<p>There couldn’t be a better way to start my Saturday than to log on here and read this! So many congrats, to curm and his d (and Mrs. C too, of course). What a great outcome, and so well deserved. :)</p>
<p>I was going to say ‘what a great ending to the story’ but I’m sure it is not the end of the story for your daughter, curm. Congratulations to all of you.</p>
<p>I knew it. And dropped in to read this thread from time to just to confirm. Couldn’t happen to a better Mudgette or a prouder papa. Go you. Go her. Thanks for making a random Internet friend so happy. Not that our happiness compares to your, or hers, but still, it’s here and thank you.</p>
<p>Curm, I want to hear the pickup truck stories that come on the move-in trip to New Haven!!!</p>
<p>The folks at Rhodes must be popping their buttons with pride. She dun good.</p>
<p>Oh, yes, thank you CountingDown for reminding Curm that, now he has told us the moving story of his D’s acceptance at Yale med, he needs to tell us the other moving story, the one by truck and beat-up car!</p>
<p>i too am interested in the “lesson” of LAC over a university. Is the “lesson” that you went to a LAC over Yale because the LAC gave merit aid and Yale didn’t? And it’s now all good because you got in to Yale med…or something like that.</p>
<p>You can go to state college and make it to top grad schools, it’s not that unusual. </p>
<p>It’s cool that your daughter has done so well, congrats to her! But the undergrad experience is way different at a big university vs a LAC, and I would question the value of passing it up if that’s what she wanted, unless of course you really don’t have any financial resources, then it’s understandable. </p>
<p>I read this thread thinking wow, 4 years at Yale undergrad would have been pretty cool. </p>
<p>Again, congrats to your daughter! But I’m not getting the logic of passing up Yale undergrad because a LAC is cheaper or free, unless of course money is a real problem.</p>
<p>She did not go to a state U, she went to Rhodes college, and did extremely well. Having said that, there are lots of terrific state Us, with Honors colleges that make the undergrad experience feel much more intimate.
I’m sure Mudgette harbors no regrets over having turned down Yale College for what turned out to be an excellent educational experience at much less cost than Yale would have been.
Now, Curm has only to sell a kidney instead of a kidney, an arm and a leg.:)</p>
<p>Of course money was a real problem.</p>
<p>I don’t think the lesson is limited to you can go to the LAC with merit aid and then go to Yale for grad school. The student in question did a ton of cool things at her LAC, including great research opportunities and winning a Goldwater. The lesson is that the undergrad experience may NOT be way different at a LAC vs. a big university, and that if you are the kind of student who really takes advantage of opportunities you can get plenty of them at a LAC.</p>
<p>Part of the logic of passing up Yale because a LAC (or any other school) is cheaper or free is, if your child is interested in a professional school (Medical/Dental, Law, Business) ,it is not likely they will get much financial aid. Most middle class families, that don’t qualify for financial aid, will have a hard time coming up with $200,000 for Yale undergrad, plus med school costs.</p>
<p>Curm’s daughter expressed a strong interest, as early as HS, that she wanted to go to medical school. We all know that many HS kids change their minds once they enter college, but Curm clearly knew his daughter, and knew it was likely she was going to try to follow that passion.</p>
<p>Based on posts made by Curm over the past 5 years, his daughter’s decision to attend Rhodes over the other more “highly ranked” colleges to which she was admitted (which included some more highly ranked LAC’s as well as Yale) was not based solely on $$. </p>
<p>Curm allowed us into his thoughts about this process, as well as his some of his daughter’s thoughts. There seemed to be some regret on Dad’s part that daughter was not choosing the more highly ranked school…but…Dad was very happy about the money part (especially knowing his daughter’s interest in attending Medical school, where there would be many fewer financial aid opportunities.) And…he can tell us himself…but it appears daughter had a fantastic experience at Rhodes and few (if any) regrets about where she didn’t get her undergrad degree. </p>
<p>As I noted earlier, we’ll see a number of threads in the Parents Forum over the next few weeks about taking the money or the prestige. They won’t be worded quite that way…and there will be other factors…but that’s what it will boil down to for many parents lucky enough to be in that dilemma. </p>
<p>Curm’s daughter is just one of many stories illustrating that taking the money doesn’t mean giving up wonderful undergrad, grad and career opportunities.</p>
<p>thanks, I get it now. it sounds like the money piece was significant, totally understandable. And I understand you only know what you know so her 4 years at Rhodes was great, and there’s no way to compare it to another experience, like Yale. </p>
<p>But I disagree that Rhodes and Yale are similar undergrad experiences, they are WAY different. As I’m sure Rhodes is WAY different than a state school.</p>
<p>The one caution is that Your Mileage May Vary quite a bit. This girl was an incredible applicant out of high school with some very unique things in her favor and, as a result of using every possible opportunity to pursue different passions at her college, was an equally strong applicant for medical school. Not every kid is going to get this same result, and as 2boysima pointed out, many students change their mind about medical/law school. It’s a tough call and I know the Curmudgeon family didn’t make the decision lightly and others should not, either.</p>
