^^ i think the point was that you were trivializing that an elite education only is important on your resume or in conversation which i believe is false. Of course if someone can’t afford an elite education than it’s not worth it, that is a given.
I put a lot of credence in that top stat kids would thrive being amongst a graduating class of all top stat kids.
Coloradobased- CU-Boulder’s 84% acceptance rate was the highest on the attached New York Times list in 2011. http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_17830151. Last year the acceptance rate was around 80%. A modest decline at most and still an extremely high absolute number.
During the same period Ivy acceptance rates have largely been more then halved from low teens to their current levels of 4-8%.
You state, “I think more students and families are realizing there are acceptable trade offs in going somewhere cheaper and lest prestigious”.
I think the aforementioned stats contradict your comment above and suggest the answer to the OPs original question is that CU is not elite. Doesn’t mean it isn’t a great school for some, but certainly not elite by any measure of exclusivity while the Ivy and other true elites experience increased desirability as evidenced by ever rising applications.
I don’t consider CU elite. My point was that an elite school may not result in a better life outcome. They have actually done studies. What determines success is the person rather than the school. A person with the right attributes will likely do as well in life going to a state school as to an elite school.
I’m not trying to discourage people from choosing to go to an elite school. But not going to one may not be a professional handicap.
If students want to bypass CU to go elsewhere, that opens up more places for those who want to go there. With Boulder continuing to attract companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon, I’m not worried about opportunities for CU graduates.
I think the best reasons to attend CU are (1) because you are already a Colorado resident, (2) you want to live in Colorado while you go to school and perhaps afterward, and/or (3) it has a special program you want to pursue.
But from this list you can see most Boettcher Scholars do go to CU.
@socaldad2002 I have to disagree. I’ve heard far too many being described as Yale educated “ “, Wharton graduate “ “, Harvard educated “ “, etc. I’m not saying that a quality education and career path isn’t achieved from matriculating from numerous other institutions. But, I disagree that graduating from one of these schools doesn’t come up post graduation.
@ShanFerg3 maybe you misconstrued my post. I agree with you.
I had two DD go to CU and one go to UChicago, all are doing great, but the opportunities that UChicago provides seem to far outweigh those for my CU grads (e.g. my DD at UChicago was published author in a reputable journal after only here first year there, heck, when they emailed her they prefaced here name with Dr. assuming she was a PhD., those opportunities are difficult to find at CU). I can cite other opportunities (worldwide) that are available to a few CU students but almost all UChicago students. My opinion is that it helps a whole lot to be surrounded (as in the whole cohort) by individuals that not only have the same intellectual capacity that you have but also the same attributes. CU will never hold anyone back who wants to reach their potential (Boettcher Scholars as an example) but UChicago (or any elite college) is better suited to help you achieve that potential providing you have those particular attributes desired by these schools.
One of my kids graduated with dual EE/Applied Math degree from CU Engineering. She had a number of high level internships and as a result at least one patent to her credit.
There are enough private companies and research labs in the Boulder/Denver area that I think there are opportunities for CU engineering students. As many have pointed out, the aerospace students in particular work on important projects.
I wouldn’t worry about lack of opportunities if one does go to CU.
This article suggests elite schools make a difference more for business students than other majors. Interestingly enough, where you go to school matters least for science majors.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/08/does-college-matter/400898/
@socaldad2002 yes I did. I didn’t realize you were quoting someone else.
If you read the article it says it matters more for business and less for science but the fact remains - it matters. Again you can reach your full potential at CU, but you need to prove yourself because CU just doesn’t have the cohort that elite schools do. It just comes down to being able to choose the students they want vs having to accept marginal students to fill the tuition coffers. I will agree that engineering is the one area that schools like CU can compete with most.
The number of kids who have the option to go to a place like Harvard is so small that arguing whether Harvard us better or not is irrelevant for most students and their families.
CU math department is almost at UCLA level. Probably one of the hardest calculus sequence to be done at CU.
Also, CU is known for its Meteorology program. Many people call it the headquarters of Atmospheric Science in the USA
Opps. Posted before I finished. Is there a difference between Harvard and CU? Sure. Is it something that might change where student goes to school? Only for that small group of kids who can get into any school. Everyone else is going to look at acceptance rates, costs, location, and degree offerings.
In some social circles parents waitlist their kids for the right preschools the minute the babies are born, so they can get into the right private schools, so they can get into Ivy League schools.
Yes, these are “elite” schools, from preschool on, but for the vast majority of students and parents, this isn’t part of the educational experience.
The difference between elite and good enough just may not be important enough to fret about for 18 years.
Coloradobased- “parents waitlist their kids for the right preschools the minute the babies are born, so they can get into the right private schools, so they can get into Ivy League schools.”
I think you are misguided. In the vast majority of cases students (not parents) are the people putting forth the effort to attain admissions to Ivy league schools.
You describe an “elite” college experience as beyond the reach of “the vast majority” at birth, and suggest that those who do attain admissions do so as a result of parental intervention.
Most elite schools are need blind and holistic, consequently prestigious academic opportunities are available to most if not all students with determination, intelligence and ambition. Your suggestion of cronyism as a root cause for success diminishes the achievement of those that have worked hard and thrived.
You use of the word “fret” in a context that makes it interchangeable with “work”, and conclude that it is not worth it. I would suggest a contrary narrative where a proactive stance of hard work through one’s academic career is always worth it, and that when someone works hard they never have to fret.
At least we agree that CU is not elite. 
The prep school edge is real.
“Although public high schools now account for approximately half of the admissions at these top universities, when you look at the per-school percentages, private school students still have a strong edge. According to an article in MarketWatch, 94 of the top 100 Ivy League feeder schools were private.”
^not sure I understand. Public schools are over 50% at most if not all Ivies and top end schools so clearly opportunities exist for all that put in the work.
Is your suggestion that parochial, private, prep or international school students are somehow less worthy or not responsible for their own success? People who attend such schools don’t get in solely based on legacy status nor do they get a pass on hard work once in. In most cases the admissions process is as rigorous as they will experience for elite colleges.
Your reverse classism is factually incorrect and similar in many ways to the diminishing of those who benefit from URM status by the prep school kids who don’t get in.
Deal with the reality… if you work hard you can achieve anything if you are blessed with the raw intelligence required to stand out. If you go to a school you view as “sub” elite it’s no one else’s responsibility but the person you see in the mirror. Doesn’t make you any less of a person just don’t blame others or make excuses for an outcome you control. Fatalism and claims of victimization run contrary to the realities of the current state of college admissions.