@JenJenJenJen For us it was one of the basic questions we answered, along with the majors she’s considering. Outside of that she applied to a mix of public/private, large/small, LACs/research universities, city/rural/suburban, schools that offered her sports on a D1, D3, club level and schools that didn’t offer her sports. Once she has her acceptances she choose one. I have no idea what her matrix will end up being - that’s up to her. Again, I wasn’t talking about that, I was talking about the obsession with fit and the lack of that in my family’s experience, and I think in college students’ experience historically.
@socalmom007, remember that “in-state public” includes community college, too.
For most college-going students, the whole concept of a “sub par education” (see below) isn’t something that enters into the conversation—the question is “College or not?” as opposed to “What sort of college?”
Very, very important footnote-ish comment: Please note that I’m most emphatically not granting the existence of a “sub par education” from any of the options listed. Perhaps the only “sub par education” options we have in the postsecondary system in this country are (a) a pretty huge chunk of the for-profit sector and (b) a relatively small handful of (usually) very small colleges that are just barely hanging on financially. Other than that, we’ve actually got an astonishingly strong system, where I’d argue anyone with the skills for it can get an excellent education.
Whenever we get too wrapped up in “going away to college” or too wrapped up in fit I remind everyone in the house that no one in our family has a degree from any school more than our State U and we have (and at least half who started out at JR college)
IT / CS
engineers
CRNA
anesthesiologist
NP
Lawyer
And two PhD professors with multiple book publications.
Everyone is doing just fine it would seem!
@LoveTheBard VISION isn’t accepted students but similar to SOAR. I think most people take it as a ‘likely’ though. I think SOAR attendees might as well take that as a Likely too if they end up applying and maintain the same academic standard. I’ll find out tonight how she liked it - we only texted a couple of times since she’s been there.
I also started out at junior college, but my local CSU’s were not something I considered either, as I just didn’t think the two within driving distance were very good quality. I went to SDSU and scrounged to be able to afford the cheapest rent I could find, worked 30 hrs a week, and had my financial aide. UC’s were not on the table because of cost.
Was interested to see in the linked article about how many kids stay in-state that my state, MA, has the fewest kids stay in-state at 44%. UMass is a pretty good school, I think, and there are several other UMass branches as well as a bunch of state colleges. Wonder what that is about.
@kt1969 Take a look at the NCES data:
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_309.10.asp
For Massachusetts, the ratio of resident students enrolled in-state to residents enrolled in any state is 70%. That number includes public and private institutions in MA (which has a lot of private schools).
EDIT: We had a recent discussion on the subject in the Parent Forum:
Our acacemically accelerated kids have managed to be extremely successful at their very avg universities. Our oldest ds has a fabulous career as a chemE. Youngest ds just found out today he was accepted into his top choice REU (2nd yr in a row he has gotten into the program he has wanted). That is no small feat bc physics REUs are very competitive. (Super proud momma moment!)
Top students are found everywhere and kids can excel at most places they land. Finding schools that offer the major they want with enough coursework at an affordable price works here.
So happy for your son @Mom2aphysicsgeek <:-P
The closest CSU to me has a graduation rate of 6 %, the next closest has a grad rate of 13%. I think tuition at those institutions would be a waste of money if your kid can get into better schools.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Where do your sons go to school? Is it Alabama? I am currently struggling with college offers (good problems to have) and looking for encouragement with regards to the lower ranked school. My children actually listen to our advice. LOL
@micgeaux Yes, he is at Bama. He is an incredibly strong student. His freshman yr he took a 400 level physics class. And, yes, he still found freshman peers. 
My oldest ds who is a chemE went to a small public tech university that is only ranked regionally. Our 12th grader is only looking at avg publics. (Hopefully she will make a decision soon!)
@kt1969, to tag onto what @Gator88NE wrote, if you’re talking about the same article I’m thinking of, it was a weird statistic—it wasn’t how many students stay in state, it was the proportion of students who go to public colleges who stay in state, and that’s rather a different thing. (I can’t remember if community college students were included.)
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Congrats on the top-choice REU!! What sub-field of physics ended up being his top choice for this summer?
@ynotgo Revealing my ignorance, he was so excited while he was talking–he mentioned high energy and nuclear, but I don’t know if they are the same thing? That is the extent of my knowledge. I do know he is hoping this summer will help clarify his grad school direction. I can’t believe he will be applying to grad schools in the fall. Where did the time go?!
@BigPapiofthree (& @srk2017) hopefully you will find this commitment of enrolling freeing to you and your son. I completely understand the hesitation in closing out all the open doors after an ED2 successful match…it seemed somehow reckless this past weekend when we notified all the other pending (12!) and accepted (2) schools (and in some cases throwing merit $s and special programs to the wind) knowing my son had spent hours crafting essays, etc for them each.
A counterbalancing mindset however was that he/we got exactly what he’d hoped for in applying and achieving a success with ED, and that by releasing these pending applications, perhaps in some way, he helped another student get his “dream school”. I know, for certain, his classmates applying to many of the same institutions and his college counselor from his small private high school were happy he had done so.
The best fallout, as you correctly noted, is however the freedom to indulge in moving forward…planning Admitted student visits, fantasizing about dorms, buying school “stuff”, joining the Facebook group at the school (student and parent!), etc.
Enjoy; Go Dores!!! <:-P
@vandyeyes – Congrats to your son and I think letting other schools know he is withdrawing his application could help others and is the right thing to do – but understand the twinge of pain to let go. But now he can become fully immersed in the Vandy experience! Enjoy!!
@vandyeyes - MY DS didn’t apply for any EDs.
@srk2017, yes I know; I “tapped you” because of the reference made about the applicant conflicted by not withdrawing his Stanford app after a successful ED elsewhere.
@Dolemite , congrats to you and your D on the columbia likely letter!!!