Fast American Girls- Why choose NC State over Ivy or Stanford?

This is a perfect example of what is wrong on LR and frankly, what’s wrong everywhere. Ivy League is not the right fit for everyone. If it were, there would be nothing special or exclusive about it. Parents trying to force their child to go to an Ivy League when it is not a good choice for them might just ruin them. Going to a state school is not a bad choice nor does it mean you are a failure. There is nothing wrong with D2 schools. The world requires a variety of people, in a variety of careers. Going to a D1 or D3 instead of a D2 or Ivy League instead of a state school definitely doesn’t make you a better person nor does it mean you will be any happier.

"Transfer" might be the wring word choice. Crosby, Myjer and Hays graduated from Columbia and Moskowitz from Brown where they each had solid running careers. AFTER they graduated from Ivy's they continued their D1 running careers with various NCAA eligibility while attending NC State graduate school. (No Ivy League grad students can compete in athletic programs... undergrad only, four years and done, no redshirt, no exceptions)

Their "wildly successful careers" are certainly attributed to their own individual talent, aptitudes and drive...the same traits that got them into Ivy's in the first place. That they finished their running careers at NC State is because they were recruited and benefited from scholarships that helped pay for grad school. But I guarantee their resumes are at the tip-top of HR hiring departments because they graduated from Ivy League scools...not NC State!

Do you not think other top schools recruited them to pursue grad school there and offered scholarship money when they were in the transfer portal? The Duke's, Stanford's, of the world, even the purported public ivy's? Why are they picking NC State when universities that you would consider objectively better are also likely pursuing them to go to graduate school?

Speaking of falling under the radar, Umass is tied with NC State at #64 in the country for academics. They are a rising and fully funded men's and woman's xc and track and field program. Running at umass for top hs talent would open potential doors to many northeast region programs that are not fully funded. So, if a top tier recruit, you get quality MAC competition (great lakes region) and competition against all of the ivies!! Think about it!

I live in San Diego. Chiara Daily just chose Stanford. She bombed at Footlocker last year- DNF. Claimed was sick. Kristin Fahy from Carlsbad years ago chose Stanford. She bombed. But she has a Stanford diploma! Katelyn Tuohy was supposedly in the top 5 of her HS graduating class. Top recruit. Was she not offered a Scholarship to Stanford? Stanford is not Ivy League but tops. I would have gone there if I was Katelyn over academically mediocre NC State! That is more important than 3 team titles. Was Sadie Engelhardt from CA offered any scholarships?

I agree with your main point -- that Ivy is an almost-sure pathway to a viable future income. If you go to most of these schools, people will assume that you're small and that counts for a lot; instant credentials. However, Bill Gates actually proves your point, rather than being a rare exception. He went to Harvard for undergrad. (Yes, he dropped out to start Microsoft but he still went there for his freshman and sophomore years). Same story for Mark Zuckerberg.

And they put coleslaw on their hot dogs.

How awesome is that?

No guarantee. An Ivy investment is actually like investing in riskier stocks rather than the 4% a bank us paying. 50% of Ivy students will pay $400K for an education rather than taking the academic aid they would have received at their state school. At graduation, about the same percent 20-25% can't find a job or get a crappy job. On the other end, more Ivy grads get high paying jobs than P4 grads but mid career is only $20K different. So it is unlikely that many ever recoup the initial investment but a small number will become very wealthy.

What's "crushing academics? Is chemistry different in stanford vs NCSU? I think like people said, there's only so many schools like stanford, runners want to be on a good team just like football players do, so you go to the next school that has decent academics and a good team. If NCS or BYU sucked, I don't think they are a player here. I never heard of NAU in my life, but if you build it they will come.

The last 2 girls (only 2 ) I know went to stanford were not rich, definitely not entitled, but yes smart.

Regardless of sport, regardless of level, the number one determining factor in college recruiting is distance from home.

None of the top teams have any correlation between home state and school other than BYU.

I dont think that is necessarily true for all kids, especially if the level (either academically or athletically) is high enough. Between the NC State girls classes of 2025 and 2026 there is only one from within 500 miles of campus, Morgan Miller from NC. The rest are from Ohio (x2), Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, California, and British Columbia.

I understand what you are saying and it is certainly likely that there are elite recruits NC state wanted who ruled them out based on distance from home. But there are clearly elite kids willing to move themselves across the country for school for the right situation.

Money. If you can afford to pay $100K per year, go to the top academic schools.

no way W has an IQ above 90.

Yet every champion from Mich goes to Stanford. I think 3 now and soon a 4th.

When you don’t have the grades you go to NC State. It’s really that simple. It’s still a great place to be

if you have been within 50 miles of an ivy you know the kids there tend to trend rich. the parents can afford the school. the parents can send their kids to private schools who produce most of the kids with high SATs. i have never felt so socially out of place as at an ivy.

i say this because when you start throwing around abstract numbers saying, "but x% of kids there don't get aid" or "a lot of kids get little aid" -- it's those rich kids. this is not state college. this is not even your local liberal arts college. this is definitely not penny pinchers at your local juco. roughly 26% of harvard parents make >$250,000.

how they get treated or their affordability is irrelevant to me if i am poor. at a cutoff of $200k harvard is free tuition. at a cutoff of $100k they toss in room, board, and expenses.

if i am below those cutoffs, my issue is not affordability -- IT'S FREE. my issue is getting in. my issue is socially fitting into a school filled with rich prep school kids. and your issue is managing to make the required SAT while going to a public HS. i don't think people get how it works. one inner city HS the average SAT might be 900. down the road the suburban HS is 1150. tucked away nearby is the private school which averages 1400.

it's very simple. which kid is more likely to get the 1500+ you need? a slightly above average private school kid. the kid who does it from a suburban public is a star. and no one ever does it from the inner city school, but we pretend we don't need affirmative action.

Your estimates are sort of true. Assers also factor in. We don't earn much but pay the majority because we saved.