I wouldn’t put too much credence in these lists, but they’re interesting nonetheless. Pleased to see my alma mater, Michigan, on both lists, beating out 3 Ivies with the students (Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown) and 4 with the parents (Columbia, Penn, Dartmouth and Brown), as well as many other very good private institutions (Chicago, Duke, JHU, Northwestern to name a few).
It’s also interesting that the students’ list includes both Columbia and Penn but not Cornell, while the parents’ list includes Cornell but neither Columbia nor Penn. It’s not only New York City that’s hot with young people, but also big cities in general. And it’s rather surprising to me that the parents’ list includes NYU (suggesting they have no problem sending their kids to NYC), but not Columbia. Though I suppose this could in part reflect NYU’s prominence in some popular programs like Tisch (performing arts) and Stern (for undergraduate business) that Columbia can’t match.
Notre Dame also makes the parents’ list but not the students’. Different attitudes toward religion? Location? Other factors?