Flip side: Over my dead body my daughter would go to...

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

For me, No. No. Heck no (I've never even heard of it!).

I'm a school snob, I guess. I think I've earned the right to be one.

Originally Posted by Blondie93

Really? You have never heard of SMU? If nothing else, it is mentioned regularly on these boards.

Given the "no, no, heck no (I've never even heard of it)," I took her to mean she's never heard of Presbyterian. Interesting, Munchkin, that you can judge the quality of a school you've never heard of.*

Too bad. It's a good school, not to mention a very Greek school (43% of the student body is Greek). If my kid wanted a small college experience, I'd happily send him or her there.

And Munchkin, I work with a school snob, who judges lawyers' abilities by where they went to college or law school. (Only the Ivies and a few other select schools make his cut.) As a result, he frequently misjudges lawyers' abilities. Meanwhile, the rest of us laugh at him.

Anyway, it just seems like a broad brush to automatically eliminate schools with religion in the title.

Exactly. It's nothing more than judging a book by its cover.


(*Sorry, just got to give you a little bit of a hard time. )

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Given the "no, no, heck no (I've never even heard of it)," I took her to mean she's never heard of Presbyterian. Interesting, Munchkin, that you can judge the quality of a school you've never heard of.*

Too bad. It's a good school, not to mention a very Greek school (43% of the student body is Greek). If my kid wanted a small college experience, I'd happily send him or her there.

And Munchkin, I work with a school snob, who judges lawyers' abilities by where they went to college or law school. (Only the Ivies and a few other select schools make his cut.) As a result, he frequently misjudges lawyers' abilities. Meanwhile, the rest of us laugh at him.

Exactly. It's nothing more than judging a book by its cover.


(*Sorry, just got to give you a little bit of a hard time. )

I'm not just an Ivy snob; in fact, I'm not that big a fan of Cornell because it has that big state school vibe (in some ways, it IS a big state school). There are places that most people may not be that familiar with but, in my field, are a big deal (ex., Cooper Union or Polytechnic).

To me, at least, it's way more than judging a book by its cover. I also know that, unless the world changes in the next 25 years or so, my kids will be judged as people of color and may not be given a fair shake for going to a less well-regarded school, even if it provides a "good experience." It sucks, but it's our reality.

[AnotherKD]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

No you wouldn't, because the Ivies - like lots of private schools - have excellent financial aid. Most of the Ivies pay almost the entire tuition now for their students. And many other private schools (such as my alma mater) have such nice endowments that they give generous grants and scholarships, making them possibly more affordable than a public university (certainly an out-of-state public).

I don't know if it has changed since I was in school, but one of my best friends went to an Ivy while I went to a private university. I was ineligible for financial aid due to my parents' salaries, and I don't know her exact tuition, but her family was much like mine and she was not on financial aid. My private university did not give out much in the way of financial aid at all, either- most was relegated towards full scholarships for those that couldn't afford it. While it is nice that my family could afford it, I doubt that my husband and I could do the same if my child(ren) decided to attend my alma mater. I can put down some costs of both my out-of-state public university and my private university, but don't want to get too personal, but suffice to say that I would need at least a $30k grant per year in order to offset the cost between the two.

I also think that the Ivies have a great alumni network across the country (in some areas more than others), but so do most larger universities as well. I'm even surprised of the large alumni network I have found myself in, as my college was not large at all. If my kid desperately wanted to be, say, a lawyer, and had his/her heart set on an Ivy for undergrad and grad, that would be a different story. But if they didn't know what they wanted to do, there are plenty of other schools that would probably be a better fit.

[alum]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

No you wouldn't, because the Ivies - like lots of private schools - have excellent financial aid. Most of the Ivies pay almost the entire tuition now for their students. And many other private schools (such as my alma mater) have such nice endowments that they give generous grants and scholarships, making them possibly more affordable than a public university (certainly an out-of-state public).

The Ivies and a couple of other like-minded schools only provide need-based aid, not merit-based. They don't need to attract attract star applicants with the lure of a merit scholarship. The Estimated Family Contribution is calculated using the CSS Profile (more extensive than FAFSA). The CSS Profile's idea of a student's EFC and what the family thinks it can afford are sometimes very different.

That being said, if the student DOES qualify for need-based aid, the FA package will probably have a higher percentage of outright grants vs. loans/work-study since these schools have huge endowments.

[OneHeartOneWay]

I know this is a "for fun" thread, (and I promise, I'm having fun!) but...

Not all the for-profits are evil. Some, most even, yes, but some serve a needed purpose. If you're daughter is considering a for-profit, it likely means she's not in the demographic to be able to attend the schools you would want her to, and the for-profit route may be her best option. Not all our daughters can go to Beg Ten, SEC, etc. schools. While it varies company to company and campus to campus even, some for-profits are respected in their communities and provide a needed educational avenue for non-traditional students, leading them to careers that otherwise wouldn't be available to them.

Stepping off soapbox, and awaiting the stones that will be thrown!

[AnotherKD]

Originally Posted by OneHeartOneWay

I know this is a "for fun" thread, (and I promise, I'm having fun!) but...

