special intelligence to their undergrads any more than a professor at a $25-30k/yr (net cost) institution. In fact, I would argue that professors at small colleges with low faculty:student ratio have far better teaching skills and dedication. Most professors at big name institutions are focused on grants and pubs, and evaluated and promoted primarily based on those, not on the quality of teaching undergrads – on that front, they just have to be decent. But I digress…
I would agree. Come April when financial aid offers come rolling in, most parents will prioritize overall cost & willingness to pay over things like curriculum, community, & campus fit.
Are you talking about the Benequisto? If so, this has changed over the years, but I believe is still a good award for instate students attending public universities in FL.
But the decision about paying costs to attend college is a family decision. And really, there are families who are very willing to pay higher costs and don’t tell their kids they need to choose the least costly option. Or go after a college with large NMF merit awards. Family choice.
I still say….if this student and family agree the kid should apply to Princeton, then go for it.
My kid took freshman physics with a VERY popular elderly professor. And imagine the confetti they tossed the day after he won a Nobel prize… with what was no doubt false modesty, he told the class that day that nothing meant more to him than having won various teaching prizes year after year, or the number of senior theses/research projects he’d helped undergrads with. Nobody believed him but it was a nice cap to a wild week!
I don’t think you can brush every college with the same brush. There are small colleges which limp along with a rotating cast of adjuncts-- yes, in a different setting they’d be fantastic mentors and guides, but in the current set up they are rushing after class to drive 30 miles to their afternoon class at a different college where they are also underpaid and overworked. There are small colleges which don’t abuse their adjuncts- but have to rely on a group of “visiting professors” and post-doc/fellows to teach the classes which used to be taught by tenured faculty, but once Professor Jones retired, she wasn’t replaced and instead her teaching load is handled by non-tenure track instructors.
Let’s not pretend that the world of less expensive small colleges is all cupcakes and marshmallows and that the high priced ones are ignoring their undergrads while the professors compete for dwindling funding. Much more nuanced than that.
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There is no question we all think differently. I think one way (hence my kids had a budget), @cc88288 thinks another. The family likely thinks another. Truth is, we all think differently. So things to think about are great but in the end, only one’s decision matters.
But there’s also a few things at play:
We don’t know the cost. We know this year direct costs are $92K. We don’t know if the OP will get aid or if they don’t, if it even matters.
In the end, families make decisions that matter to them. We are not them. The student is applying. If they get in and decide to go, isn’t up to us. It’s up to the people paying.
I will say, while over half the class at Harvard gets aid, nearly half the class is full pay. I would imagine, if someone is applying full pay, they already know they’re going to at least consider an acceptance, or like mine, their student wouldn’t even be in a position to apply (why apply, to where mom and dad won’t send you). Clearly that isn’t the case here.
Harvard’s yield is North of 80%. I obviously don’t have a breakdown of yield of full pay vs. little or no pay but I’m sure it’s high for both.
So it’s likely anyone who gets in is going - regardless of all the other factors - which in some cases likely include - I got into Princeton too or MIT too - where do I go, etc.?
@thumper1 the NMF at UF is now for in state best I can tell. It is very hard and frankly it’s squirrely to find NMF school attended data. I’m not sure why. Best I can tell, Bama, UF, and Tulsa continue to be leaders (if you read various boards) but there are NMFs everywhere.
But I don’t think OP is NMF so it doesn’t matter. The point being made simply was - there’s tons of smart kids at UF.
I think OP applies to their list, and they will likely have choices. For some, choice is a tough thing (Harvard or Princeton or Brown, etc. - hmmmm or we recently had a Dartmouth / Ole Miss full ride that ultimately chose Dartmouth but there was a consideration both ways. For others, they love choice, and it really makes them think deep to truly suss out what is best for them and why.
There is no certainty here on where the student will get in - but I personally imagine it will be at least a few of their top list.
But the only certainty here, is that if OP is a grinder in life and treats others fairly (i.e. can work as part of a team), they are going to have success - whether it’s Harvard, U Mich, UF or even UCF as they had mentioned (that’s not happening!!). Yesterday, I read a thread from a mom whose student chose a special program at Louisville over acceptance at Gtown and Wake and her son is thriving. And my daughter’s cohort partner at a regional public turned down Penn, Vandy and Rice, and he’s thriving post grad. So OP is going to be fine regardless.
In the end, this thread is a chance me - and I think OP will have a chance at some FANTASTIC places that are on their lower probability list. Likely not all, just based on how things work out, but I do think some. But if I’m wrong and if a UF or UIUC is the floor, that’s a really high floor - like on the 95th floor of a 100 story building.
Good luck to OP.
Every family’s decision is correct for them, and it is intensely personal.
What I would say, separately though, some colleges offer exceptional experiences and exceptional outcomes, and no college is the same as any other.
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This is interesting - there are definitely a range of great and not so great profs everywhere. Some are renowned for the cutting edge research but that doesn’t make them great teachers. Others likely are great in various facets. Some consider teaching secondary (knew that of a Vandy prof).
This is one of those unknowns before you step foot in class, other than learning from other kids or rate my professor, etc.
I honestly think kids at this level aren’t picking schools based on how great profs are. They see a ranking, they see selectivity and that’s why they’re picking. They probably couldn’t even name a professor.
I’m sure like most, they’ll have great and not so great profs - and then of course, each kid is different. One might find someone incredible and another didn’t connect well. Same prof - two different verdicts.
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@tsbna44 this student indicated he or she is a NMSF. I don’t believe the finalists have been announced yet. From what they have posted here, there is no reason to believe this kid will not be a NMF @Mwfan1921
But it doesn’t matter…because this student is not chasing colleges with big NMF merit scholarships. Their search is broader than that.
Princeton could very well work out. If not, the student did indicate other colleges after the OP where they are very likely to be accepted.
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The one UF graduate who I know well would definitely have fit in just fine at an Ivy League university, or at Caltech or MIT or a similar school. There are very smart students at a very wide range of universities.
Definitely.
We went with the affordable option and have not regretted it for a moment. However, the expensive option wasn’t Harvard (it was NEU or BU). The ability to help with the cost of graduate school was a consideration in our case, even if we did not tell the kids this when they were still high school seniors.
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ooooh - yeah, they’d be a full ride at UF.
So it might not be an equation they look at, but if they do, now you are near $400K savings vs. a Harvard/Princeton, $325K-350K vs. UM, etc. and over $200K vs. Ga Tech.
I’m sure they’ll figure out what’s best for them should they get into that situation.
To me, the upfront cost differential is staggering, even as one who could afford it.
But I’m not them.
In the end - Heads OP wins. Tails OP wins.
I hope they come back after all decisions are in and let us know how they did.
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Reminder to please stay on topic. Several posts removed. Thanks for your cooperation.
I would say many families make poor or uninformed decisions but it’s definitely personal and absolutely their right to do so — and in the end the student winds up doing fine because in the end it was not the school but the student that makes all the difference. But they could have done it all at a bit less expense/debt.
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