Shooting below your weight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's punching below your weight, OP.

What matters most is fit. Where your student feels most at home, comfortable. This is where I want to be. Single most important factor.

+1000

Where will your DC thrive socially and emotionally as well as academically? That’s the key question that is often missing in the process.

Please. Telling my friends and neighbors “my DC is so socially and emotionally happy their school” pales in comparison to “my DC goes to Yale.”

C’mon. You know this.

I guess, if you are desperate to impress your own friends and family.

My personal relationships are on much more solid ground, so I don’t seek out external signs of validation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is definitely the path to maximum merit.

We applied to a range. My kid got offers of approximately half tuition at all.

Her favorite was also the least competitive of her 7 admits (a CTCL). That had me nervous, but she really loved the vibe and values. As it turns out, she DID thrive there (i.e., was recognized with additional merit awards by faculty, won prestigious internship slots). So I think she made the right choice. And came away with no student debt.

Would you be willing to say what school? This is the position we are in and my DC is considering the CTCL school.

It was Juniata.

(I share that despite the risk of triggering the rabid anti-CTCL poster 😂)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's punching below your weight, OP.

What matters most is fit. Where your student feels most at home, comfortable. This is where I want to be. Single most important factor.

+1000

Where will your DC thrive socially and emotionally as well as academically? That’s the key question that is often missing in the process.

Please. Telling my friends and neighbors “my DC is so socially and emotionally happy their school” pales in comparison to “my DC goes to Yale.”

C’mon. You know this.

I guess, if you are desperate to impress your own friends and family.

My personal relationships are on much more solid ground, so I don’t seek out external signs of validation.

DP You’re on DCUM. Of course you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UGH.

The phrase is: punching below your weight.

Etymology
An allusion to the sport of boxing, where contenders fight in various weight classes.

Verb
punch below one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches below one's weight, present participle punching below one's weight, simple past and past participle punched below one's weight)

(idiomatic) To achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.

Enough with the pedantry. Answer the question or move on to another thread.

It's just that sometimes reading these threads, you can see intelligence is lacking in the family. Analytical reasoning absent as well.

It must be difficult being so much smarter than everybody else. Thanks for putting up with mere humans.

Add in the pedantry and poor PP’s life is even more difficult. I kinda feel bad for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's punching below your weight, OP.

What matters most is fit. Where your student feels most at home, comfortable. This is where I want to be. Single most important factor.

+1000

Where will your DC thrive socially and emotionally as well as academically? That’s the key question that is often missing in the process.

Please. Telling my friends and neighbors “my DC is so socially and emotionally happy their school” pales in comparison to “my DC goes to Yale.”

C’mon. You know this.

I guess, if you are desperate to impress your own friends and family.

My personal relationships are on much more solid ground, so I don’t seek out external signs of validation.

That PP was me, and that was my really bad attempt at sarcasm. I was playing the role of the typical DCUM status chaser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's punching below your weight, OP.

What matters most is fit. Where your student feels most at home, comfortable. This is where I want to be. Single most important factor.

+1000

Where will your DC thrive socially and emotionally as well as academically? That’s the key question that is often missing in the process.

Please. Telling my friends and neighbors “my DC is so socially and emotionally happy their school” pales in comparison to “my DC goes to Yale.”

C’mon. You know this.

I guess, if you are desperate to impress your own friends and family.

My personal relationships are on much more solid ground, so I don’t seek out external signs of validation.

That PP was me, and that was my really bad attempt at sarcasm. I was playing the role of the typical DCUM status chaser.

Are you sure you are on the right we site? It’s nice that you own up to having written a flawed post, but such humility & honesty is going to freak out many locals, who will be found tomorrow curled up into a fetal position in the servants’ quarters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]I love the 50-100 merit aid schools. [/b]They weed out the prestige-or-bust crowd, which lowers the intensity on campus. The merit aid eases the urgency for instant ROI, which creates a little space for kids to explore interests for the sake of curiosity alone. It’s a little easier for kids to access opportunities. The professors are still great, but the vibe is more relaxed. There’s less of a socioeconomic barbell effect.

