<p>For another good reason.</p>
<p>Parents should worry. Selective is the top 468 colleges? That doesn’t sound all that selective to me.</p>
<p>(Their definition of selective includes 468 colleges, based on criteria set by Barron’s.)</p>
<p>CC reality check.</p>
<p>3500 4-year colleges in the US - Top 468 is within the top 15%.</p>
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<p>What sounds selective to you? If there are 3500 4 year colleges in the US 468 represents the top 13%. The idea that there are 4 or 5 schools that are selective and the rest of them are unworthy of attention is strictly a construct of the people who post on CC.</p>
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<p>100% agree. There are at least 10 schools that are selective in US.</p>
<p>The article was about the importance of graduating from college - ANY college (even number 3,499)</p>
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<p>And the post of the day goes to…Proudpatriot.</p>
<p>Oh, I don’t know, sally305… Dad II makes a good point ;-)</p>
<p>What the article is pointing out is that if you want to finish college going to a community college might not be a good option if your scores would allow you to attend elsewhere. The data makes it appear that attending one of the much better funded selective colleges is a better option. Having adjuncted at community colleges ocassionally, as well as having taken classes at one, I do not think the problem is the students.</p>
<p>The argument here is flawed. They have controlled for SAT scores, but they failed to control for the most important factors in college graduation rates, including finances and family situation. More students fail to graduate due to money issues and family issues than due to grades (see: <a href=“http://www.aft.org/pdfs/highered/academic/march06/Gold.pdf[/url]”>http://www.aft.org/pdfs/highered/academic/march06/Gold.pdf</a> and [Income</a> gap continues to affect college graduation rates - Nov. 21, 2011](<a href=“http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/21/news/economy/income_college/index.htm]Income”>Income gap continues to affect college graduation rates - Nov. 21, 2011))</p>
<p>Yes parents, let’s be sure only the selective schools receive even more attention. The headline is meant to cause concern among those students & parents already stressed over the admittance process. </p>
<p>A helpful article would point out how students and parents can simply use the CDS to determine graduation rates. Of course, the biggest factor is student motivation and one can’t accurately measure something so intangible.</p>
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<p>Along the lines of proudpatriot’s spot-on comment, let’s also not fail to note that by far the biggest stressor nationwide among college-bound students and parents is “how am I going to pay for this,” not “will I get in.”</p>
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<p>I am going to borrow a page from anasdad here - do you have any data to support that? Because if you get in any of the handful selective schools, you don’t need to worry about paying for it - full need met.</p>
<p>DadII: The “full need met” depends on one’s income.</p>
<p>Funnily enough, I have two kids in highly selective schools and I have to pay for it … oh, never mind.</p>
<p>Dad II, THE BIGGEST STRESSOR NATIONWIDE. It is irrelevant to 95% of the college bound population what highly selective schools do, since their students aren’t even remotely qualified for or interested in those schools. And, for the 5% of the college bound population who IS interested in those highly selective schools, the vast majority won’t get in. </p>
<p>The sweet deal that kids at those schools get is terrific, but it’s completely irrelevant to most college students and their families, who (rightly) will never once consider Harvard and Stanford and so forth in their college searches.</p>
<p>Not really true Dad II. Some families can’t meet their EFC for one reason or another and some, say those with divorced parents where one parent is out of the picture, can’t get the aid that they need, maybe can’t even get the NCP to fill out the forms. We see both on this forum all the time.</p>
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A99, I am not sure what is your point - if you don’t have the income, you don’t need to pay. OTOH, if you have the income then you pay. </p>
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<p>PG, your statement just argues against your own opinion. I am pretty sure you were only worrying about “will get in” than “how to pay for it”.</p>
<p>OHMom, there are always outliers to any rule. In most of the case that a family can’t meet their EFC for is because they did not prioritize college expenses high enough.</p>
<p>Here is a thorough brief on this topic:
<a href=“College Board Foundation | Home”>College Board Foundation | Home;
<p>I’m not convinced that undermatch itself is a problem. The same factors that cause students to undermatch may independently contribute to low completion rates.</p>
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<p>Yes, I personally was more worried about “will get in” than “how to pay for it,” but I have enough of a sensibility to know that I am NOT REPRESENTATIVE AT ALL OF THE VAST MAJORITY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS. I stand by my statement, Dad II. For the VAST MAJORITY of college students / families nationwide, their biggest concern is simply how they will pay for their education. They are not concerned one bit with trying to get into Stanford or Harvard; they are not qualified nor are they interested. I know you find it hard to believe, but really, the vast majority of college students are attending community colleges or non-selective / less selective colleges and directional public universities. The “problems” of getting into top 20 universities that preoccupy this site are not broad problems in the least.</p>