<p>Personally, I think it is unwise to adopt the attitude that it's the last degree that matters when someone is 17 or 18 and to save we'll save the $ for grad school because 'that's what matters. "</p>
<p>First, reality is that the majority of high school students who plan on going on to grad school, especially law or med school, don't do it. Second, IMO, the undergraduate experience is more important for most people. It's where you get the tools you will use to succeed in life and in grad school. It's where most people make their life long friends and try out different political philosophies, interests, etc. </p>
<p>Law school is just an entirely different experience. "Fit" is just a lot more important for undergrad than grad, particularly LS. For the most part, while I admit prestige differs a lot and opportunities do too, there's a much bigger difference between attending Stanford, Duke and Vanderbilt undergrad than there is in attending them as a law student. And, based solely on anecdotal evidence, it's a lot more common to do poorly--or just not extremely well--academically as an undergrad because a particular college is a bad "fit" than it is to do poorly or not excel because of something specific to the LS you attend. Finally, while LS costs a LOT of $, if your son goes to a top LS, you can be relatively confident that he can get a job which will allow him to repay the bills. </p>
<p>If you want a compromise position, tell your son upfront--before offers, if any, are in--that you will pay X amount for his education, where X is the full sticker price of Stanford, including living expenses if you intend to pay those. He can use it all to attend college or if he gets a merit scholarship and chooses to take it, he can have what's left for LS. Let him make the decision.</p>
<p>If he truly likes all three and can see himself there, I'd do some hard thinking on the benefits of going to a new part of the country. A change of scenery, local customs, political hot topics, and economic base can be a big education.</p>
<p>How far ahead of ourselves are we getting? Significant merit scholarships to Duke are very competitive, and to Vanderbilt only a little less so. Obviously, the OP's son is an attractive candidate, based on his Stanford EA admission. But it would take a LOT of scholarship to make Vanderbilt the equivalent of Stanford, and from my perspective not a whole lot less to make Duke a clear choice, notwithstanding that in the airy world of "prestige" it's much closer. The chances of getting a scholarship that large at either university are less than those of getting into Stanford EA.</p>
<p>Excellent points Jonri and we have essentially had nearly that identical conversation with him. He knows exactly the financial situation we are in, which i've outlined above, and he will make a truly informed decision regarding his school choice. The cost/benefit analysis will be entirely up to him. I also agree with your position concerning the "undergraduate experience" and while I'm certain there will be differences at each of these three schools, I'm thinking they will be in form rather than substance. I suspect, that for the most part, the kids attending these schools, and the professors teaching them are all top notch and will all have a substantially similar impact on his outside of class growth and real life education. </p>
<p>Does anyone have a different take on these three schools in particular?</p>
Each year Princeton Review surveys students and parents and comes up with two lists of 10 "dream colleges" for students and parents. For what it's worth (diddly in the real world), both Stanford and Duke nearly always make both lists (i.e. both are popular with students <em>and</em> parents). </p>
<p>GPA and LSAT scores are by far the most important factors in law school admissions. A highly motivated student could surely do well at any of the three colleges mentioned (assuming that all three admitted said student, which is certainly not a given).</p>
<p>Duke appeals to students until they start to look at things more closely. Not slamming Duke-it has some merits- but a lot of it's votes come from kids who are impressed with the basketball team.</p>
<p>"At 17 he says he wants to be a lawyer but as we all know, much can change over the next four years.
Let's assume that he does end up applying and getting accepted at law school, including some expensive prestigious ones. Will you have the $$ 4 years from now to pay for those educational expenses as well? Or is the bottom line" if you get a great scholarship at D/ V AND you want us to pay for Law school at some point then we can't afford Stanford?"</p>
<p>Momofknowitall, I just saw something very interesting on one of the networks (please do not ask which one) the other day regarding 529s. One of the experts on the 529 said that if your child's plan has lost considerable money, wait to tap into it during his or her junior or senior year -- if possible. The market will straighten out, he pointed out, over time. So perhaps, if you say you can afford Stanford or any of the fine schools that interest your son, you can wait a year or two to tap into that 529 after it recovers a bit. </p>
<p>Just wanted to share that. I am, by no means, an expert. I was listening to an expert. Perhaps you should consult your financial planner and see if he or she concurs.</p>
<p>Don't underestimate the cost of having a kid in school on the opposite side of the country from where you live. D is a freshman in New England and we live in the west: trips so far include:</p>
<p>Admitted student weekend during her senior year</p>
<p>Move-in trip for her and for me, including our plane tickets, car, meals
Also ended up buying lots of stuff there, instead of supplying used things like bookcases, which we would have done had she gone to school in the west</p>
<p>Parents weekend for my husband and me</p>
<p>Thanksgiving trip home</p>
<p>Christmas trip home</p>
<p>Spring break is coming up, followed by her trip home for the summer.</p>
<p>It adds up! It sounds like money isn't at the top of your list of concerns, but there is a pretty big hidden cost in this, if your child ends up far away, and you like them to come home for breaks.</p>
<p>Congrats on the Stanford admission. You can't go wrong there!</p>
<p>Her title is refering to the difference between this thread and an earlier one with a similar title (ie, this decision doesn't involve football, in contrast to the other.) She did explain this earlier.</p>
<p>Momreads: Thx for the info on the 529. We did think of that but we frankly weren't prepared to chance any further losses so we have moved the money into a fixed account. It made us sick but, 40K was better than 30K etc...</p>
<p>Travel costs are definitely a concern and that clearly makes Stanford a more affordable option in that respect, but it still would only be a few thousand dollars a year difference at most.</p>
<p>JHS hit the nail on the head, though, when talking about us getting ahead of ourselves. I know the Stanford admission guarantees nothing but I figured based on the statistics, he'd at least be in the running for either the Robertson at Duke or the Chancellor's scholarship at Vandy. If those don't pan out, I think it is fair to say he'll be off to Stanford which is arguably the best of the three and has other intrinsic value for a native Californian. </p>
<p>Thanks so much to all of you for your opinions. They really do help!</p>
<p>the other thread, while involving football, involves academics as well.
i found the title insulting...i guess the author found sports imposing, silly that people instantly think that sports equal lesser academics.</p>
<p>or is it they are threatened by those who excell at both?</p>
<p>jdjaguar: I wasn't intending to insult you by the title of the thread. As one of the earlier posters said, I was contrasting this one with a similar that was posted today regarding a decision concerning a student attending Div. I or Div. II schools for football. To the contrary, my son does want to attend a school with strong athletics because he loves sports and school spirit. That is why he didn't choose any LACs or other fine schools without Div. I sports (Emory or Wash U). Sorry for the confusion.</p>
<p>jdjaguar- relax. Are you trying to pick a fight? If so, do a search for all the threads where people argue that recruited athletes are the dregs of college applicants. This isn't the place.</p>