If my kid were gunning for McKinsey I might think twice about eschewing the top schools, but otherwise merit aid seems the way to go.

Which schools are these?

I like this perspective. This list might be helpful in determining the 50-100 merit aid schools. You can sort by % receiving merit: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid

Interesting list!
FWIW, my kid received more than the average noted for the schools where they were 75%+ on ACT/SAT scores.

This list seems reliable. My kids applied to LACs, and looking at specific schools (Wooster, Whitman, Grinnell, Lawrence, Hendrix, Kenyon, Beloit, Skidmore, St. Olaf, Lewis and Clark...), the merit offers was actually very close to what I'm seeing on this list. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]I love the 50-100 merit aid schools. [/b]They weed out the prestige-or-bust crowd, which lowers the intensity on campus. The merit aid eases the urgency for instant ROI, which creates a little space for kids to explore interests for the sake of curiosity alone. It’s a little easier for kids to access opportunities. The professors are still great, but the vibe is more relaxed. There’s less of a socioeconomic barbell effect.

If my kid were gunning for McKinsey I might think twice about eschewing the top schools, but otherwise merit aid seems the way to go.

Which schools are these?

Case
SMU
TCU
Santa Clara
Tulane
Pepperdine
Elon
U-Miami
Wake

Wake is a T50 school and gives little merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]I love the 50-100 merit aid schools. [/b]They weed out the prestige-or-bust crowd, which lowers the intensity on campus. The merit aid eases the urgency for instant ROI, which creates a little space for kids to explore interests for the sake of curiosity alone. It’s a little easier for kids to access opportunities. The professors are still great, but the vibe is more relaxed. There’s less of a socioeconomic barbell effect.

If my kid were gunning for McKinsey I might think twice about eschewing the top schools, but otherwise merit aid seems the way to go.

Which schools are these?

I like this perspective. This list might be helpful in determining the 50-100 merit aid schools. You can sort by % receiving merit: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid

Interesting list!
FWIW, my kid received more than the average noted for the schools where they were 75%+ on ACT/SAT scores.

This list seems reliable. My kids applied to LACs, and looking at specific schools (Wooster, Whitman, Grinnell, Lawrence, Hendrix, Kenyon, Beloit, Skidmore, St. Olaf, Lewis and Clark...), the merit offers was actually very close to what I'm seeing on this list. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but close.

I thought Skidmore didn’t have merit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's punching below your weight, OP.

What matters most is fit. Where your student feels most at home, comfortable. This is where I want to be. Single most important factor.

+1000

Where will your DC thrive socially and emotionally as well as academically? That’s the key question that is often missing in the process.

Please. Telling my friends and neighbors “my DC is so socially and emotionally happy their school” pales in comparison to “my DC goes to Yale.”

C’mon. You know this.

I guess, if you are desperate to impress your own friends and family.

My personal relationships are on much more solid ground, so I don’t seek out external signs of validation.

That PP was me, and that was my really bad attempt at sarcasm. I was playing the role of the typical DCUM status chaser.

Are you sure you are on the right we site? It’s nice that you own up to having written a flawed post, but such humility & honesty is going to freak out many locals, who will be found tomorrow curled up into a fetal position in the servants’ quarters.

I think you have a flawed view of the readership here. You seem to focus selectively on a few people who jump out to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's punching below your weight, OP.

What matters most is fit. Where your student feels most at home, comfortable. This is where I want to be. Single most important factor.

+1000

Where will your DC thrive socially and emotionally as well as academically? That’s the key question that is often missing in the process.

Please. Telling my friends and neighbors “my DC is so socially and emotionally happy their school” pales in comparison to “my DC goes to Yale.”

C’mon. You know this.

I guess, if you are desperate to impress your own friends and family.

My personal relationships are on much more solid ground, so I don’t seek out external signs of validation.

That PP was me, and that was my really bad attempt at sarcasm. I was playing the role of the typical DCUM status chaser.

