My daughter is trying to decide between Stanford (with no financial assistance) and a large state school (Alabama) with a full ride for being a National Merit Finalist. She fears that Stanford will be so academically challenging (and possibly “cut-throat” competitive) that she will have very little time to pursue other interests (club sports, volunteering, etc). She is also intimidated by the unknown roommate situation and the general quirkiness of the student body. On the other hand, clearly Stanford has the superior reputation and she feels she may not find Alabama challenging enough. Does anyone here have experience saying “no” to Stanford once admitted?
If your daughter was admitted to Stanford and you can comfortably pay, I think that she ought to go. Stanford is one of the most selective universities in the world, and if they admitted her, they clearly believe that she can handle the academic challenges which Stanford can throw at her.
What’s the funding situation for grad school looking like? What are your daughter’s plans?
First, congrats on her accomplishments!
Will she be an engineering major? If so, would not assume Alabama easy. No engineering program is. They also have very good connections all along the space coast if she’s interested in that realm.
Nor would I assume Stanford cutthroat or more difficult. Behind Brown, Stanford has the highest grade inflation in the nation. Sure you can say smart kids deserve high grades, but there are only smart kids at Harvey Mudd and they graduate a 4.0 roughly every decade.
As for “is Stanford worth it?” (or any other full pay school for that matter). On a purely financial basis, the answer is always an easy no. Invest the $300,000 at historical market rates (7%) and it will be roughly $4.5M just after she turns 60. More conservatively, 5%, over $2M. Purely looking at the numbers, Stanford has to be that much BETTER in career earnings, just to break even. Given the law of averages, it won’t even be close. I just looked . up the top 8 companies linked to Stanford alumni on LinkedIn and for engineering, adjusting for regional companies, they aren’t that different than the University of Buffalo. That’s no slam on Stanford. It’s just that engineering tends to be pretty egalitarian.
Now that’s not to say she/you shouldn’t choose Stanford. Our son didn’t pick the cheapest school. He didn’t even have Alabama (or any other free school) on his list. You are basically gifting a different experience by paying for Stanford, not an increase in career earnings that will make up the difference. Only you can decide if you want to give a $300,000 gift now or a multi-million dollar gift later.
I meant to say “once accepted”.
There’s also a huge climate difference between Stanford and Alabama.
Similar thread here, except the full ride is to Wake Forest:
I don’t see Stanford students as particularly “quirky” as a group, Definitely very smart. But so is she if they admitted her.
I concur with @sushiritto, they are VERY different. Also, if she isn’t accepted yet, the cart is way ahead of the horse. It’s good to think about it conceptually, because she probably will get into some full pay school(s). Whether or not it will be Stanford is another story. It isn’t because she won’t be qualified. They just get WAY too many fully qualified students applying every year for the slots they have. They reject Valedictorians, Salutatorians, NMFs, 2400 SATs, etc. in droves every year.
Have you had the chance to visit both schools? Very different.
It looks like OP’s daughter has been admitted.
OP, from your other thread it looks like your D has fantastic stats so certainly has the chops for Stanford. It sounds like she is being driven by fear, which is understandable but I would hate for her to turn down such a fantastic opportunity based on that fear. If it is affordable, I’d strongly encourage her to attend. She may regret turning this down.
@fearthetree321 What year student is your daughter? Stanford RD decisions came out the end of last month.
She can always transfer out of Stanford if she truly hates it, is there any issue about money? I can’t see it being Stanford or Alabama only, becuase a Stanford admit would certainly have other affordable options. Is she hearing something you are not directly telling her?
nm
According to OP’s other thread, her daughter was accepted to Stanford REA, Notre Dame & Boston College, and waitlisted at Vanderbilt. Has an ACT of 36, #1 in class rank, 1560 SAT & two 800s on SAT II tests.
Depends in part upon planned major & career objective.
If OP did not receive any financial aid from Stanford, then presumably Stanford is affordable even at full pay status.
OP"s daughter’s concerns about Stanford are a bit unreasonable (unknown roommate & quirky students).
^^^
If OP did not receive any financial aid from Stanford, then presumably Stanford is affordable even at full pay status.<<<<<<
Affordable based on getting no FA is not the same thing as wanting to be full pay. I suspect the money question is the biggest one, as it looks like NMF/merit money was in the hunt. The point then comes down to the fact that this just isn't the students choice to make, and that is OK.
@Sybylla : You are making an assumption. OP never voiced concern over COA at Stanford. If that is the main issue, then it is quite easy to so state.
@fearthetree321: What does your daughter plan to study ?
Most people who turn down Stanford do it for one reason, COA (or they got into Harvard).
While that may be true, that is not what OP wrote in the initial post in this thread. Again, if COA is the main concern, then OP should state that.
There are several schools my child didn’t even apply to because of the perception of a “toxic” or “cutthroat” academic environment. Did your daughter have these concerns while considering which schools she wanted to apply to, or did they come up only recently? I think that fear is not at all unusual at this juncture, and may have more to do with separation (from home, family, local culture, friends, etc) than with the school itself. You may be well-served at this point by exploring what’s behind her fears. Good luck.