I think it totally depends on the field, @blossom. I’m not talking about engineering. For those types of jobs where elite schools are all the rage or elite schoool grads only want to hire other elite school grads, yes, I’ve seen Penn State grads looked down upon or passed over. You’ve clearly never met any thin-skinned Penn grads who recoil whenever someone mistakes their alma mater for Penn State. The horror!
Also, not all Penn State grads attended University Park. There are a lot of lesser-ranked branch campuses out there and plenty of grads from those schools too. If we’re talking about employers who prefer to limit their selections to elite schools, do you really think a Penn State Brandywine or Abington grad is going to get a fair shake?
And is Penn State really that superior to the University of South Carolina for, say, business? That’s the type of distinction I was trying to make in my comment. The original schools being discussed were Colgate and the University of South Carolina. Is it such a stretch to substitute Haverford for Colgate and Penn State for USC?
“Oh, no doubt there are exceptions in both cases.”
I would not call them exceptions. I have my own biases against some elite colleges, but prevalence of spoiled student is not one of them.
I personally believe that strong academics and especially strong business communication skills are at leasts as important for a successful job hunt as graduating from the top college. And it’s never too early to start honing business writing and communication skills. Btw, many of these professional skills would also be very helpful in kids’ personal and social life. It’s hard to believe how many students from elite colleges cannot write a proper inquiry about possible job or internship opportunities, or to even to draft a simple thank you letter. And many professional college career services hardly know any better. If it was up to me, I would offer business communication and job hunting courses in every college (though perhaps I am not well-informed and such courses do exist?). Several times when I helped recent college graduates to draft resumes and navigate through their application and interview process, their applications were always very successful, even in the toughest job market. However, this process is extremely time consuming and requires some experience. I actually seriously consider doing this as a community service after I retire.
There are a lot of factors that will go into the final decision. But kiddo earned the right to a significant say because he worked so hard in HS. But I can say for him weather is no factor at all. Hard to imagine having that discussion because it would be such a different person.
My opinion is that parents should have a big say in what colleges students apply to but less in the final choice once finances are considered. My oldest son is a sophomore at a school he fell in love with. It was certainly not the most prestigious school that admitted him. It was not even the most prestigious school that offered him a full tuition scholarship. But it was the one that made the most sense in many different ways. He is still in love with the school and I am very happy that it was his choice.
(BTW, we did have a list of schools that we would not support applications to. Notre Dame was one of the first ones to make the list)
As for weather, one need not have a disorder for climate to be a huge factor. The student in question knowingly applied to both Colgate and USC. My D shivers in an 80 degree room and thus considered only schools in the eight southernmost states!
I went to the University of Kentucky because I wanted to watch my high school classmate and friend play basketball there, and be in the marching band! Great criteria there. And this was when UK was really terrible, any kid with a diploma from a KY high school got admitted. I had the stats and grades to go anywhere. I was also only 16 and didn’t want to leave home just yet and live in a dorm. I am glad my parents weren’t snobs and didn’t make me go to a “better” school. I had a blast in college, graduated summa cum laude without breaking a sweat, was President of a major campus club, and ended up going to Harvard for grad school. I have been active in the UK alumni association for years and still love watching basketball. The alumni network at USC is phenomenal, as it is at most state flagships. There is a huge USC alumni club in Philadelphia. That is incredibly valuable in looking for jobs and making contacts in new cities, and face it, most young people now are going to move around a lot in their careers.
My older sister went to the “great” school, Vanderbilt. And she was miserable, and transferred after a year to Eastern Kentucky. She has had a fine career as a nurse. My oldest brother also went to EKU and had a fine career as a CPA.
My daughter is a top student. She has fallen in love with Temple and was accepted to its Honors program. Refused to even apply to Penn or Penn State. I had high hopes for her to go to an Ivy or Michigan or CMU. Kids from her HS class have gotten in to all of them. She just did not want to go to a “nerd” school and thinks she will shine at Temple, and she loves the urban campus setting and the art school there. We haven’t pulled the trigger yet, still waiting for two more decisions, but she’s probably going to Temple. I was resisting at first, but it’s her life and I want her to be happy. She is happier being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
Although it is a somewhat emotional decision, it should be made logically. When costs, quality, amenities, etc are broken down and laid out in a logical fashion both parties should find themselves in agreement.
"It’s the pervasive attitude on here that one’s value is proportional to the ranking of the college s/he attended. It’s this notion of a universal “best school”.
I don’t think there is anyone on this board who believes that people who attend elite schools are better PEOPLE or “worth more” from a moral standpoint. We all KNOW that it’s not as though someone from U So Carolina, is destined to mediocrity and everyone from Colgate is living it up.
Who said that if you want a better education you have to attend a northeast college? Not me. I’m sitting here in the midwest.
I would likely push my kid towards Colgate versus U So Carolina because of the things I value, but that’s me. I don’t have to worry about other people’s decisions and they don’t need to justify them to me.
UMichigan is a first class research university that isn’t all that easy to gain acceptance to. So what if the poster has never left Michigan? This doesn’t diminish the excellent quality of University of Michigan.
What is it about this thread that draws so many new posters to it who subsequently disappear? And someone who joined just this afternoon knows Romani’s posting history so well that he can take her to task over statements made “dozens of times”? Ok, I beg your pardon, he’s been a “long time guest.” Now I understand.
The fact of the matter is the OP really has no business judging the decisions of other families. He cannot know everything they know about their family, their child, their finances, and every other possible issue which factored into their decision. Why would he even care one iota?
As for parents and their own children having disagreements in March about where the young adult will attend college, I agree with whomever said that the time for those discussions is BEFORE applications are sent in. If there are certain schools which the parent cannot or will not in good conscience pay for, that should be made clear from the get go. Allowing the student to apply to a school which the parent will not allow him to attend just creates unnecessary conflict and potential resentment down the road.
"Holding qualifications constant, graduates of a selective university are more likely to graduate on time, will tend to find a more desirable spouse, and will earn 20 percent more than those of less selective universities—every year for the rest of their working lives. "
What’s the definition of selective university being referred to? Are we talking about differentiating HYPSM vs Tufts and Georgetown, or are we talking the broader world of selective universities as a whole versus less selective ones?
As for graduating on time, it doesn’t take Ivy-League-level brains to figure out that “lesser” school graduation rates are often driven by finances. As for earning 20% more - well, that may certainly be true, but when I think about my kids’ education, I’m looking to “buy” a certain experience I value - and whether they go into non-profit and earn $40K a year or i-banking and earn $4MM a year is truly all the same to me. But, I’m guessing it’s not the same to you.
