S/O Would you want your kid to go to your alma mater?

[h]

Would you encourage your kid to go to your alma mater if they were interested? Would you prefer to see them go elsewhere?

[irishbride2]

We are huge fans of our alma mater. i would be thrilled if they went there. However, if it is not a good fit for them, I wouldn't push it. I want them to find a school that fits them.

[SJ]

I am 5th generation at our alma mater. I had a wonderful experience there.

However, it is a small, private, religious school that is not in line with our current views or how we will likely be raising our children. For that reason, DH would very much prefer she not go there.

I don't think we would ever blacklist it or "not allow" her to go though.

[niq]

Absolutely, it's a great place. But I would not be heartbroken if they picked a different or even "worse" school like, I dunno, Dartmouth trollololol.

msniq went to the Flagship State School, which is fantastic and MM, and if he wanted to go there that'd be more than fine too.

[212]

Mine, eh. It was fine, but really conservative. H's, hells yes. He had a blast.

[Deleted]

Sure. It's a major university in our province; it's likely if they go to university, that they could at least start here (it doesn't offer some post-grad options like Architecture or Speech Pathology). It's well enough respected, although I don't feel like Canada has the prestige element to university that the USA does. Especially out west where most people just go to the closest school that offers their program.

[turtlegirl]

Yes!!! I love it and would be thrilled!

I was a summer orientation leader for incoming freshman and at lunch we would always have the parents who were alumni stand up. I loved it and thought it was so cool to see parents back at orientation with their own kids.

But since I was an orientation leader my job was pretty much to tell people how awesome our school was and I totally drank the kool-aid, lol.

[niq]

Jan 14, 2015 12:39:18 GMT -5 @starry said:

Yes if we stay in state. I want them to go to a flagship in state school. Of course I am open to other options but that would be ideal. We are not saving enough for private (most likely)

Have you looked at Net Price Calculators to see how much you'd pay today? The Harvard one is the easiest to fill out. You can usually exclude your primary residence and retirement savings from assets.

ETA most of the private universities have a list price that's about the same, but aid/tuition discounting varies a lot. Harvard/Princeton/Stanford are probably the most generous, especially at MM middle class incomes. So the number Harvard spits out is probably a minimum.

[undecidedowl]

Absolutely, it's a great school and DH and I both went there. I would hope I wasn't paying for all of it though!

[Brie]

Absolutely. I would also be thrilled if he went to H's alma mater.

[Willis Jackson]

Too expensive!

If they wanted to go there, fine. I don't think it would give me warm fuzzies or anything, though.

[Ashley&Scott]

Of course, it's a great school!

[pinotgrig]

No, we will encourage him to go elsewhere. It was a great school and we loved our time there, but I would prefer he attend a bigger, more well-known school.

[cinco]

I don't feel strongly either way. All this college talk is making me feel preemptively poor.

[minzy]

Sure, and I'd particularly encourage it if we moved and they could get in-state tuition.

[bluelikejazz]

Sure! It doesn't have a lot of majors, So if she doesn't want to do science or engineering, she'll have to go somewhere else.

[h]

My H and I went to the same college. My H's two sisters and my FIL went there as well. We are all big fans. I adored my college experience and would be thrilled to see one or more of my kids end up there. Plus, it is a really good school, and I think they would be stupid not to take advantage of the fact that alumni status might help them get in. . And DH and I would love to have a reason to visit often.

But we have promised ourselves we will not our best not to pressure them. DS1 recently told us that he is going to Stanford, DS2 is going to our alma mater, and DS3 will probably want to stay close to home because he doesn't like to be away from me (never mind that he one and still nursing, so it is hardly surprising that he isn't ready to be shipped off to college ). I think it will be so fun to see where they do end up.

[bowies]

Hell yeah I'd love for him to go there if he wanted to major in something the school is known for. If he just wants a liberal arts degree, he can get that in state.

H's school, while good, is not worth paying out-of-state prices.

[leonard131]

In heartbeat. I am a 3rd generation grad and our family has always been very involved with the university. But just like my parents didn't push me to go there I wouldn't ever push him.

[shelbyann]

Yes! H and I met in college and we went to a small, very tight-knit liberal arts school. We both had a great college experience and our school is one of the top liberal arts colleges.

I'm just not going to even think about the cost and what it might be 17 years from now. Ergh.

[lauralala]

I loved my school (a non-flagship state school), but we now live in the town where it is located, and we will most likely encourage DS to at least consider moving away for college.

[countthestars]

I don't really care either way. I went to an out-of-state state school so I wouldn't encourage it unless it was her dream school or it made sense financially.

[humpforfree]

Yes! We met there and being a Hokie is a lifestyle, not just an education. Lol. It is very much engrained in our lives and would love that for him too.

[bunch]

Sure. It's the highest ranked school in the state. It's cheap because of state scholarships. It's 30 mins away which would be a plus or minus depending on the kid.

[ECB]

I loved my college and have so many wonderful memories. If DS wanted to go there, great. But in NO way are we going to pressure him to do so (DH went there too). It's a small college and depending on what DS wants to pursue, it may not offer what he wants.

[matildasun]

I went to a small state school in rural Maine (UMF for the Maine folks). I don't see my city kids wanting to go there, but I wouldn't mind if they did.

[6fsn]

I'm not sure I even know what flagship state school means.

DH and I got a good education and had a lot of fun. Our school is usually in the top for all sorts of things, but there are certain fields of study they could do better somewhere else. If they opt to go where DH works they'll get a good education and save 50% though.

[DarcyLongfellow]

Hell yes!

I really hope we're in a position to pay for it. It was crazy expensive when I went, and it's only going to get more so.

It's also super selective, so I really hope they could get in. It was selective when I went there too, but I feel like schools are getting harder to get into.

I do alumni interviews for my college (of high schoolers applying -- everyone who applies gets an interview), and I'm in awe of how much these kids do. And most of them don't get in

It's funny, one of the questions the kids always ask is if I liked it, and my response is always to be shocked that they would even ask because who wouldn't love their school? But I know not all schools are like that.

[egishere]

Absolutely if we were back in TX now that we aren't we will have to pay out of state so I don't think it is worth it. I will encourage them to go to a good in state public school.

[spk926]

Sure, but I really don't care. I went to a smaller state school (DH went to the same one) and it doesn't have a huge alumni group or anything.