Parents’ 10 Dream Schools for Their Kids (& the 10 Colleges Students Actually Love)

It's Decision Time

Countless high school seniors are eagerly awaiting responses to their college applications.

Everyone wants that “big envelope” — or whatever the digital version of that is now — but that’s not the only thing bringing on the anxiety. Students are also thinking about how much this education is going to cost them.

About 85% of respondents to an annual survey conducted by The Princeton Review estimated college would cost them $50,000 or more, and of that group, 43% expected it to cost more than $100,000. (If you have student loans, or are going to need them, it’s important you think about how they’re going to impact your credit. You can keep an eye on it by reviewing a free snapshot of your credit report on Credit.com.)

That’s no subtle amount of money — an amount most people probably don’t just have lying around — so it makes sense that the level of debt parents and/or their child will take on to pay for the degree was the biggest worry for both parents and students for the past five years of the survey.

Still, 99% of respondents said they feel the investment will be worth it.

Dreamin' Big

These findings are based on responses from 10,519 people (8,499 students applying to college and 2,020 parents of college applicants) in the U.S. as well as people from more than 20 other countries. The survey was conducted from Aug. 2016 through early March 2017 and appeared in the Best 381 Colleges: 2017 Edition and on The Princeton Review’s website.

As part of the survey, students were asked what their dream college would be while parents were asked what college they’d like to see their child attend if chance of acceptance and cost weren’t an issue.

Respondents named more than 510 colleges, universities and other post-secondary institutions — and, after tallying them all up, The Princeton Review came up with the top 10 for each category. Click through to find out what the results were.

No. 10 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: University of Notre Dame

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: $51,505

No. 9 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: Cornell University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: $52,853 ($35,483 for New York residents)

No. 8 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: New York University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $49,062

No. 7 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: University of Michigan

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: lower division: $45,410 ($14,402 for Michigan residents); upper division: $48,598 ($16,218 for Michigan residents)

No. 6 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: University of Pennsylvania

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $51,464

No. 5 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: Duke University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $51,510

No. 4 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $48,452

No. 3 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: Harvard University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $43,280

No. 2 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: Princeton University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: $47,500

No. 1 School Parents Would Like to See Their Child Attend: Stanford University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: $48,987

No. 10 Dream School for Students: Yale University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: $51,400

No. 9 Dream School for Students: University of Pennsylvania

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $51,464

No. 8 Dream School for Students: University of California — Berkeley

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: $14,068

No. 7 Dream School for Students: Princeton University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: $47,500

No. 6 Dream School for Students: Columbia University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $55,056

No. 5 Dream School for Students: University of California — Los Angeles

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $42,241.03 ($15,559.03 for California residents)

No. 4 Dream School for Students: New York University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $49,062

No. 3 Dream School for Students: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $48,452

No. 2 Dream School for Students: Harvard University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2016-2017 School Year: $43,280

No. 1 Dream School for Students: Stanford University

Average Tuition & Fees for 2017-2018 School Year: $48,987