"prestige" redux

<p>I stumbled upon this site and have been pulled in reading about how students choose colleges. I am constantly amazed at the emphasis on HYP and other prestige institutions.</p>

<p>It seems many parents emphasize the "best fit" school, but are still rooting for their child to attend an Ivy. So here is a question for you all. Are there parents of students out there whose sons or daughters chose not to attend the most prestigious college to which they were accepted?</p>

<p>My daughter chose a small, respected but not prestigious, college over very highly rated flagship state university. She has fit into it's community wonderfully, receiving lots of support from her professors and finding lots of opportunities in her academic discipline.</p>

<p>............ Of course, I have lost bragging rights with all the other parents. LOL.</p>

<p>Hand up here. She did for what - for her - is a superior education. Besides, the prestige came from getting in, not from attending.</p>

<p>Hand up here also, although my daughter was ahead of the game because she never even considered prestige in the first place, and might, in fact, have considered it a turn off to be told that any of the colleges on her list were "prestigious." I don't hold out the same hope for my son, who is much more into impressing others than he is impressing himself.</p>

<p>My son had an appointment to the United States Naval Academy and chose instead to accept an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy. </p>

<p>A lot of people were perplexed by his choice, (Naval Academy prestige --150 years of tradition unimpeded by progress vs. Kings Point anonymity) but his goal was to serve his country and ultimately USMMA provided more opportunities to serve, an environment equal to if not more rigorous than USNA, and a chance to participate athletically at the intercollegiate level.</p>

<p>Its turned out to be a great choice. He's as happy as any Plebe can be and excelling academically, athletically, and socially.</p>

<p>LFWB Dad, I'd choose King's Point over the Naval Academy any day.
It's a terrific school and I have several close friends who are grads.</p>

<p>KP is a great place. I thought only folks in the service academy forum knew it.</p>

<p>There have been many changes in my son, all for the good. But the most amazing was Sunday he was telling me that they had 27 inches of snow and that classes had been cancelled for Monday and the reason he was excited was that it gave him more time to study for a test. </p>

<p>I was thinking, who is this person and what have you done with my son?</p>

<p>My daughter applied ED to NYU and was accepted there. As one of the top five students in her school and with high scores, etc. and a legacy at an Ivy, she very likely would have had a very good shot at some Ivies. Her scores were above average for some of them and her guidance counselor was also pushing for schools like U Chicago and Wesleyan. But she visited NYU and just loved it. Nowhere else she visited came close. So I am thrilled for her. As she told me, she is the one going to college, not her parents, so it should be her choice, and it should not be based on which school is at the top of the US News and World Report.</p>

<p>well I don't know if I can raise my hand or not
my daughter is attending the most prestigious school ( IMO) that she applied to- but she actively decided against applying to schools that were much more competitive.
She did apply to a couple schools, that I strongly suggested to have as backup, not because she was much interested in them- that were local state schools that I thought had interesting programs.
Although her school might be considered prestigous among some circles, and is increasing everyday apparently, at the time she applied it was much less well known, and even got some scorn.
( I find that is often the case with local schools- and the locals- nationally they might have a more accurate perspective, but you dont get much respect from those who take you for granted)
( One of my friends went to Kings Point too!)</p>

<p>My daughter graduated last May from Hamilton College - most people would ask us, "So exactly where is that located?" Our family has always seen ourselves as as marching to the beat of a different drummer, so to speak - so we really didn't care whether or not other people would "ooh and aah" over our kids' choices. What was important was whether the college was a good fit and whether our daughter worked hard and took advantage of all the opportunities that were presented to her. Our son has approached the college selection process the same way.</p>

<p>Well, okay, hand halfway up (like Catherine). My D applied ED to Wesleyan and was accepted for the class of 2010. Wes certainly carries some prestige, but D for a long while had Brown at the top of her list. Brown, of course, would have been a reach, though a plausible one (unlike, say, Yale). But D came out of her Wesleyan overnight just glowing and Wes was it. She did struggle for a few days with giving up the shot at the Ivy prestige brass ring, but now wears that act as a badge of honor.</p>

<p>We get whipsawed. Some can't fathom why D didn't go to Wellesley (USNews #4 LAC). Others think we're needlessly high-falutin'. (Smith --> NE LAC).</p>

<p>All this might depend on whether you mean Prestige in the sense of impress your friends and parents' friends or whether you mean that Prestige is a proxy for attending a school that attracts the very best students. Not guilty to the former; guilty, in part, to the latter.</p>

<p>Another hand up. My son turned down more prestigious schools to attend Pitt. Some decisions were based on money, some were based on evolving fit of both the school and the community.</p>

<p>Neither of my college-age daughters chose the most prestigious school that admitted them. One went for her long-time first choice, the other for a wonderful scholarship at a great school she wasn't certain about but that has since (thankfully) proven to be an excellent fit.</p>

<p>I'd like to point out that it's not unheard of for top students with stellar SATs and ECs to decide against applying to any Ivies at all. Some kids may know they want a LAC experience and that's it; some just don't want a school in the northeast, however prestigious it may be.</p>

<p>My son also did not attend the highest ranked school to which he was accepted, although he is at an Ivy, so I don't know if that counts. The school he's attending is just the perfect fit for him -- although I think he'd have been happy at any of his options.</p>

<p>My friend got into Harvard and Princeton, but chose UCLA. She's extremely happy there :).</p>

<p>I don't know if the hand should be half up... I guess I think it should be because DD chose not to even APPLY to the ivies/top schools due to fit issues. I'm not saying that she would have been accepted - but she had the rank, scores, strong focus and E.C.s to be. She just didn't like the whole HYP hype - so chose schools that fit her personality. She chose to attend the school that had the best F.A. package, most opportunities, best calendar , warmest weather, etc. (She chose Rice; turned down Bowdoin, Carleton, Oberlin, Grinnell.... I'm not sure that any of these have street prestige, and certainly most people in Texas haven't heard of any of them except Rice. Or Pasta U. as I like to call it...)</p>

<p>Quoting my own post "guilty, in part" -- did not apply to a number of the top howevermany because of fit issues.</p>

<p>NOW your comment about King's Pointers falling asleep on the LIRR in that other thread makes sense. :) Congratulations on your son's appointment!</p>

<p>(And IMHO the USMMA has one of the prettiest college campuses in the US.) </p>

<p>MM-</p>

<p>The only thing more impressive than going to Harvard is turning them down! Followed closely by attending but dropping out.</p>