Not all the for-profits are evil. Some, most even, yes, but some serve a needed purpose. If you're daughter is considering a for-profit, it likely means she's not in the demographic to be able to attend the schools you would want her to, and the for-profit route may be her best option. Not all our daughters can go to Beg Ten, SEC, etc. schools. While it varies company to company and campus to campus even, some for-profits are respected in their communities and provide a needed educational avenue for non-traditional students, leading them to careers that otherwise wouldn't be available to them.

Stepping off soapbox, and awaiting the stones that will be thrown!

No stones being thrown, but I would agree with the bolded when talking about technical schools like ITT Tech. But places like Strayer and the others? Not at all. In fact, places like American Military University, a for-profit school geared towards people in the military and the intelligence field, routinely gets bashed by all of the government HR staff and people in the intel/government field that I know.

[IrishLake]

Blondie, that's like Ohio Northern University. You wouldn't imagine it's tied to the Methodist church, but it is. And the University of Dayton is affiliated with the Catholic church. Hard to tell just by the title of the schools.

[psusue]

Absolutely no to Ohio State. I would cut them off. None of this buckeye crap in my life.

And they could go to Michigan, it's just that every time they'd call home I would have to say "what time is it? IT DOESN'T MATTER MICHIGAN STILL SUCKS!!!"

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by psusue

Absolutely no to Ohio State. I would cut them off. None of this buckeye crap in my life.

And they could go to Michigan, it's just that every time they'd call home I would have to say "what time is it? IT DOESN'T MATTER MICHIGAN STILL SUCKS!!!"

Okay, now tell us how you REALLY feel...

[honeychile]

I am contractually obligated to say Penn State.

[thetaj]

UF. They've begun admitting far too many kids than they can handle just to get the money; they're admitting more and more out-of-state students without reserving a specific number of spots for in-state students; they are flooded with applications from all over the country (following their decade of titles and championships) so they pick all the best (which they should) but have done nothing to improve class sizes, professors' salaries, or to insure at all that all of these smart kids they're bringing in are getting their money's worth or even a good education.

Florida IS a good school, but not as good as it should be for everything they're doing. They're bringing in stupid amounts of money and feeding it directly into sports programs and other things that don't directly benefit the entire student population. (The dorm my dad stayed in still doesn't have air conditioning. NOT okay for Gainesville.) They're into some sheisty business. My father and grandfather both went to Florida and just last year resigned their membership from the Gator Nation as they can't justify giving them money anymore.

Not to mention their fans are assholes. But that's just a little side note. Sort of. Not really. I've never less gracious people.

/

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by thetaj

UF. They've begun admitting far too many kids than they can handle just to get the money; they're admitting more and more out-of-state students without reserving a specific number of spots for in-state students; they are flooded with applications from all over the country (following their decade of titles and championships) so they pick all the best (which they should) but have done nothing to improve class sizes, professors' salaries, or to insure at all that all of these smart kids they're bringing in are getting their money's worth or even a good education.

Florida IS a good school, but not as good as it should be for everything they're doing. They're bringing in stupid amounts of money and feeding it directly into sports programs and other things that don't directly benefit the entire student population. (The dorm my dad stayed in still doesn't have air conditioning. NOT okay for Gainesville.) They're into some sheisty business. My father and grandfather both went to Florida and just last year resigned their membership from the Gator Nation as they can't justify giving them money anymore.

Not to mention their fans are assholes. But that's just a little side note. Sort of. Not really. I've never less gracious people.

/

Two Florida words that live in infamy around here: Teddy Dupay

When he undercut Mateen Cleaves in the NCAA title game in 2000, it sealed a very strong dislike for Florida throughout the state of Michigan. The kid was a thug then and went on to prove himself even more of a thug after college.

[violetpretty]

Anywhere that is without argument considered the South.

[GTAlphaPhi]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

Anywhere that is without argument considered the South.

Absolutely no exceptions for the likes of Georgia Tech , Emory, UNC, Duke, UVA, W&M, Vanderbilt, SCAD (if she's artistic), Tulane, etc.?

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

Anywhere that is without argument considered the South.

Reading GC would probably cause me to feel the same way and it has nothing to do with the quality of the schools. After reading so many threads about recruitment, campus life, and life after college in the south, I feel like I would be setting my child up for failure by encouraging her to attend a southern school. We're Midwesterners through and through. She would be a complete outsider in every sense of the word with the teeny, tiny exception that she is a legacy (which will matter even less in another thirteen years). College is a challenging enough time without also needing to navigate an entirely different social paradigm.

So, great school or not, I wouldn't actively encourage her to explore a southern school, especially if she is really interested in Greek life. I would encourage her to stay in the Midwest. There are plenty of great schools to choose from in all shapes and sizes. Would I tell her she couldn't go to a southern school? Of course not. But I'd make sure she fully understood how much of the deck was stacked against her, especially if she wanted to be Greek at some of the schools down there.

That said, if for some insane reason she did end up Greek in the South, hubby and I would take a long working vacation down there and visit all the big southern schools around recruitment time. I'd truly like to see it all in action.