Me - Southwestern University (Texas)
DH - University of Texas
DD - Applied to Southwestern, had a strong shot for a full-ride scholarship, but didn’t apply for it because she knew she wasn’t going to go there - too familiar. She ultimately went about as far from Texas as she could get (Carleton College).
DS - Interested in Computer Science, so Southwestern was a no go. Wasn’t in top 7%, so UT was a no go.
H and I both went to Syracuse. We visited when D17 was a sophomore, just so she could get a feel for what a mid-to-large school felt like, and she fell in love. We told her to ignore that love because it was the first college she visited, and we looked at tons more. A second visit to Syracuse her Senior year sealed the deal, and she decided to apply ED and was accepted.
Younger D, by the way, despised Syracuse on site and is going in the completely opposite direction.
I went to NYU, my wife got her bachelor’s and master’s from Pace University in NYC. Son is a musician, and I told him to stay away from NYU (he wouldn’t go there anyway, their music performance program didn’t match what he needed), because I feel it has turned into one of the biggest ripoffs in college, he ended up at one of the top conservatories in the country, currently applying to grad schools (and nope, NYU wasn’t even on the radar).
UF and S1 and S2 are there, despite getting into “better” schools. The brainwashing we did when they were young was too strong : )
I went to UW-Madison and med school Medical College of Wisconsin, H Indiana University for undergrad and med school. Now we live in Oregon but S is at UW-Madison (which was unexpected but he loves it) and D at Oregon State.
It’s actually really fun to have a kid at my alma mater and it means we visit more often than otherwise, which is fun for me.
I attended a cc and graduated from a medium size university in the midwest that is not well known here. H is a West Point grad. Neither of our kids were remotely interested in either school. D attended NYU (no regrets 
). S attended a top rated LAC for one year but transferred to a school in Great Britain.
UNC-Chapel Hill.
No.
I went to Penn (Wharton). H went to ND undergrad and Wharton grad.
Both are so much harder to get into as compared to when we went. My S went elsewhere for undergrad (and loved his college experience) but he did get is Master’s at ND. My D wanted a LAC undergrad (which she loved) and neither one of our colleges had grad programs in her field for her to even consider.
If the parents alma mater is the right match for a child, that is great. But my H and I were able to choose the college we wanted to attend and we were sure to give our kids that same option. Admittedly H was thrilled when S went to ND his Master’s degree, but it truly was the best option and best fit for our son’s field of study.
Wisconsin! Son and I. I went to UW-Madison because couldn’t afford OOS. Son was young (16) and wouldn’t apply to many schools. He told my sister he preferred UW to Stanford. Campus definitely better at UW, btw. H from India. Thank goodness for a flagship with top programs- including grad school ones undergrads can be part of.
Cornell Univ. None of my kids even applied…
University of Michigan - it was in-state; tuition was insignificant in those days. DS did go to a summer high school tech program at U-M but didn’t apply for college there. His in-state top school - University of Illinois - was an excellent option for his desired major. He was accepted there but chose to go to Carnegie Mellon. We would have a lot more savings now if he’d chosen Illinois!
Michigan State undergrad, Cornell Law School. DS did not want to go any farther east than CO, so MSU was out (they actually have a good program in his field, but I think after our stories of the cold, snow and wind, it would have been a hard sell). He didn’t have the stats for Cornell, and after living his first 12 years in Ithaca, again, I don’t think it would have been an option for him due to weather and location. He’s at Univ of Denver, very happy there.
My sister went to MIT for undergrad and Cornell for grad school (and worked at Cornell for many years). She urged her D to apply to MIT (she didn’t get in), but would have been unhappy if her D had gone to Cornell (despite having a free-tuition benefit there!) Niece ended up at UHManoa, is happy there. She likes being close to family.
Both DH and I went to Harvard for undergrad. Both kids applied though only oldest had a realistic chance of getting in. He did get in, but chose to go to Carnegie Mellon instead. Youngest went to Tufts.
I went to Columbia for grad school (neither kid applied). DH went to Caltech for grad school. (Oldest applied but didn’t get in.)
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (MechE) and Harvard Business School (MBA)
D1 : Pitt undergrad; now 1st year Pitt Med
D2: GTech (MechE- Junior; to be 3rd generation)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. One son did go to UIUC, the other to where I teach at Illinois Tech.
Me: Stanford undergrad, UW grad
H: San Jose State undergrad, Stanford grad
S#1: Didn’t apply, ended up at Wesleyan (undergrad) and then Oxford (grad).
D: Didn’t apply (“way too big! and no snow”). I kept mentioning “legacy”, but she didn’t relent. UW was also too big and too close to home. She went to St. Olaf. She also didn’t apply to Wesleyan (“meh, my brother went there”).
S#2: Says he wants to apply, but he’s has another 2 years. Who knows.
Honestly, I wish my alma mater wasn’t so impossible to get into. It’d be kind of nice if it were a realistic option.
H and I both went to Michigan. Both kids liked it and applied, got in, then chose another school instead. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Me: Pace University, NYC Class of 1986
D: Graduating in May from same! I never in a million years expected that to happen and I in fact discouraged it! But, they are only the second college in the country to offer a Commercial Dance major so she went for it and has been happy.
Me, Kalamazoo College for BA and UofM for MBA. H went to Thomas Jefferson College an experiential college that later folded into GVSU, was an interesting educational concept but attracted the brilliant…and the not so brilliant and describes itself as a wonderful experiment that began in 1968 and ended in 1980.
None of the kids were interested in either college and forged their owns paths. Two are finished and one is closing in on being a senior or might be already…
Me and DH-SUNY Fredonia-out of state, would encourage it for the right major, no
Me-Ohio University-BSN-no
Me-Otterbein University- MSN- D yes, BSN nursing