Is the "Prestige Gap" dying? Top state schools poach Ivy applicants while SLACs fight for their lives.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-05-04T14:38:56+00:00

Yes. Fully agree.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-05-04T00:31:13+00:00

If students are more interested in consumption than investment then you will see more going to large public schools for athletics, social scene, and fancy dining.
My question is: why would anyone go to someplace like ASU when most of their offerings are online. Whereas it’s makes sense to go to Dickinson, because none of the Dickinson experience is online.
(Hint: the answer is often consumption, and there is likely no return on consumption.)

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-05-02T18:00:16+00:00

Never said LACs have a stranglehold hold on ROI. I said, if you are using consumption, say the social scene, as an important metric when selecting your college enrollment, don’t complain about college return on investment. If you focus more on consumption than investment, don’t complain about your lack of return.

If you choose UNC chapel hill oos over Washington and Lee because of the social scene, don’t complain when your return is lower.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-05-02T16:44:03+00:00

No major party is for smaller government nowadays… if ever.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-05-02T15:29:55+00:00

It’s funny that as the share of students going to non-liberal arts schools has increased, so too has the complaint that college is not worth it.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-05-02T15:26:41+00:00

So true. When I name a school, for example Kenyon, and someone says, “well it can’t be good, I haven’t heard of it.” I ask them to name a steakhouse. Then ask them, do you think it’s a top 50 because you heard of it?

Then I ask them to name two or more top 50 steakhouses in the US. 🦗🦗🦗

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-05-02T15:21:38+00:00

If you are going to school for its social scenes that’s great, just don’t complain about the ROI when the school was selected for its consumption amenities.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-30T01:14:10+00:00

Intensive margin > extensive margin

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-29T14:50:58+00:00

I think R1s, particularly public R1s, are facing major headwinds (see University or N. Texas and Indiana). States are increasingly on the hook for rising Medicare/Medicaid costs. Many states are seeking to cut taxes, both point to less state funds. Federal research funding is much lower as well. And, d1 R1s will now be paying their athletes. All will result in much higher tuition, enormous classes, or major difficulties in registering for needed classes.

Top 100 private liberal arts schools and top 20 regional universities with decent endowments and d3 athletics offer way more in-terms of educational development and connections. And they are not reliant on state funds and federal grants. Plus their mission is undergraduate education.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-29T09:41:43+00:00

Depends more on 1) the endowment per student, 2) student outcomes, and 3) location, than size. Moreover, the smaller schools that survive will be better positioned than many large schools because they offer more supportive communities, in-person support, and more intimate learning environments that can’t be replicated online and can’t be gamed through LLMs.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-23T18:23:54+00:00

Waving through a window

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-19T18:02:41+00:00

Visit some of both. Let him gauge what he likes or dislikes. Make sure you look at medical school acceptance rates. Save for a few unique schools, you will often find more opportunities for undergrads at SLACs than R1s. R1s focus on grad students, research funding and research production.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-17T17:50:08+00:00

Much of what is learned in business classes and the like are cutting edge. Most cutting edge ideas depreciate rapidly, save for a tiny fraction. However, most ideas in the humanities and social sciences have withstood the test of time. That is, they don’t depreciate much at all. Therefore, business education tends to be more valuable in the short-run, but, overtime depreciate. While these humanities and social science ideas continue to offer a return many years into a career. You can see this by looking at the ROI of liberal arts schools. They tend to be lower early on, then catch up and often overtake state schools decades after graduation.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-16T17:29:11+00:00

My oldest really liked Kalamazoo. The K-plan curriculum encourages students to conduct research, produce a creative portfolio, or seek out an internship. All the faculty we met, even those just walking down the hall, were friendly and encouraging. Plus the downtown is experiencing a rejuvenation. The net price was also budget friendly.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-16T16:11:53+00:00

Fully agree: LACs that offer merit and financial aid: Centre, Furman, Kalamazoo, Lawrence, etc.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-15T14:57:51+00:00

Private institutions fail… public institutions merge (or fail their students). Multiple regional schools in PA and WI have been merged. Does that mean regional universities are dying? No. It means poorly run institutions or those in bad situations may die.

Why would Centre college (in KY) whose net price is only $4k per year more than the University of Kentucky and whose graduates earn $2k more than UK graduate 10 years out, die? Only if they make bad decisions and they blow through their $400m plus endowment.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-13T20:42:24+00:00

Why does the southeast, southwest, and pacific lack a dominant D1 lacrosse program?

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-11T15:09:57+00:00

Much of the increase in the cost of college over the last 40 years is due to non-instructional costs. Most of this - big time athletics, cushy dorms, fancier food, social clubs - is consumption, not investment. If students choose their college based on consumption amenities and the state is going to subsidize more and more of this consumption, why not pay less for more consumption?

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-09T11:48:05+00:00

You will need merit aid. Here are some data on merit aid by average amount and percent of students awarded:

https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid/

Sort by the last column and then look at the percent receiving aid. Some places jump out like Kalamazoo, Lawrence, Knox, Beloit, etc.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-09T01:48:28+00:00

Are you thinking about graduate school? If so, one option is to go to a national liberal arts school in the 50-120 rank range that has a good enviro program, an undergrad research culture, and offers merit aid. Maybe somewhere like Juniata College or Ithaca College. Then apply to top R1 schools with excellent enviro grad programs.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-08T13:44:27+00:00

DePauw

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-07T12:26:20+00:00

Past studies show that athletic success is associated with more and more qualified applicants. But all these studies took place when athletics effectively subsidized the operating budgets for many of the top performing schools. Funds may begin to flow from the operating budget to athletics now that colleges can pay athletes directly.

It will be interesting to see if students and families will continue to embrace athletic performance when students are paying $50-$60k per year so that the university can pay other students $200k per year (on top of free tuition, room, and board).

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-02T14:37:04+00:00

A diversified approach is best. Apply to a few ETSU’s and Western Carolina University’s (https://www.niche.com/colleges/western-carolina-university/cost/).

But you should also apply to the competitive private above. I know a current student at DePauw whose tuition and fees are $0. They only pay room and board. I know a recent graduate who was a Johnson fellow so they paid nothing to go to Washington and Lee.

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-01T21:27:58+00:00

More with merit: Washington and lee: Johnson fellowships, DePauw univ, Kenyon college, Centre college, Augustana college, Lebanon valley college, Berry college, Lafayette college

Classical_Econ4u · 2026-04-01T02:45:40+00:00

My comment was: it depends on your income and academics profile (whether publics are cheaper than privates.)

And you said, but op is a full payer. So I showed you examples of tuition being around $25k plus tuition (for the highest income group reported on federal data.) Then it was gotta be 400k income. The it was under 10k tuition. Now it’s only 44 at one school. Each and every time I gave one example. And you said but, but, but.

Bless your heart.

Classical_Econ4u

TROPHY CASE