Are you sure you are on the right we site? It’s nice that you own up to having written a flawed post, but such humility & honesty is going to freak out many locals, who will be found tomorrow curled up into a fetal position in the servants’ quarters.

I think you have a flawed view of the readership here. You seem to focus selectively on a few people who jump out to you.

Good to know Gladys Kravitz is alive & well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]I love the 50-100 merit aid schools. [/b]They weed out the prestige-or-bust crowd, which lowers the intensity on campus. The merit aid eases the urgency for instant ROI, which creates a little space for kids to explore interests for the sake of curiosity alone. It’s a little easier for kids to access opportunities. The professors are still great, but the vibe is more relaxed. There’s less of a socioeconomic barbell effect.

If my kid were gunning for McKinsey I might think twice about eschewing the top schools, but otherwise merit aid seems the way to go.

Which schools are these?

I like this perspective. This list might be helpful in determining the 50-100 merit aid schools. You can sort by % receiving merit: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid

Interesting list!
FWIW, my kid received more than the average noted for the schools where they were 75%+ on ACT/SAT scores.

This list seems reliable. My kids applied to LACs, and looking at specific schools (Wooster, Whitman, Grinnell, Lawrence, Hendrix, Kenyon, Beloit, Skidmore, St. Olaf, Lewis and Clark...), the merit offers was actually very close to what I'm seeing on this list. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but close.

I thought Skidmore didn’t have merit

PP - I swear my older kid got a little bit of $ from Skidmore — not game-changing but take-the-the-edge-off. But I notice that the linked list says that at Skidmore <1% get merit. I will confirm w DC. Reasonably sure about the others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]I love the 50-100 merit aid schools. [/b]They weed out the prestige-or-bust crowd, which lowers the intensity on campus. The merit aid eases the urgency for instant ROI, which creates a little space for kids to explore interests for the sake of curiosity alone. It’s a little easier for kids to access opportunities. The professors are still great, but the vibe is more relaxed. There’s less of a socioeconomic barbell effect.

If my kid were gunning for McKinsey I might think twice about eschewing the top schools, but otherwise merit aid seems the way to go.

Which schools are these?

I like this perspective. This list might be helpful in determining the 50-100 merit aid schools. You can sort by % receiving merit: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid

Interesting list!
FWIW, my kid received more than the average noted for the schools where they were 75%+ on ACT/SAT scores.

This list seems reliable. My kids applied to LACs, and looking at specific schools (Wooster, Whitman, Grinnell, Lawrence, Hendrix, Kenyon, Beloit, Skidmore, St. Olaf, Lewis and Clark...), the merit offers was actually very close to what I'm seeing on this list. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but close.

I thought Skidmore didn’t have merit

PP - I swear my older kid got a little bit of $ from Skidmore — not game-changing but take-the-the-edge-off. But I notice that the linked list says that at Skidmore <1% get merit. I will confirm w DC. Reasonably sure about the others.

I agree about the others giving merit.

[Anonymous]

We have similar budget parameters (60K/year), but live in the midwest. My daughter wants to study biology/ enviro sci / plant science. She is looking at UMN, Grinnell, Dickinson, Wisconsin, St. Olaf, Kenyon, maybe Macalaster, maybe Cal Poly. She may apply for some Ivies just to see, and that might be a different conversation, but it looks like she would have a realistic chance of keeping the above schools to within 60K, either through merit aid or reasonable OOS tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have similar budget parameters (60K/year), but live in the midwest. My daughter wants to study biology/ enviro sci / plant science. She is looking at UMN, Grinnell, Dickinson, Wisconsin, St. Olaf, Kenyon, maybe Macalaster, maybe Cal Poly. She may apply for some Ivies just to see, and that might be a different conversation, but it looks like she would have a realistic chance of keeping the above schools to within 60K, either through merit aid or reasonable OOS tuition.

If she wants Grinnell, she should consider ED. Much easier to get in and they guarantee 20k merit to those accepted ED. Very difficult admit if not ED.