<p>Mom --</p>
<p>I have no comments on the specific program you’re considering. I just don’t know it. Also, I obviously don’t know what other choices she will have.</p>
<p>I can, share my views generally.</p>
<p>First – I believe that one can probably get a quality education at almost any school. Undergrad curricula are fairly similar accross the board.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, when my D’s applied to schools a couple of years ago, they considered the whole Honors College thing. Their conclusion (with our advice)-- go with the better school. At the end of the day, your D’s diploma has the name of the school on it, and no one will care that she went to an Honors college. We felt that for grad schools, jobs, etc. the name on the Diploma could matter.</p>
<p>We believed that the educational experience was based on the student body as a whole, not a subset, and that choosing a better school would provide a greater overall academic experience. </p>
<p>This brings us to the entire “is it worth it?” question. If we’re talking economics – honestly, no one knows. Let me repeat that – there are people who passionately hold views on both sides of this question – but at the end of the day – no one knows. We can say that it is unlikely that your child will be diasdvantaged by going to a so-called better school (and in this sense, it’s a safe choice) but that’s as far as anyone can go.</p>
<p>On a broader level, as I stated, we felt that the better schools would provide our child with an enhanced academic experiece, better discussions, more people at her academic level. An honors college would have some at that level, but interaction is with the university as a whole. Putting economics aside, we felt that what we feel is a better academic experience was a worthwhile investment in her as a person.</p>
<p>So, as parents (who were paying, and fortunately could afford it) we felt that the better overall setting was something we felt was worth it, regardless of whether it would ‘pay’ in the long term.</p>
<p>I fully recognize that this is a personal decision and that every child is different. Gopd luck with whatever conclusions you draw.</p>