<p>Thank you so much to those who have expressed the true meaning behind my rather flippant “let this be a lesson” comment. They are correct in terms of what I meant. Curm’s D seems to have taken advantage of everything she was offered … and made her own opportunities, as well … and had a terrific time in the process. What more could her dad (and those of us who feel “connected” to her) ask? It is one thing to suspect there is more than one path to take … and quite another to know that the one taken DID end up being a great one to have chosen.</p>
<p>On another note, my D & I discussed another aspect of chosen paths just this afternoon. She was in New Orleans this past week, building homes for Habitat. A couple students in her group spent the entire week obsessing about med school … it was the ONLY thing they discussed the whole week. D told me another girl in the group confided that the obsessed students had her worried because she wasn’t 100% committed in her personal life to getting into med school. D (who has matured beyond my wildest dreams recently) assured her that one can enjoy her undergrad experience and still get into med school. Because D knows of Mudgette’s story (having considered Rhodes way back when), I shared the latest success. She plans to let the worried girl know about this as a way of helping her to realize that having balance is okay … and it absolutely does not have to get in the way of achieving one’s goals.</p>
<p>i like that “mileage” metaphor, very true. But I’m hung up on the outcome focus…what about the 4 years of your life that you’re there? I have an over the top academic and athletic achiever and she’d probably do just fine getting to a top grad school or whatever from a state school…but I’m interested in the quality of the experience “now” for her, not the outcome. As a society we focus way too much on the outcome, you take that thinking out to far and you might as well pitch a tent above your grave site:)</p>
<p>What ABOUT the 4 years of life that you’re there?! Again, there is no ONE school that is the be-all or the end-all. If you think Yale (not to pick on Yale - I use it only as an example) is the only way your kid could possibly be happy during undergrad, and if you either can afford it or will pay for it even if it means taking out huge loans, then go for it. The point is, though, that here is a story of someone who DID find happiness elsewhere. The reality is that many cannot afford the Yales … choose not to pay for the Yales … cannot get into the Yales … and these kids can & do end up just fine.</p>
<p>Oh, and if your kids WANTS to go to Yale … and you are willing & able to make that happen for her … that is wonderful, too. :)</p>
<p>
If the quality of 4 years at a school like Rhodes (which is a selective LAC, not a state school) was intrinsically lacking, I’d agree. But it isn’t lacking. Curm’s daughter obviously flourished there and, I’m just about 100 percent sure, didn’t see it as delayed gratification when she chose it above all those many other options 4 years ago.</p>
<p>This is just my practical streak talking, but suppose she’d decided on Yale for undergrad instead and she and her family were now upwards of $100K in debt, before taking on another 200K-400K (more?) for a med school education, which is hugely expensive even at a state med school? Tough spot, that. I mean, what if you just can’t afford a full pay undergrad experience and 4 years of professional school? Did anyone hear the NPR segment this week about young women med students at BU who are half a million dollars in debt before earning that MD?</p>
<p>pacheight- I do hear what you are saying. I have a kid, who for various reasons, would NOT have thrived at a school which would have given him an athletic or merit scholarship. (This would not have been a school as good as Rhodes) He even found the top 5 school he attended disappointing in some respects. The student who passes up a school like Yale has to have the maturity to be a good judge (as a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT) of the opportunities the alternate-choice has to offer and be able to see how she/he can thrive there. Curm’s daughter was able to do this. Most students (and parents, too), including my own, have trouble with this.<br>
We are a society of immediate gratification seekers, and the long range plan can be illusive.</p>
<p>agree with kelsmom, further I’d say there are good student life experiences at most colleges and for many kids things turn out just fine. But in reading these posts there’s an impression that Rhodes is similar to Yale in undergrad quality of education and undergrad quality of experience, I don’t agree with that. And the “lesson” comment, somewhere above, is communicating that things are more similar, and that may not be a helpful message to students and parents. I think that kids at Rhodes and Yale can have a great experience, but there is a significant quality difference in that experience. </p>
<p>to pay for private is no easy swing for me but I’d rather drive used cars for a few years because I value the higher quality experience. like most things, it’s a question of values.</p>
<p>Congrats to Cur’s D! Sounds like she has options and that is always good, not just Yale, although that is a very nice option to have…</p>
<p>Just want to say that it doesn’t seem like it has been 5 years since the story began and Cur’s way with words enlightened and entertained many of us here on CC, whether frequent contributors, or longtime lurkers, like me. I, for one, will miss his voice.</p>
<p>Mudgette’s going to Med School; not sure Cur is going anywhere ;)</p>
<p>Hey, his D has four more years of med school! I fully expect to hear from him for the next few years. Otherwise, why am I still here with both Ss out of college? :(</p>