<p>toneranger</p>
<p>Agree completely. In our case, my son is looking only at small LACs that a lot of NE people haven't heard of. The tone I get (though people are trying to be polite, I'm sure) is, "Why wouldn't he try for one of the best schools?". Well, in our opinion, these ARE the best. It's hard not to care what other people think, even when they are flat-out wrong.</p>
<p>Toneranger - The people who give you poor vibes about Schreyer Honors College at Penn State are just ignorant, so I wouldn't spend one second worrying about their opinion. People tuned in to education know that it is a great honor to be admitted to that program (I would say equivalent to being admitted to some of the most "prestigious" colleges) and that it is a great program to attend. Maybe you haven't realized how ignorant many people are about education, regardless of how well-to-do they are. Example: I live in the suburbs of Philadelphia and many of my neighbors have no idea where or what Swarthmore is. My daughter transferred there from another college this year, and my neighbors have asked me where it is, if she is commuting (we are about 50 miles away), and what school the students there usually socialize with, since it is an all-girls school (this last from a Princeton graduate)!!!! You know that your son is at a great school with other top students and all kinds of opportunities - who cares what those people think! And also, perhaps some of the students who went to "big schools out of state" were not admitted to Penn State Main Campus, or were only admitted under the condition that they go during the summer before college. It is not a shoo-in to be admitted there for everyone.</p>
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Also, some people choose to send their kids to private schools for K-12 or for 9-12, while we sent our kids to public schools, and told them that if they did their best and took advantage of the opportunities available to them, they would not be at a disadvantage when they applied to college.
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Momoftwo, you seem O.K. with your decision to use the public h.s. It worked for you & your family. Many people feel that the local public h.s. is very inferior to the available privates, and would make any sacrifice necessary to go the private route. It is such an individual choice, with family values & economics & traditions all coming into play, that we can't sit back and judge anyone else's decision. Maybe the people who have fancy cars & homes, but choose less prestigious schools for college, have darn good reasons for doing so.</p>
<p>mother of two - yes, you're right. The ivies have good "private label" recognition around here and that's about it. We have a friend who has a son at Haverford College. He gets tired of explaining that he's not saying Harvard. Unbelievable. We gave up on mentioning Schreyer due to puzzled looks we get plus the PSU name is good on its own as far as we're concerned. Good luck to your daughter at Swarthmore - I hear it's a wonderful school.<br>
Oh, and the kids who to to big OOS schools - they don't even apply to PSU. Maybe they fear that they won't get in - but they bash it in any case. And most of our top students use PSU as a deep safety.
One last note: Our son is majoring in business and was a top student in high school. We constantly get asked - "Why didn't he go to Wharton?" Hah! Like he could go anywhere he wants. Clueless souls. And yes, it's best to ignore them.</p>
<p>StickerShock - I hope I did not sound like I was judging anyone else's decision to send their kids to private K-12 or 9-12 school instead of public school. I was simply trying to give reasons why some people's priorities for how to spend their money might make private college unaffordable, while for others it might be affordable. Everyone should make the choices which are best for their child and for their family, without judging anyone else's choices. </p>
<p>And Toneranger - we are definitely in agreement. The people who "need to know" have heard of Schreyer and Swarthmore, and the rest aren't worth worrying about.</p>
<p>I'm a parent paying more a private lesser-known school than our well-regarded public, University of Colorado. Here's why: I liked the idea of her going away to school - and going away doesn't mean 45 minutes up the road from where D grew up. There was a very specific reason - and a very specific program - my D wanted out of the private, a program that would give her opportunities CU-Boulder wouldn't. With a grant she received from the private, and some financial aid, we are not paying dramatically more than we would have for Boulder, where she'd be unlikely to get any aid. Also. one of the reason I've always worked outside of the home was to have financial options - such as an option for a private university - and I'm glad I can give my D an experience in which she's thriving. However, had she chosen Boulder, I would have been very supportive: it's an outstanding institution where, with a minimum of effort on her part to deal with large classes & less 'customer service', she'd get a very good education. I don't know about publics in the northeast, however, the midwest and the west have terrific publics where the education is often equal to - and often superior to - pricy privates. Parents who automatically assume that a private school is better just because it's smaller and more expensive -- and I haven't come accross those on this forum, btw -- are naive & underinformed and likely snobbish to boot.</p>
<p>My wife & I made the decisions on K - 8, and after considerable analysis decided there was no better outcome for private than for public school students in the program my kids were in. If there had been, then they may have ended up in private school. We looked at the HS situation similarly and found that the public HS actually did a better job of placing higher performing kids in top colleges than did the best privates. S (& now younger brother) also wanted the public, so public it was. When it came time for college, we voiced no preference (aside from the obvious showing of restraint by an alumnus). College was a decision for S to make, (fortunately, $$ did not enter into it). We would have been happy and supportive with the local public U (for which we have a great respect), a smaller, so-called mid-tier LAC, or a private research university. It was his fit, college experience, and personal decision, that mattered. His list was balanced with public & private and there was careful consideration. Any of them would have been worth it, if he was happy.</p>
<p>How about comparing the best of both worlds. The best of the state universities and the best of the LACs. There are a lot of apples/oranges comparisons here. Here's another apples/oranges but I'm trying to take out some obvious differences - try and avoid the big vs. little, good fit vs. bad fit. Those are pretty obvious. </p>
<p>How about the "value equation"? Assume full paying families - no merit or need based fin aid. Assume graduation in 4 years.</p>
<p>Compare in state (for those lucky enough to be in-state) U Virginia/U Michigan at $20k per year vs. Williams/Amherst at $50k per year. Are the privates worth $120k more in the end?</p>
<p>It isn't a fair comparison though, since OOS for my kid at UMich is over $40K.</p>
<p>That comparison only works if you have a viable in state public institution to consider.</p>
<p>I think the comparison is between top tier full pay vs. lower tier free ride or substantial merit award. Whether the schools in question are public or private isn't so relevant.</p>
<p>Well, there are still other good in states - Berkeley, UNC, Wisconsin, others. So the question basically still stands. Or just put yourselves in the shoes of an in-stater and ask the question.</p>
<p>I'd use a comparison such as #34 on the USNews Rankings: Boston College, NYU and University of Rochester, all very expensive, compared to University of Wisconsin, also #34, at $26,784, tuition, room and board OOS.</p>
<p>Comparisons in the 20 -100 USNR rankings would seem to create a tough question. We had to compare WF and U of Richmond at full cost to almost free in-state tuition at PSU (honors). Since my son ended up liking big schools by the time selection time came around, PSU (with $ saved for grad school) won hands down. The other top 20 big schools on his list rejected him, so no choice there. I still think it boils down to the indvidual student and family. I think most "small-school" kids would hate PSU.</p>
<p>Worth has to consider "alternative uses of educational funds". It's not Ivy at $190k vs. State U. at $70k, but Ivy vs. State U. PLUS $120k in unrestricted educational funds. </p>
<p>Then the discussion becomes more interesting. Of course, it is academic if 1) you don't have the funds in any case: 2) you can't creatively imagine how you might spend $120k on education outside of undergrad tuition/room and board; 3) you have plenty of money for other things over the $190k, so it doesn't matter.</p>