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Its hard for many but possible. I know people in Jericho who have still drive 10 year old corollas, but have 50k in a 529 for their kids college. They have put off buying flat screen tvs, hardly eat out, and are very careful with their money. It depends on your priorities.
And what percentage of the people who go to Ivy league schools have parents who drive 10 year old corollas? I think the point the poster you were responding to made was a valid one.
Ivy league tuition is about 10k$ more expensive than the avg good college. If your parents are able to save for any college, the student needs to take out a 10k additional loan to go to an ivy league ( well worth it). Colleges do not care if your parents drive a 10 year old corolla.
Ivy league tuition is about 10k$ more expensive than the avg good college. If your parents are able to save for any college, the student needs to take out a 10k additional loan to go to an ivy league ( well worth it). Colleges do not care if your parents drive a 10 year old corolla.
Colleges care if you can pay the tuition. You're missing the point that the #'s of Jericho graduates going to High Level Schools has at least SOMETHING to do with the fact that their parents can afford the tuitions there. It's pretty simple.
Newsweek's list's methodology is even worse than the methodology I presented in the OP.
As for people in wealthy areas attending top colleges- yes- much of it has to do with the ability and willingness to pay the tuition.
I attended Duke, graduating from Huntington from a middle-class family, and most of my peers were ridiculously rich- having no problem paying the astronomical tuition.
My family was making about 80K at the time- definitely a decent amount of money- but not enough to make paying for college easy.
I was also somewhat lucky that during my college years my dad got a nice raise- bringing us all the way up to 100K.
I had strong SAT scores (1550) and was at the bottom of the Top 10%. I don't know what would have happened if I went to a 'higher ranked' high school. I don't think I would have gotten into Princeton or Harvard either way..
My cousin from Hicksville attended Penn (didn't get financial aid)- doing well enough in school and thinking ahead via saving.. you don't need to be super rich to attend the school of your dreams.
Overall, I think it does have something to do with the ability to pay the tuition rather than the strength of the high school for the fact that kids in Jericho/Syosset/CSH are at the Ivy-caliber schools. I know of people who got into really good schools who had to go to SUNY instead due to their financial situation.. I'd support stronger financial aid policies and truly relying on a meritocracy.. how we could do this objectively- I don't know.
I have heard of some students dropping out of good schools to go to community colleges because of financial reasons, but I do not have enough experience to judge. I do not know if someone who got into Harvard is going to attend SUNY because of financial reasons.
Admission and financial aid are two different things. I thought the admission process does not look at the student's financial background as a criteria, but financial aid, and ultimately, the ability of the student to attend will.
The ability of a student to pay their tuition ABSOLUTELY affects the final choice. Clearly, the wealthier school districts will benefit in that regard when it comes to judging things like % in Ivy League schools or other private colleges.
$$$ has a lot to do with it....especially nowadays when the tuitions could cripple you financially. I had 3 clear choices when it came to university:
1. Tulane--Full ride.
2. University of Virginia--Out of state tuition/fees at the time...approx 17,000.
3. U Penn -- approx 30,000
No way could I have afforded numbers 2 or 3, so I clearly went with the full ride. An Ivy League education at that cost was simply impossible, especially to a middle class student from Western PA. Even UVA's out of state tuition was too much.
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So, it's not that kids will drop out of great schools to go to community colleges, but they certainly will go to excellent schools rather than "elite" schools if it can save them some money in the long run.
I agree. The high school report from Jericho had a seperate column for admitted and final choice, and the number admitted was ofcourse more than final choice. The numbers I quoted were admitted ( there could have been multiple ivy league acceptances from the same person).
If you were admitted to UPenn or UVA, you can consider yourself Ivy League material. My nephew from Westchester was desperate to get into UVA or Wharton, but had to settle for UT ( fees 30k out of state). I am a UVA grad myself, but I got a full scholarship in UVA compared to no financial aid at UMich, and even though I preferred UMich, I took UVA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azzurrony
The ability of a student to pay their tuition ABSOLUTELY affects the final choice. Clearly, the wealthier school districts will benefit in that regard when it comes to judging things like % in Ivy League schools or other private colleges.
$$$ has a lot to do with it....especially nowadays when the tuitions could cripple you financially. I had 3 clear choices when it came to university:
1. Tulane--Full ride.
2. University of Virginia--Out of state tuition/fees at the time...approx 17,000.
3. U Penn -- approx 30,000
No way could I have afforded numbers 2 or 3, so I clearly went with the full ride. An Ivy League education at that cost was simply impossible, especially to a middle class student from Western PA. Even UVA's out of state tuition was too much.
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So, it's not that kids will drop out of great schools to go to community colleges, but they certainly will go to excellent schools rather than "elite" schools if it can save them some money in the long run.
The thing is...in the end, I loved Tulane. It's one of the best schools in the South and I feel I had a fantastic education. I think I'm at the same place in my career as I would have been going to U Penn. No regrets.
A school in the end is a school. You have to study, apply yourself, and also have a strong ability to communicate to make it in life. I just had a baby boy, and I know I will never ever pressure him to go to "this school or that school". I want him to be happy in life and choose the road that best suits him. I think parents sometimes lose sight of what is important in life. They want to live vicariously through their children, and frankly, that's a shame.
Last edited by azzurrony; 08-17-2009 at 02:01 PM..
Congratulations azzurrony. This is wonderful news.
There is a chapter in the book "The Outliers" which explains why both the avg school and the best schools have an equal chance of producing a Nobel prize winner. But don't you think UPenn could have offered you better networking opportunities? Might not be worth 30k a year, but that's the reason people why my nephew wanted to go there.
I do believe UPenn would have offered me slightly better networking opportunities, but nothing that significant. Either way, those are far outweighed by the 120k of debt that would have been incurred. Also, I think you have to evaluate the school's strength in the field you pursue. I practice international law and stayed at Tulane for Law School as well. Louisiana's Civil Law tradition combined with Tulane's comparitive law curriculum has helped me quite a bit in my career. It's an angle I might not have had otherwise. I think students need to look deeper than just a "school's name" when considering their future.
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