<p>OP.</p>
<p>re post 26. My son had a stellar hs record. I would be willing to bet a bit that it was better than that boringguy. However, he wanted to finance as much of his education himself as possible, graduate with no loans and with a lot of savings in the bank. A whopping merit award from Vanderbilt engineering has allowed him to do that. He is having a great experience and I do not think his future is in any way harmed by not attending a higher-ranked engineering school. He is, as I suspect you are, a highly motivated student, and that does make a difference.</p>