<p>East meets West. I am going with East. After all, he did get a T-shirt out of it. annasdad still doesn´t have that honor yet, but maybe soon.</p>
<p>"Still waiting for that definition of “best.”
have a nice wait.</p>
<p>I suspect it will be a long one. But maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>I don’t GAS about socioeconomic outcomes any more than I care about whether traveling to Europe will increase my paycheck. I wanted my kids in with a group of other kids who were demonstrably smarter than the average bear (and avg SAT / ACT is a reasonable though imperfect proxy for that). I wanted them in places with generally small class sizes. Etc. There are certain metrics that you <em>can</em> use USNWR for, and you can weight them as you see fit. The problem isn’t with USNWR; it’s with the idiots who think that USNWR #5 is appreciably different from #9 which is in turn appreciably different from #17 or whatever – people who don’t understand the concept of bands.</p>
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<p>All those metrics are easily accessible elsewhere, if you know where to look for them. If all USNWR did was report the metrics, I’d have less problem with it - although even that would imply that those metrics are important to the quality of the education, when the research I’ve cited clearly shows they are not.</p>
<p>In addition to people obsessing over the difference between #5 and #9, there’s this whole concept of “top 20” or “top 50” or “top 100,” as though those designations carried some special cachet. Top 20 for what? Cost? Prestige? Perhaps. Quality of education? Nope.</p>
<p>That the unwashed public should be taken in by the self-serving charlatanry of “America’s Best Colleges” is perhaps not surprising. What really sets my teeth on edge is when I see colleges ballyhooing their USNWR rankings - they should know better, and I suspect they do, but that doesn’t stop them from doing it.</p>
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<p>So what, though? I’m not interested in making this a research project when I can buy the magazine (or online access) that does it for me. Why should I bother trying to find it elsewhere? </p>
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<p>IMSA doesn’t mention that Newsweek and the WSJ named it among the best high schools on its website? Huh. Funny. Could have sworn it’s on there. But, that’s different somehow. Sending your kid to an elite, selective high school is just SUCH a different proposition than sending your kid to an elite, selective college school. One is in Mighty Pursuit of Noble Education and the other is just Impressing the Neighbors and Wasting Money.</p>
<p>The unwashed public?</p>
<p>Just one questions though. Annasdad, if some one is sending kids to attend a $25K-30K/year private HS, where should his Sr. kid goto college on April 1? Lets say a local third level ranking state school gave the kid a full ride vs $15K/year for UIUC (assuming in state) vs $30K/year for Michigan vs $30k/year for Cornell.</p>
<p>Assuming the kid loves all 4, major in STEM and its the parents pick now…</p>
<p>Your thoughts?</p>
<p>Annasdad, I apologize if my post came across as picking an argument with you. I am not.</p>
<p>I just found all these debate on “top tier” "ivy plus’ etc discussions plainly silly. </p>
<p>As T1 put it:
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<p>My kids both love the college they attend and the school meet all their meet. Therefore, they are at the best colleges.</p>
<p>I am a firm believer that any student with motivation and ability will do well in any university.</p>
<p>T1, thanks. You made my day.</p>
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<p>Shoot, I just got home, waiting for D2 to get home from ballet, with a glass of wine, and this is over.</p>
<p>Clearly and without a doubt, the bestest and most wonderfulest school is the one where Dad II’s DD attends. With the large increase in applications it received this year, it may actually beat out Harvard for the title of most selective! Goodness, how I’d love to see that!</p>
<p>Really, oldfort. Where is POIH when you need him? :)</p>
<p>Really, where is POIH?</p>
<p>Shhhhh! Please don’t summon him!</p>
<p>^^^
Public high school rules! Harker drools!</p>
<p>That should do it.</p>
<p>Maybe there will be a Harker / IMSA face-off!</p>
<p>Well how many Intel finalists does IMSA have annually? How about Seimens?</p>
<p>Looks like you’ll have to cover for POIH, Dad II. We are genuine in our support of you.</p>
<p>The minute I read these types of posts, I immediately cringe thinking Annasdad is going to chime in with his rhetoric. I am not saying that what he says has no value, but without proper context it is indeed meaningless. He spouts statistics that I have no doubt hold some water, but there are just as many studies showing that going to a top tier university does matter. I just read a report from Lethbridge Undergraduate Research Journal ISSN 1718-8482 which states:
A good education is an integral part of becoming an effective CEO. Ivy League education has been correlated to higher measure of cognitive complexity (Wally & Baum, 1994). One study finds that executives from Ivy League schools out perform others. (Maison, 975). Attending an Ivy League institute provides prestige and status. Also, the top management teams are likely to be recruited from Ivy League institutions; therefore, Ivy League schooling provides for contacts and affiliations that may eventually lead to elite corporate positions. Even though the annual Ivy League graduate school tuition is $58,000 (145% of the national average), Ivy League schools provide an advanced academic curriculum to better prepare future CEOs. Company performance is a pivotal determinant for CEO remuneration; thus, executives with Ivy League backgrounds should have better company performance and higher compensation. Accordingly, I hypothesize that Ivy League education is positively correlated to CEO compensation (stated in alternative form).H1: There is a positive relationship between an Ivy League education and CEO compensation
Now of course if your child does not become a CEO this study is meaningless to you. This is how I feel about Annasdad’s research!
My daughter is a nursing major at Rutgers. I strongly feel she is getting a more than adequate education and there was no need to spend more money to send her to a top tier school. However my son is going to Cornell Univ - College of Engineering next year. They have so many learning opportunities for him, you couldn’t possibly compare Cornell to Rutgers. That would be a joke. The majority of classes taught in the first 2 years at Rutgers are done so by TA’s vs. those taught by Professor’s at Cornell. The list goes on. He turned down a large scholarship from Rutgers to go to Cornell as a full pay. We sare investing in his future.<br>
Annasdad you are dangerous. You are telling people something that may or may not be true for their child. You are saying that a top tier college is not worth the investment - but what many of us hear is: my child is not worth the investment.</p>