<p>Among the keys to traveling along the road to success are: natural ability, dedication, education, use of education, personality, financial support, and good fortune. The education is an important piece, but college is not even necessary to fulfill that piece for the ubertalented. </p>
<p>All of the angst about where our kids go is wasted energy, and I have certainly wasted more than my share on that topic. As parents, we care and strive for any advantage we can find for our kids. We view the colleges that they attend as part of that advantage and create narratives to show how we have done the best for our children, which then offend - either intentionally or inadvertently - parents who have created different narratives for their children. </p>
<p>However, a highly motivated intelligent kid is likely to do well going to any “good” college, and probably even without college if they are autodidacts. “Good” means a college with well-qualified professors with more knowledge than the student has and a reasonable ability to convey it, and the facilities needed to master the subject matter.</p>
<p>Beyond that, the differences become subjective. Going to HYP does not automatically confer superstar status on the student, it depends what you do there. If you do very well at HYP, there is no question that many opportunities for employment or graduate school will be presented to you. However, you must still perform well on those ventures to be successful, and hope that your field is not wrecked by stirrings of the global economy. The top students from most major universities and good LACs will have excellent opportunities as well - perhaps not exactly the same ones as the top HYP graduate with respect to Wall Street and other major corporations, but if you do not plan to work for a major corporation, it shouldn’t matter much. </p>
<p>Fifty percent of each class at HYP is not going to be in the top half. Is it better to be in the top 10% at U.C. Davis than the bottom half of the class at an Ivy? That probably depends upon what you want to do and where you want to do it. There is no one right answer. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I suspect that very few parents or students would prefer to go somewhere other than an elite university or LAC if the student is admitted and has the financial ability to go, absent some compelling tie to the non-elite school tipping the scale in that direction (research with a specific professor, etc.). We generally and reasonably assume that better reputation means better education and better opportunities, though that is not universally the case. Some kids would be far better served emotionally going to a place where they may excel with less stress - sometimes “ruling in hell” is better than “serving in heaven.” The big fish in the small pond might be noticed more than the small fish in the back of the school.</p>
<p>The thrashing about on CC about the relative merits of our children’s choices probably reveals more about the personality of the participants than anything else. Although the rivalries can become entertaining in a reality TV sort of way, I hate reality TV.</p>