Eton College – should he go there?

[salsa]

+1 Southbucks3, except for the "tears" bit, was that an autocorrect issue or a Freudian slip?
I paid for my education and maintenance. Although I'm very proud of it, it was hard and maybe I would have done better if I hadn't had to work and study at the same time. I don't know what I'll do when it comes to my sons' university, but we are saving now.

[southbucks3]

typo, if I could have paid it off with a few tears I would have stuck an onion under each eye for a week!

We are hoping to help our boys with the old bricks and mortar in the future, both physically and financially if we can...that seemed to be the time we struggled the most in life tbh, getting a decent house around us. Who knows though?

[salsa]

Well, for me it was hard and I may have shed a tear or two!
It made me value my education though. Yes, housing is also an issue.

[chapuza]

Slightly off the topic, but just wanted to say that I knew several Etonians at Oxford (I'm a comprehensive boy) and they were all charming and not annoying at all. But neither did they all go on to rule the country - the three I knew best became a jobbing actor, a manager for a videogames company, and a music producer. It's also worth bearing in mind that while going to Eton can open doors, it can also close them - I worked with somebody who was in a position to hire people who always invited people from top schools to interview, purely because he liked to not offer them the job afterwards.

[Herts-Dad]

To be fair, Chapuza, sounds like the Eton boys had a lucky escape not being offered the job.

[HotCrossBun]

I second Chapuza's comments. I've only met one old Etonian. He is a thoroughly nice person, but hardly ruling the universe now. Just a mid level corporate manager with three kids.

I worked for a US based company that routinely turned down resumes from Harvard and the Ivy League for a prestigious management training program on the basis that they would be too demanding and entitled. So, I agree, elite schooling can be a double edged sword.

[ConcernedDad]

I second Chapuza's comments. I've only met one old Etonian. He is a thoroughly nice person, but hardly ruling the universe now. Just a mid level corporate manager with three kids.

I worked for a US based company that routinely turned down resumes from Harvard and the Ivy League for a prestigious management training program on the basis that they would be too demanding and entitled. So, I agree, elite schooling can be a double edged sword.

Agree. There can be some disadvantages of having such a resume. On average though, benefts are far more than disadvantages.

I came across a few Etonians at work place. All very nice persons. And all know very well how to conduct themselves.

As someone said earlier, a lot of schools offer financial assistance for school trips. It is definitely worth having a chat with the Bursar.

[Herts-Dad]

I've only met one old Etonian. He is a thoroughly nice person, but hardly ruling the universe now. Just a mid level corporate manager with three kids.

Don't forget though, had he not gone to Eton, it's possible that he would never have made "mid level corporate manager"

Not everyone that goes there has rocket scientist brains, many are of average ability. I would have thought that the "thoroughly nice person" part was perhaps the more important indicator.

[HotCrossBun]

I wasn't sniffing at people being "thoroughly nice" at all!

Just refuting (through one single anecdote ) the idea that all Old Etonians are all snotty and powerful. I know at least one who isn't either of those things.

[Peridot]

Well it's good to know that there are thoroughly nice old Etonians as well as the ones I met! Don't forget my opinion is from meeting said people in their early 20s. They may have mellowed now... Seriously though, I do think an education at a school with a name like Eton's could both help and hinder in later life, depending on others' preconceptions.