I feel like the top students in my school are the ones who do the most drugs lol
Probably because its usually the rich kids
totally agree with ucbalu. Plus if a student doesn’t have self motivation by this stage, it really isn’t going to just materialize because they are around others that look the part. For my part I’ll go with the top 5% of a really fine public
institution like TCNJ over others any day. I have first hand experience in the ivy circles and the prestige and instant recognition is very nice. But it doesn’t gtd character or success . That is all entirely up to the individual.
Our kids have limited options due to finances. However, even amg the " lower cost" options, there is a huge variant in available opportunities. Does the school have full course offerings with frequent availability? Can advanced students take grad level classes? What are students doing after graduation?
My kids would be short changed at the local directional school bc the are advanced and would face taking a lot of classes independent study. Dd has not found any kids in her future major who have plans after graduation. Not a good sign. Other high merit options, however, have great opportunities. For example, earning masters while an UG. Great internships. Alumni profiles showing where those internships have taken students.
I personally don’t believe that prestige matters. But, I i absolutely believe solid academics needs to be combined with opportunities for students to be more than just a classroom goer. (Of course it is up to the student to be proactive.)
I guess we agree that all this is in fact fully available at the top publics so I assume your referring to lessor schools?
Depends on the career quite a bit. For Investment Banking, Management Consulting, and related careers, the school attended can be VERY important.
My oldest went to one of the top schools for comp sci in the country and is working at his dream job. He had some nice scholarships at some very good schools. I think there’s a decent chance he’d be doing the same job if he’d attended them. We didn’t go into debt, nor did he. And truthfully he could easily have paid loans off if he’d had them. (We don’t have huge income just too many assets.) But for another major or a family that couldn’t pay, he’d have been fine elsewhere. He had a fabulous experience where he was though.
My kids could have gone to “average” colleges with full rides but chose “top notch” schools with partial need based aid. Their decisions, which I fully supported, were based more on fit than either prestige or finances.
to #24, that much more applies to where and if you attend grad school
To #27, actually #24 applies more to undergrad than grad school. Recruiters for investment banking and management consulting firms target a relatively small number of schools.