Clay and I were talking about colleges, and that inspired our new poll.
We were talking about families and college choices, and thought of at least three different outlooks on MUS as it relates to college choices.
Some families, even when their sons are still in the Lower School, know exactly where their sons are going to college. Maybe it's where older siblings or the boy's parents or grandparents went. Those parents don't send their sons here because of the variety of college opportunities that MUS might provide; they presumably send their sons here because they think MUS will best prepare their sons for the school each has already chosen.
Other families, are on the opposite end of the spectrum. MUS' reputation and college admissions track record is an important reason why they are sending their sons here. If you wanted to send you son to Harvard, it is probably important to you that half of the Memphis boys in the last five years admitted to Harvard were MUS graduates. That's more than any other school (even White Station which is much larger). And it doesn't have to be Harvard; maybe it's Stanford or M.I.T, or Duke, or University of Virginia. These families are looking at an MUS education as a door to a wider variety of college choices for their son.
Finally, with increasing college tuition, finances are becoming an ever-more-important factor for many parents. These parents look at MUS and the scholarships that are offered to our graduates as a way of helping pay for college. For a few students, the scholarships earned from their attending MUS could exceed the tuition paid for their high school education. These parents look at MUS in some ways as a financial investment that will pay back when their sons are choosing a college.
Clay and I have known parents who fit into all three of these categories, and many more who don't fall so neatly into just one. But, for the purposes of this poll, we'd like to know which of these attitudes best reflects your thoughts about MUS as it relates to college.
As always, your thoughts (anonymous or not) are welcome on Blogmail, as well.