<p>I was a horrible student in high school (C+ average), but after a successful year at a small private junior college, I managed to transfer to a pretty good national university. Not a week went by that I didn't have to fight back the urge to drop out due to feeling overwhelmed with the work. But I hung in and eventually graduated with honors.</p>
<p>Probably the main thing that kept me going was that I was proud to be going there, and having a degree from there would mean I would forever have an official tie to something that was physically beautiful, above where I'd been (in high school), and above where people thought I could go. If I had been going to a drab college with an average reputation, I don't know if it would have provided me with the inspiration to continue. Did anybody else have a similar experience?</p>
<p>I think this would make more sense if it was “Another reason to go to the best college you can get into AND CAN AFFORD.”</p>
<p>There are just too many horror stories about people who have mortgaged their futures with huge student loan debt just to get a diploma from a “name brand” university.
If you can afford it, or get good fin aid, great! If not, you’re a lot better off staying at a drab university with a reasonable price tag.</p>
<p>Agree, get the BEST education you can afford…I laugh when parents complain about costs of a good education then drive away in their Mercedes to their shore house :)…I’d rather eat Ramen noodles to give my children the best education possible…</p>
<p>…or pay mega bucks for prep schools & then complain about college costs! (even when their public school system was top notch!) Life style choices.</p>
<p>schmaltz I think that’s very well said. The beauty and specialness of a college campus can be a physical testament to the importance of education, and the possibilities education creates. (I don’t mean possibilities in $$$, but in greater understanding, new ways of seeing, a solid foundation to build on…inspiration, as you say.) And yes, that connection to the place that lasts a lifetime and really becomes a part of who you are. I am looking for these things as we look for a school for D-- a place she can be proud of all her life. </p>
<p>(And yes to others-- I know so many people who sigh that there’s no money for college…just back from their place in the Bahamas!)</p>
<p>The only thing that I would remind prospective students of is that they shouldn’t base their “perfect” school on other people’s perspectives. To some a top Ivy is the only school worth going to, to others a lesser known LAC or state school might be the school that makes them shine. Don’t get caught up in the labels and the ridiculous notion that if you’re not going to a school that’s thought to be a top school by others that your education won’t be worth as much. That’s not true.</p>
<p>My S is at a drab university with a reasonable price tag. There were a couple of places he liked better, but the financial aid package at his current school was the best and it has an excellent reputation in his major. Bottom line … he loves it and is getting a lot of experience in his major that he probably wouldn’t get elsewhere. He will graduate with some debt, but not nearly as much as he would if he’d gone to his first choice. Drab is as drab does, and even fourth-tier no-names have pockets of excellence.</p>
<p>*I think this would make more sense if it was “Another reason to go to the best college you can get into AND CAN AFFORD.”</p>
<p>There are just too many horror stories about people who have mortgaged their futures with huge student loan debt just to get a diploma from a “name brand” university.
