“you would have been done LOL.” I have been thinking the same thing. You have a kid who loves MSU, wants to go there, and it’s a great school that is within budget. Case closed. But then adult expectations come in-whether from parents, , teachers, guidance counselors, or even paid college “consultants.”
And I’m certainly not saying that options shouldn’t be explored. It just seems like sometimes some adults get involved and sometimes the process becomes much more complicated than it often really needs to be.
CountingDown, so sorry. My son’s 3rd grade teacher let my son write programs that would set up math problems for kids to practice and let him write a pick your adventure type game on the class computer. She was a gem.
OP: “My son didn’t choose Saginaw Valley State University… good grief”
I thought that comment might start another long string of posts from SVSU Cardinal posters about what is wrong with SVSU, how SVSU is just as good as MSU, and NU, and how MSU is trying to be elitist. Lol
"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."
To Hanna’s point, it’s the relative-ness of where he did get in. He did swing - and connected with the ball.
Greeninohio, of COURSE my co-worker’s MSU-going son was drunk when he came to visit her! Sheesh! What kind of question is that! He took Beer Pong 101 and Shots 102 this past semester, duh.
Yes, he did . It is still unclear as to why (but maybe I missed that somewhere). Was it his idea, his parent’s , his guidance counselor.? I am only going by what the OP said in his first post-that his kid had wanted to go to MSU since he was in elementary school and that the school did a “wonderful job of selling us through the admissions process.”
MSU is out-of-state and was substantially more expensive until relatively late in the process. We knew that Northwestern / Chicago / Notre Dame would be affordable due to our income all along.
I don’t think the NMF scholarship that covered room and board was confirmed until April. When he did not get “matched” through Questbridge and was deferred through EA at Notre Dame we had more or less settled on Kentucky with a secondary goal of trying.to maximize FA at MSU.
Being accepted RD at Amherst and NU was a bit of a surprise. The NU acceptance and FA package helped significantly with scholarship money at MSU. They (MSU) consider FA awards from other AAU schools.when adjusting their own awards.
Time for a reality check, gang. This is a successful student who was accepted at Amherst and Northwestern. The skills that led him so far will be developed at MSU and, because he is excited to be in Lansing, he will likely be successful in his pursuits.
The college admission process is about the child and not the parents. The best fit is not necessarily the college with the best ranking or reputation. While there are children who may choose the wrong college for bad reasons, this is not one of those cases. Choosing between three fine options is a third world problem at best.
I urge anyone who is entering the college admissions process read Frank Bruni’s book “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be”. I read it soon after my daughter completed her college search and it helped put the whole experience into persecutive. There are many paths to success in life and going to HPY (or others in the “top 20”) is not necessarily that path.
@anonymous26, the question of whether or not an elite college improves post-college outcomes has been studied ad nauseam, and it has been discussed ad nauseam on CC.
Despite going to Columbia for grad school, Frank Bruni is in the “where you go doesn’t matter” camp. Fine. There are plenty of people in the “where you go DOES” matter camp, and the numerous studies that support their perspectives should not be discounted. For one, it is pretty clear that going to an elite school helps low-income students who otherwise would not have the connections and support that such a school provides.
In short, there are a lot of factors to take into account when determining if a better school will make a difference. Perhaps it will; perhaps it won’t, largely depending on the characteristics of the student. Frank Bruni’s perspective should of course be considered, but his view is not the only view. (Just as his anti-Catholic diatribes in the New York Times op/ed pages shouldn’t be considered the only valid view on the Catholic Church, for example.)
@HappyAlumnus I agree with you 100%. All perspectives are needed and there is no one correct answer. I just thought the direction this thread called for another perspective.
Thank you, greeninohio, for explaining all that. I am so glad it has worked out for your son to attend a school he has always wanted to go to. Best of luck to your son at MSU and have fun visiting your old stomping grounds!
OP, I’m sure you’ve heard of that study that says kids who got accepted to elite schools but choose to attend less elite end up doing just as well later on in life? Your kid’s future is determined by who he is much more than where he went to school. This is especially true for STEM majors. Amherst/LACs in general are not known as STEM schools. Northwestern is more known for its Kellogg business school outside the Midwest, not engineering. Most engineering majors get their degree from state schools. Your son made a very smart choice and you should be very proud of him.
@anonymous26 Could not agree more with everything you said!! The only people who care about whether you went to an elite school are those who went to elite schools. Everyone else just cares about who you are and what you’ve done with your life since college.
@cmsjmt, just because you yourself may not know of the fields that Northwestern is widely known for doesn’t mean that Kellogg is the only thing NU is known for outside the Midwest.
@HappyAlumnus, from my readings, Bruni has only made the claim that where you go for undergrad doesn’t matter.
