[littleowl33]

I have to agree about not sending my children anywhere that is for-profit or non-accredited. I would also have serious reservations about them getting their bachelor's online, unless there was a very good reason that they needed to do things that way.

However, I can't agree that I would refuse to send my child to a school with a religious affiliation. Though my partner and I are not religious people, there are some very fine institutions of higher education that are religiously affiliated and it would be a mistake to exclude them. I think college is an important time to be exposed to other world views and experiences, and as long as religion is not foisted upon the students at every turn, I think it's healthy to be exposed to it and/or to take a required religion course. I also think the emphasis on service learning and social justice that many of these schools have is admirable. That said, any school that requires its students to be of a certain religion or makes an effort to exclude or silence certain groups (such as LGBTQ students) would absolutely be out.

Finally, I absolutely would not want my child to choose to attend a school solely because of its prestige. I attended a very highly ranked private university and while I would be thrilled to send my child there, I wouldn't want him or her to attend just because of the name. I have seen too many college students choose a more highly ranked university over a less highly ranked one because of the "bumper sticker" factor, even though the less prestigious university would have been a better fit.