If you can afford it, or get good fin aid, great! If not, you’re a lot better off staying at a drab university with a reasonable price tag. *</p>
<p>Very true…and if you keep your options open, you may not even have to choose a “drab” university. </p>
<p>But, I get your point about forever being tied to a place that is beautiful. My university was a UC and just ok looking (nothing that warms my heart). My kids’ campus is beautiful, and they do enjoy that aspect.</p>
<p>Of course, there’s a downside to an idyllic setting. When my Dd returns to her college, a few years after graduating, she says, “I really miss this place! I wish I could go back and do it all again!”</p>
<p>Yeah, you don’t want to be one of those kids who come up in here in May and are all like, “I didn’t get any money from my top choice schools and now I have to go to Stinkbug U! Aaacck!!!” You should at least be able to tolerate your financial and academic safety schools.</p>
<p>Not quite sure I see that as a downside. Having lived in beautiful place for four years and missing it later is not a good reason to forego the experience of living there in the first place.</p>
<p>On the flipside, I think going to a gorgeous campus is nice but it is certainly not necessary to get a top notch education. Look at MIT. Its campus has a few nice buildings (and few goofy-looking ones too), but the majority of campus has the concrete utilitarian look of an undistinguished State U. It’s not ugly, but there is no wow factor to it either. But what goes on inside those concrete buildings is loaded with major wow factor.</p>
<p>There are only two situations that I can recall where the rank and prestige of a school would matter: if you want to go to graduate school and then work in academia, usually people like to hire faculty from Harvard than from Iowa State (nothing against people from Iowa), and second if you’re looking to get hired at think-tanks or on wall street out of college with only a BS. Top medical school, top law school, top graduate schools, good industry jobs, all of those things can be attained by going to a decent/lessthanawesome school. Might as well save yourself the money, the stress, the competition, and your sanity. You’re also probably much more likely to get to the top later on if you don’t go to an undergraduate college that will kick your ass.</p>
<p>^^^^, once again, a degree from a “known” school pays far bigger dividends then a degree from a third rate state school…However, pay for the education you can afford,but don’t “save” on an education by going to a lesser school,though you afford better…There IS a difference…The problem is the lower regarded schools have many students that don’t graduate,and those that do wind up in jobs that didn’t require a college degree a generation ago…i was surprised to read the graduation rate of students that attend a CC,very poor</p>
<p>For example,East Stroudsburg State vs Bucknell in PA</p>
<p>East Stroudsburg 4 yr graduation rate—28%
Bucknell----84%
Shippensburg State-47.8%
Villanova–84%</p>
<p>Why the disparity in 4 yr graduation rates??..If you can get the same/similar education at a lesser cost,why would graduation rates be so vastly different?? I realize there are many factors in graduation rates, but it gets back to the fact many people attend college that ,perhaps,shouldn’t…I think spending $$ for 2 years or whatever and drop out is a much more significant “waste” of money then attending a more costly school</p>
<p>Even drab colleges with average repuations can have fantastic programs for which they are known, fabulous professors, wonderful, stimulating classes.</p>
<p>During one college tour in a large city, we heard that many schools hire the same faculty members on an adjunct basis. Students at schools with tuition of $35,000, $25,000 and $15,000 may each have the same professor teaching the same class.</p>
<p>When my D was attending local CC, she had the same teachers that taught the SAME course at flagship U. The big difference was she had free parking at CC, smaller classes, practically NO tuition and great food (they had a GREAT culinary arts program at CC). She was able to transfer to dream U with her great grades from CC & was well-prepared for the coursework there from her teachers who provided as much individualized attention as she wanted. The savings from her 3 semesters at CC helped make dream U more affordable from our perspective.</p>
<p>I think going to a school that you really love, populated with enjoyable people you relate to, can make all the difference in the world to your success at that institution. I see that now with my D. She’s been a high-achiever in general, but frankly I was on top of her a lot until now. So I was really worried that away from home and on her own she might slack off too much and fail at school. I haven’t seen her grades yet, but she loves college so much I don’t think she’d ever allow herself to ruin things such that she couldn’t stay. And with high graduation rates there, her friends are likely to stick around too.</p>
<p>My friend’s D is a freshman at a big public university. She was put in a forced triple. After investing a lot of time in her two roommates and liking them a lot, you can imagine how distressing it is for her now to learn that both of them plan to drop out/transfer. I had thought that was just really bad luck, but the 28% graduation rates cited above show it to be the norm at some schools. That has to make for a less pleasant environment than a school where your friends will likely still be attending 3 years from now.</p>
<p>Agree that it would be very distressing to find that the folks you bonded with were dropping out. Both of my kids are going to a great private U, where their friends all are on track to graduate on schedule. Our state flagship has a lower % graduation rate that the school the kids are attending as well.</p>
<p>The U my S graduated from & D still attends is an expensive private U, but we are glad that they are thriving there. I know that many do thrive at in-state flagship U (my friend has 3 sons–2 are getting their EE degrees there & one got his EE from the same private U my S graduated from & is now getting his masters at in-state flagship U). It was a lot cheaper for them to follow their course, but worked OK for us to follow the course we did. There are many paths to the same goal–bankruptcy is one to be avoided.</p>