Any experience with kids who hold that mistaken notion?
We see kids turn their nose at in-state options all the time, though often it’s because they don’t want to be close to home, which is understandable. But I wonder how much of it is due to the above sentiment as well.
This was actually inspired by an example on CC where a kid wants Wisconsin even though its financially imprudent over NYU, which would be cheaper and financially feasible because of scholarships. He seems hung up on the engineering ranking, which, IMO, seems crazy to me. It’s almost as if the feeling is, if a school gives me a discount, it can’t be good.
I see that attitude in some families, and it’s not just confined to college selection. Clothes, cosmetics, appliances, home remodeling choices, and cars are just some things I’ve known families to make decisions on based on the perceived value of a (higher cost) brand name. They live to the edge of their means for an image.
I think some low income families fall into the trap too. They spend so many years scraping by and doing without, that it’s understandable they feel like jumping at the chance for their kids to be like (what they perceive) everyone else is. For probably the first time ever they can borrow money without any regard for whether or not they can pay it back. I understand the huge temptation.
I suspect another cause that drives it is fear. I think people worry that their kid won’t be successful if they don’t attend a brand name school, and some posts on CC don’t help that. Some publics are routinely trashed as bargain basement options. In others it appears to me that if a family is assumed to low be income a certain tier of school is acceptable, but as soon as it’s understood there’s a little money floating around a different tier is suggested instead of, not in addition to, the original suggestions. I think it’s difficult for low income families to believe the advice that their kid will have a decent career out of local State U. when it’s given by someone who wouldn’t have sent their own kid there.
I see parents who feel that OOS schools are better because they cost more. This is a weird way of thinking- does this mean that the OOS kids ( who pay double) somehow get a better education than the in state kids?
On the contrary, I always pay a lot of attention when something is being sold “for less.” Of course I’m not interested in paying anything more than something is worth, but “costs less” may come in lower quality, unaccounted-for fees, poor facilities. So it behooves the buyer to do due diligence. Then of course, ceteris paribus, spend as little as you need to spend for the same quality!
Outside the realm of college costs, I think we’re all familiar with certain airlines that offer competitive fares but then nickel and dime you for choice of seats, carry-on luggage, stowed luggage, food, etc. The published fare (even the one you get in an online booking service) can be deceptive.
Kid want to go to OOS publics for lots of reasons - size, majors, sports teams, name recognition. A deterrent is usually that they cost more. I have never heard of a kid preferring Penn State over Rutgers because it costs more (they want to get away, don’t like the RU campus etc). And most OSS public are still cheaper than a private college if one is ful pay. Is the kid mentioned in the OP really hung up on engineering ranking, or is he not sure about the non-campus of NYU and the lure of big time sports teams? If the difference in cost is not that dramatic, the cost of living in NYC vs Madison should be considered. The cost of everything from a burger to a bus ride is likely higher in NY. But if U Wisc is unaffordable, why is it even under consideratin.
Though admit rates can be manipulated (witness USC and others offering guaranteed transfers so that they don’t have to count those kids as part of the fall entering class, thus artificially bringing down their admit rate).
And of course, there was a time in the recent past when UChicago’s admit rate was around 40%. People in the know still considered it one of the top universities in the country back then.
@PurpleTitan It’s similar, for us. The very selective school also costs more (and is unaffordable). Does that make it even more desirable? I’m not sure. Maybe.
The OOS public that is not selective, is offering her full tuition and a room and board stipend. It’s not her number one choice, but it’s where she is going.
She is at a private high school, on scholarship, in a very affluent area. I call it The Bubble. I’m fairly certain there is an element of the more you pay for something, the better it is.
Admit rates do not tell anything close to the full story on how selective a college is. In particular, just seeing the admit rate says nothing about the strength of the applicant and admit pools.
In my family, bargain deals are what we looking for although my younger one would focus more on the brand name than the actual cost. The same applies to choosing colleges.
Don’t know much at all about NYU, but never knew UW trumped it in kids’ eyes. I can understand wanting UW-Madison as it is a fantastic place for the campus and academics. Finances are a fact of life, however.
There are less expensive public U’s that definitely are better in some majors that top tier private schools. Math, computer science, Chemistry and many other fields can be top 10 at some flagships while schools that currently outrank them per USN&WR do not have the better departments.
A friend’s daughter had that exact experience. She was deciding between CU-Boulder (instate) and Boston University. Her Ivy-bound friend told her, “You can’t go to Boulder, it doesn’t cost enough!”
There’s something about a school that isn’t your state school that seems somehow more exotic, credible, less like settling, more correct, etc. Where I work, sometimes a consultant will be called in to deal with something that is going on for various reasons. Their title might be very similar to my own, and they can make the very same recommendation for solving the problem that I do, but their advice is viewed as more credible. It has always struck me a bizarre.
There are also people who think that an OOS state school will automatically “get” their child a job because of the large alumni network. There are people who falsely believe that spending $50,000 a year somehow means that it is the schools responsibility - entirely- to find their child employment. They do not recognize the role of the student, and fail to understand that what the student does during his/her four years is a very important part of the process.
if you go to a supermarket in huntsville,alabama and you by a can of coca cola for .50 cents and you also go to a fancy restaurant in NYC that serves coca cola by the can and it is $6.95 for a can is it better somehow in nyc?
You aren’t paying for a can of Coke in a restaurant. You are paying to sit at a table with a tablecloth, damask napkin, and to have someone (who also likes food, beverages, not to mention a roof over his/her head) pour your drink into a glass with ice cubes. And then have someone wash that glass.
I can wash my car in my driveway for about 15 cents, net. Water, detergent, chamois cloth, a few old newspapers and paper towels.
I can pay the guy at the carwash to wash it for 8.95 and he’s paying LESS for the water and chamois because he’s buying in bulk. But I’m not paying for water. I’m paying for someone ELSE to get wet, have newsprint on their hands, have to refill the spritz bottle with windex, etc.
No, it’s that it’s comparing apples and applesauce.
A better comparison would be the cost of a can of Coke in a fancy restaurant in NYC and a can of Coke in a fancy restaurant in Huntsville, or a can of Coke from a supermarket in Huntsville and a can of Coke from a supermarket in NYC.