Suppose stock prices weren’t published (which was true once upon a time) and a private stock broker told you that you could buy the stock at a price X (which he got from another seller at a much lower price). It was obviously in his interest not to tell you how much he paid for it. He was just trying to take advantage of information asymmetry. Would you consider he was fair?
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Yeah but capitalism is never fair.
In the US, we all play the game, some better and more willingly than others.
I grew up in a more socialist country; loved some things about it, hated others.
I would love to make this country more socialist, but I think that ship sailed a long time ago.
Nope…and I wouldn’t purchase. I make a variety of decisions monthly to walk away from a purchase, investment, or opportunity because it doesn’t fit my beliefs or needs. Plenty of schools out there begging for kids, many accepting over 75% of applicants, admitting test optional and with applications that are extremely easy to compete, and publishing absolute acceptance and merit standards online in easy to read grids. I’m just saying we don’t lack other options for higher education. I think many people get upset because they can’t get into a school or feel the process is stacked against them somehow, which may be absolutely true in some cases. But everyone can’t get their first choice. I’m not saying it doesn’t make me mad, just saying it’s not like other options are readily available — understanding they may not be preferred options.
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My hypothesis is that the status obsessed families are still out there, just no longer on CC. At least where I am located, there are now plenty of private college counselors around whereas 5-10 years ago these people were rare.
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That’s amazing! Congratulations! 
When my oldest was around 10 if you would have asked me I would have said that I really want my kids to go to an Ivy or Elite school. Fast forward 12 or so years and being knee deep in the game of college and everything that goes along with it I definitely have a different outlook. Cost plays a huge role in my outlook and not wanting to have my kids saddled with debt.
As I have aged my worry about status has gone down as every year passes. I am more proud that both my kids will get degrees without incurring loans than the ranking of the school they attended. It would have been great if we could have done both highly ranked school and no debt, but that is next to impossible when you start adult life with debt yourself.
The more I have learned about the rankings the less I believe in them. There are definite flaws in the system.
Then we all know that getting into elite schools is akin to a lottery. If you are a average high stats kid without a sport or a hook the odds are against you.
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Your daughter sounds awesome! I know this is really a game in many ways, and it’s very frustrating, but I think you can feel good, too. I don’t know your daughter, but I bet she did meaningful stuff because she found it fulfilling or important. She is graduating at 16 because of her ability, and hopefully that feels good and she is proud of herself. I have found that my kid understands this process emotionally more than I realized they would and that all his accomplishments are things he would have done anyway out of interest or passion.
I mean, I said nothing about whether someone has the power to apply or not. In fact, that is one of the two parts of the process where power rests squarely with the applicants. (The other is whether to matriculate.)
Those are important, but the information asymmetry means that even those are blunted. One big one: The choice of whether to apply to a particular institution is based (see below for an important caveat) on a lack of information about even whether it’s worth applying to that college, both in terms of whether the applicant has a reasonable chance of getting in and whether it will be affordable. (And while most colleges in this country are essentially open-admissions, the affordability question is generally still a black box.)
(The promised caveat: At a number of colleges, of course, there is more information. My D19 was mostly applying to state flagships that published the stats you needed for admission and the scholarships you would get with those stats. I just went and looked, though, and some of those have come down—the sector is regressing in terms of the power imbalance.)
One other important bit of opacity that doesn’t get talked about enough: Colleges are incredibly opaque about their own financial health. If you’re going to commit to attend a college, you need to know whether it will remain a going concern for long enough to get your degree. The lack of transparency about colleges’ finances would be very literally illegal if you were going to buy a four-year corporate bond, so why do we tolerate that lack of information from colleges?
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D23 just got a full COA offer from OSU as part of their amazing eminence honors program, skyrocketing that one to the top of her list. We’re so excited for her!
She’s got one more interview weekend on the 31st-1st so she still wants to follow thru on that but unless there are any other big surprises in the next few weeks I think she’s got her top 2 and hopefully can make a decision by early April. Almost there!!!
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Thank you! She is pretty awesome 
She will have many options for college, and we know she will end up in the right place. The process to get there, in my opinion, is awful. Too much stress on these kids to be the best and brightest. Too much of a long, drawn-out process from the time of application to notification, etc. We are all just ready for it to be done.
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Very true. At the public schools he’s been admitted to, we know we can send my kid there. There’s good information posted, and they are generally inexpensive enough that even if no more aid is forthcoming, that’s ok. But at private schools, it can be a total mystery. It makes it hard to celebrate.
@mebmama congratulations on knowing right now! OSU is a great school. We lived in Corvallis for a few years way back when.
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I am guessing it’s the other OSU since Eminence was mentioned? @mebmama that’s an Ohio State full ride if I’m not mistaken?
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Same. My kid is a musician, so each application took three parts: apply to the school, apply to the music school, and audition. Yikes. He’s done the work of probably 20 applications or more. It is a horribly stressful process.
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Oops! Well, I did not live there. 
But still, congratulations!
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Yes, it’s Ohio State! Sorry to be unclear!
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Wow Wow Wow! Congratulations! 
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Congrats! Welcome to the .1% group of students that receive a full-ride!
My DS also received an offer for the OSU (Ohio State University) Eminence scholarship! I’ll message you.
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I feel you. Sounds like you have a very accomplished daughter. I have to admit that I was a lot more stressed with my DD21 because I was relatively new to the game. With DS21, the stress has been minimal. Along the way, I came to realize that prestige only matters for some professions whereas what you learn (major) and how your resume looks when you apply for jobs are far more important. I came to understand how debilitating student loans can become, even with income based repayment schemes.
@gpo613 I have tried to pass on these ideas to my coworkers. My boss and his wife together make $400K++ with two kids (older parents). Both went to pretty selective schools. They have a lifestyle to match. When the kids were pre-K, they were all about private schools and elite colleges. I told my boss that he needs to save $2K per month per child to make that happen AFTER private K-12 school. Just the other day, he sent me a link to the documentary Borrowed Future (it is on Amazon Prime):
His kids are attending public school, at least for now. He told me he does not care where his kids go to college. No idea if he means it or not but the point is that even for the wealthy, it is starting to trickle in.
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I wanted to watch Borrowed Future but then I clicked on the YT link and it’s a Dave Ramsey production and I cannot stand that man personally. Can anyone vouch for its accuracy and no religious/creepy overtones? Not sure how else to ask, sorry if I’m offending anyone!
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I am not a fan of Dave Ramsey. I watched it. It was actually pretty good and accurate. No major overtones.
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