I certainly hope so! This is what happens when you don’t read every post in a thread. 
Although I might add that it is a perfectly reasonable goal for the parent of very bright kids who has an EFC of roughly $0. $30K of merit or full-tuition or the like is not going to do it.
We were in that position.
I have read every post in this thread, I am not entirely sure why. Likely just out of curiosity in regard to everyone’s perspective.
None of us are able to put ourselves in the specific circumstances of the OP. We come from our own perspectives based on our children and our frames of reference. Clearly the OP’s son is a competent kid and he will go as far as he chooses to, and he can accomplish that at MSU.
I would have been disappointed as well given the choices he had and how hard he worked to make those choices available to himself. This is of course is with all things being equal. To have a couple of the top schools in the country available to myself for one eighth of the full cost of attendance is something I would not have been able to pass up nor would I have understood or supported my child’s decision to do so. Again, all things being equal. At the expense involved the student could have put themselves through school if they chose to.
This is my rationale and my reasons, they have nothing to do with his nor should they. I don’t doubt for a minute that this focused young man will be very successful. Best wishes to him, and his family!
It’s even better if you apply to the less competitive college Early Decision (if that option is available). It can make for a very relaxed and pleasant senior year, as well as a successful college experience.
Just don’t aim too low.
One of the many reasons why, despite spending 7+ years as a U of M student, I do not and have never lived in Ann Arbor. I need a healthy barrier between me and the undergrads 
I discovered too late in my image search for “flogging a dead horse” that CC doesn’t support images. Dang.
^^^^^LOL
This thread has surely been played out. Maybe time for closure??
Mother of pearl, YES. There is nothing more to be gleaned here. The carcass is picked clean.
I would like to thank both sides of this discussion for keeping me highly entertained. :0
Going back multiple pages on the topic of picking school because of food choices, sports facilities other “fluffy” factors vs academic rigor.
I think making the choice on a fluffy factor is a complete reasonable approach. It comes down to where the fit is right. I know of a kid at the most rigorous school on his list and he is completely miserable In contrast, a kid who chose what might be perceived as less rigorous has had a a great experience and has gotten internships and other positions that has set her up for future success.
Ha ha! One of my coworkers’ children came in to visit her as he just got back from his freshman year of college – and he was wearing his Michigan State t-shirt! So, naturally, I spat at him since he’s clearly unworthy. (/sarcasm)
@Pizzagirl, was he drunk?
Consolation, when S1 was in third grade, he used to come home and head straight for a book or the computer, saying “I need to feed my brain.” If only his third grade teacher were still around to see how wildly wrong she was about him…
To clarify, I wasn’t referring to financial payback with regard to one school over another. Potential salary was never in S’s calculus for determining college choices or employment decisions. It was all about the kind of work he’d be doing and who he’d be doing it with.
“blossom, would you let your kid apply to a college that you wouldn’t want them to attend? I feel like I’m missing something here.”
These things are relative. Everybody wants their kid to apply to a safety. But the parent’s (and student’s) enthusiasm about the safety may vary depending on whether the student got into the reaches or not. If Michigan State were the only school the OP’s child got into, we wouldn’t have this thread.
From the very first post, “He has wanted to attend MSU since he was in elementary school , and he did a wonderful job of selling us throughout the admissions process.”
The son’s “safety” school was essentially his dream school from the day one. I still don’t get what is so wrong with that?
Lots of top kids don’t even bother to apply to elite schools. Again, what is so wrong with that? I feel like I’m " missing something here" too.
Noticed that the thread directly underneath this one is “4 out of 5 kids accepted at all 8 ivies picked Harvard”
Only on cc…
@greeninohio, I have nothing to add to this except to say that I appreciate your sense of humor and I get your perspective.
This completely cracked me up:
I don’t think it matters who you’re vomiting next to…I really don’t.
As well as:
I am now focusing my attention on getting my two youngest sons into MIT and Yale, respectively - and getting my “rising” sophomore to at least take the Honors section of Algebra II.
I am a fan.
" I am a fan. " Well then, my fan favorite was “Was he drunk.?” Great timing, great response.
I liked that one too.
@greeninohio - all you had to do was answer post #1 with post #470 and you would have been done LOL