<p>I want my son to find a school he likes, that offers the courses he wants/needs and is affordable for us. I don't care if it's no. 5, no. 50 or no. 500. Am I alone?</p>
<p>No, you are not alone. At least you have me with my D.:-)</p>
<p>Joining the club…the number is not important, the contents are - in how they relate to my child.</p>
<p>add me to the agreement. However my D wants a school where people are intellectual and will have nerdy conversations and are serious about their school work. She isn’t into sports or partying. So we are primarily looking at higher ranked schools. I know she could find some of these attributes at honors colleges, but she also wants small coming from a small school with small classes and tons of teacher interaction.</p>
<p>same here, though the OP should prepare from the backlash that will result from this “controversial” thread by CCers. :p</p>
<p>Two posts really got me thinking about it. One, the Baylor post. The school is getting all kinds of bad press now because it’s chasing a few more points on its SAT avg so that what … it can move up a few spots on some magazine’s rankings. Not impressed.</p>
<p>The other post was the one about bailing when you realize that your college is a bad fit. A poster in there mentioned culture shock as contributing to a poor fit (in that case is was being from the North and going to a Southern school), and it made me think about my son and how neither of us is interested in the Ivy League for him. The reason? Culture shock. I don’t think he’d like it at all. So, maybe we’re crazy for not pursuing the almighty HYP, but I’m not going to chase a number.</p>
<p>polihist, I’m running to lunch. Hope I don’t come back to a firestorm. 
But to head it off, I’m not saying people who really think a certain highly ranked school is the best place for them shouldn’t aspire to that, only that it’s not figuring into our decision.</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay- my D is more into name recognition than she should be. She is 16 and how can she think that she has heard of all the “good” schools. She resists looking at some schools because they are not “good” schools or because “I haven’t heard of them.” I hope she grows out of this soon. </p>
<p>But she is enamored with Dartmouth and I don’t think it is the best fit for her. Yes it is an Ivy but who cares. I went to an Ivy and she isn’t looking at that one because it is obviously not a good fit. I am concerned with less personal attention at Dartmouth and the TAs, and frankly the frat scene also. She is probably on the road to a humanities major and graduate school, where maybe a smaller less intense undergrad college is a better option. A year away, but she wants to apply ED now. She might also have a chance to continue a sport at a D3 school and not at an Ivy D1.</p>
<p>To the extent that rankings reflect a committment to excellence in undergraduate teaching, I’m all for suggesting to S1 and S2 that they aim high. However, once college lists have been made (or agonized over, in S2’s case), if lower-ranked colleges seem to be better fits for the kid, that’s where I’ll encouraged him to apply.</p>
<p>I blame the media.</p>
<p>As the mom of a son with Asperger’s, “fit” is the number one consideration. </p>
<p>I really wish that all of us had the time and money to do a lot of college visits. I think that when students actually visit schools they’ve heard about all their lives, their enthusiasm can wane. </p>
<p>Last year when we were in Boston, I drug my kids through the Harvard campus. They were all spectacularly unimpressed. I thought that at least the girls would think it was cool because of Legally Blonde, but no.</p>
<p>youdon’t say: Count us in though the schools on my daughters’ lists run the gamut from well ranked LACs to a non ranked state school. One of the girls could not possibly care less. The other does lean a bit more towards prestige though it will not be the deciding factor for her at all</p>
<p>Thumb’s down to rankings other than those of the student.</p>
<p>My D also wants a very “intellectual” campus where people learn “for the love of learning and not grades” unfortunately, those tend to be the better ranked schools. I really do not care about the ranking for prestige’s sake. I only care that D will LOVE her college as much as I loved mine.</p>
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<p>I want my son to find a school he likes, that offers the courses he wants/needs and is affordable for us. I don’t care if it’s no. 5, no. 50 or no. 500. Am I alone? <<<<</p>
<hr>
<p>College ranking is only one of many considerations when picking a college.</p>
<p>A college that may not be rated highly “overall” may have a “top notch” program for your child’s major or interests.</p>
<p>For instance… our local state university is UAH - (University of Alabama - Huntsville). It is not highly ranked because it’s not strong in all areas. BUT, it has very strong Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Nursing, and Business programs. The school only has 7,400 students which is probably the reason why there is not a HUGE offering of majors/programs, and some of the other departments are not as deeply developed. </p>
<p>However, for those seeking a great high-tech education for a low cost; this is a great choice. UAH has a very nice-looking campus with lots of new buildings and new dorms. The campus just built a street full of beautiful frat and sorority “mini-mansions” for “greeks” that are interested in that sort of thing. The university is located right next to Cummings Research Park - the second largest research park in the nation (second only to the Silicon Valley - google it and you’ll get the 411). That is why the univ is so strong in these “high tech” areas. Those that graduate in those majors easily find high paying jobs (many of the students work “internships” at a Cummings Research Park high-tech company during their summers and then they get hired “full-time” after graduation. </p>
