My point is - and I stand by it - and again, we here are not the norm - but if you stopped 20 random HR or hiring people in 5 states (100 in the Northeast), far more would know UGA than Emory. But I say the same of Rice and WUSTL. And the country is far more than the Northeast - which everyone is quoting.
I already noted - in this case I’m only even bringing this up to support OP’s child’s decision.
Just as it has been through his entire journey, OP is perhaps struggling himself with the student’s decision. The student, as I recall, has been accepted to school’s such as UF, UT Austin, U Washington - and I think even OP felt based on rank or perception, UGA was a notch below. I remember one chain he started was - is UGA the new Michigan of the South? Just thinking about that question provides a lot of context to his (the parent’s) thought process or as I see it - trying to justify his studen’t decision if they choose what OP has life perception as maybe not a strong as a school.
With a UGA GPA of 4.3 (note, their calc is “lower” than other schools so a 4.3 there might be a 4.6 at UF) and a 1503 SAT/34 ACT, the student will be in fine company.
So I work for an Atlanta company and yes, we have far more UGA than Emory people (makes sense by size of the school) but I would hesitate to say - I’d go to Emory over UGA because the student likes what UGA has to offer. At Emory, you don’t have huge Greek, you don’t have football games, you don’t have the insane college spirirt and huge campus.
What you do have is a gorgeous campus several miles outside the city center, a more academically focused student body, and yes a much higher US News ranking. And for a science oriented student, access to medical type facilities.
And yes, Emory will be more geographically diverse - as they have 28% from Va up and 27% from the Southeast and 8% from the midwest, etc. But don’t forget, this is in part from the fact that Georgia is one of the states - very few top kids are leaving - because the state buys in their attendance and so this impacts geographic diversity.
But this goes back to fit - and I’ve seen it first hand. My daughter turned down these same schools (not Emory as she was WL) but UF, UGA Honors, etc. and even Washington & Lee - in order to attend College of Charleston Honors. Why? Because she felt she belonged and it didn’t matter that I wouldn’t have made that choice. And she’s had opportunities to meet diplomats, ambassadors, has several professional mentors via the school, and will work for our state this Summer in a Civil Rights role at good coin for a poli sci internship ($20 an hour because many are for $0 an hour). Now, we didn’t know that, when she started, she would have access to mentors and diplomats - so that was an added bonus.
The truth is, UGA / UF, etc. are more akin to Rutgers or Penn State or Washington - they are strong flagships with many traditions and offerings whether it be Greek, sports, other campus attributes.
An Emory, while ranked lower and lesser known,is more akin to a - for NE purposes - a Penn, etc.
We are talking McIntosh Apple to Granny Smith Apple - both are yummy but they are different apples.
And through the OP’s journey - there’s been lots of threads created by him, it’s clear (to me anyway) that the daughter prefers UGA - and I’m simply supporting him with the notion it’s a fine choice.
So the question asked of me is how much more an elite school would I need to pay full? We set up a budget - and anyone who didn’t provide any potential of merit wasn’t on the list. So we weren’t applying nor would we get into a Harvard/Yale/Princeton - but if that was a possibility, I don’t know if my thought process on full pay would change. My daughter was turned down at Rice and Emory (a mean, a WL is a rejection is 99% of cases) and didn’t stay on the WL at W&M - but fortunately, I wouldn’t have needed to make the decision if it came up because my daughter would have chosen C of C over Rice or Emory and did vs. W&L just as my son would have chosen his school (Alabama) over WUSTL had he had the choice (he didn’t)…but he was sold the day he visited. I had to convince him to stay on the WUSTL waitlist - he didn’t care he wasn’t accepted. But no, I would not have paid $80K for WUSTL…we had a budget and we were sticking to it and yes, looking back, I do like that i’m out maybe $150-175K for two kids college educations, who both seem to be keeping up with the Joneses from other schools. And it’s not going to provide any strain on my financial future.
And I think that’s where OP is - his daughter was sold on UGA over these other large school options and he is the one struggling. But he should be at peace with his daughter’s decision.
She, not the school or school name, will make her success in life. There are heroes from Hofstra and unsuccessful people from the Ivys and other top 20 schools.
This student is seeking law school or perhaps a Poli Sci major - and frankly, short of a few schools (and that’s for a student, who perhaps want a career in Wall Street which doesn’t seem to be this student), a poli sci or other related social science is not something I would pay top dollar for. I’d say it for Law School - and since you can see which colleges people go to Law School from (for example, Harvard has enrolled students from 174 colleges including from schools like Fairleigh Dickinson, Lamar, Arkahsas, Arizona, Cal State LA, Northridge, Nevada Reno, Wyoming, Kentucky, etc. - choosing to go to UGA over Emory (as the student appears to want to do) will not hinder chances - especially if she takes advantage of all that UGA will offer her with the increased mentorship that will be available in Honors.
People assume that the big name cache guarantees things that it simply doesn’t. And for a student that doesn’t yet have even the foggiest of ideas about what might lie ahead, I see Emory as a different experience but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s one that will put the student ahead in life vs. UGA. That will be dependent upon the student and not either school’s name.
Hope that makes sense.
OP - you’ve done a great job raising a top student. Her hard work paid off with a lot of wonderful future opportunities. She’s chosen one. She’s learned to love it, already starting her social journey with the roommate thing, etc.
It’s time to let her fly a bit, stand back, guide when she needs support, but to let her make the decisions that will impact her future.
Thanks
(does that school exist??) but to me, T20 is pretty rarified 