<p>However, until UAH can show similar strengths in all the rest of its majors and show improvements in other “ranking factors”, it will not have a high overall national ranking.</p>
<p>Although my kids decided to go the flagship univ (University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa - about 250 miles away), some of their classmates have chosen to go to UAH because they will get a fine “high tech” education without much expense (no room and board costs if they commute). The school does have very nice dorms for students who are coming from a distance or from out-of-state. UAH only has 7,400 students (which is a small National University considering that it is a public), so it can be a great choice for someone majoring in a technical field who doesn’t want to go to a “big school.” (It also has fab merit $$ for both in-state & out-of-state students.)</p>
<p>So… I gave you the above story to show you an example of a “3rd tier school” being able to provide a top-notch education for particular majors. As many have said above… you need to look at what school is best for your kid (and your budget). </p>
<p>If your child wants to go to XXXX because it has a great program for your child, then that is the right school for him/her, and no one should make you feel guilty for it.</p>
<p>I have one at Top Ranked LAC and one at utterly not-ranked regional state u. :)</p>
<p>It doesn’t seem to me that what they’re doing, as freshman at least, is all that different.</p>
<p>OP >>>> Am I the only one who doesn’t care about rankings? </p>
<p>I want my son to find a school he likes, that offers the courses he wants/needs and is affordable for us. I don’t care if it’s no. 5, no. 50 or no. 500. Am I alone? <<<<</p>
<hr>
<p>College ranking is only one of many considerations when picking a college.</p>
<p>A college that may not be rated highly “overall” may have a “top notch” program for your child’s major or interests.</p>
<p>For instance… our local state university is UAH - (University of Alabama - Huntsville). It is not highly ranked because it’s not strong in all areas. BUT, it has very strong Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Nursing, and Business programs. The school only has 7,400 students which is probably the reason why there is not a HUGE offering of majors/programs, and some of the other departments are not as deeply developed. </p>
<p>However, for those seeking a great high-tech education for a low cost; this is a great choice. UAH has a very nice-looking campus with lots of new buildings and new dorms. The campus just built a street full of beautiful frat and sorority “mini-mansions” for “greeks” that are interested in that sort of thing. The university is located right next to Cummings Research Park - the second largest research park in the nation (second only to the Silicon Valley - google it and you’ll get the 411). That is why the univ is so strong in these “high tech” areas. Those that graduate in those majors easily find high paying jobs (many of the students work “internships” at a Cummings Research Park high-tech company during their summers and then they get hired “full-time” after graduation. </p>
<p>However, until UAH can show similar strengths in all the rest of its majors and show improvements in other “ranking factors”, it will not have a high overall national ranking.</p>
<p>Although my kids decided to go the flagship univ (University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa - about 250 miles away), some of their classmates have chosen to go to UAH because they will get a fine “high tech” education without much expense (no room and board costs if they commute). The school does have very nice dorms for students who are coming from a distance or from out-of-state. UAH only has 7,400 students (which is a small National University considering that it is a public), so it can be a great choice for someone majoring in a technical field who doesn’t want to go to a “big school.” (It also has fab merit $$ for both in-state & out-of-state students.)</p>
<p>So… I gave you the above story to show you an example of a “3rd tier school” being able to provide a top-notch education for particular majors. As many have said above… you need to look at what school is best for your kid (and your budget). </p>
<h2>If your child wants to go to XXXX because it has a great program for your child, then that is the right school for him/her, and no one should make you feel guilty for it.</h2>
<p>I just wanted to add the following to my previous (very long) post…</p>
<p>The real bottom line can really be the financial bottom line (yours and your child’s future earning potential). In reality there are few (if any) majors that require a person to attend a “top ranked” school in order to be successful. When I look around at the successful people around me - I live in an “upper middle/lower upper class” neighborhood - I don’t see a lot of people who graduated from HYP. I see a lot of people who graduated from good regional state schools, state flagship schools, good LACs, and good privates. </p>
<p>So… in the end, your child’s earning potential, success, and happiness are probably not going to be impeded if he/she goes to a school that isn’t highly ranked. So, there often is no point to threatening your financial bottom line just to send your child to a tier one school.</p>
<p>JL50, exactly! A good HS friend and I were both interested in a certain field. She got into one of the best schools, if not the best school in the country, in that field. I went to a juco and then transferred to a no-name state uni with a good rep in my area. She changed her major after a year. I’ve gone on to have a very successful career in that field (though I opted for the mommy track).</p>
<p>Many paths is all I’m saying.</p>
<p>Glad I came from lunch and no one has gotten bent out of shape! :)</p>
<p>College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.</p>
<p>^^^ That’s as good as Love Thy Safety!</p>