Did anyone's kid choose quality of life/social factors over prestige?

[Anonymous]

Mine did- 4.0 uw in most rigorous curriculum, 1520 SAT in one sitting as a sophomore, and good (though not amazing) ECs.

He chose to ED to a top 50 for a specific major, lower key vibe, and lots of flexibility in the curriculum (also ended up w merit money though we were willing to be full pay.) I think he made the right decision for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Northwestern is done. We did the accepted student day and she really did not like it. Didn't see herself there. She revisited UVA and loved it.

The issue that complicates the Penn and Columbia decisions is she hasn't visited either with students in session. We toured them briefly last summer and then toured Penn last week but just walked around Columbia with a friend of a friend (the undergrads are gone for the year and they are on a break from tours until June). It's been very hard to get a feel for the social scenes.

She wants fun mixed with strong academics. Very social kid. Traditional greek life (or so she says, as I mentioned above I'm not sure she knows what this really is).

Let her decide and stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These three schools don’t have that much of a difference in prestige.

If your DC are going for engineering, the differences are more significant. Cornell probably has the best engineering program among the three, and a strong network in the industry.

Thank you but DC did not get into Cornell. It's Penn vs Columbia vs UVA. Penn and Columbia are (i think) data science programs within their SEAS and she would probably go into consulting/finance/business/tech/etc. She is not planning on majoring in straight engineering. I need to clarify this as I'm not sure exactly which majors go with which of her applications.

I am at a big econ/business consulting firm. Penn is at a completely different level for target schools for junior recruitment. UVA is a level down, but still a target school.

This.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Just want to reiterate that UVA rush is going to be very competitive for an oos girl, and rush at Penn less so. I was rush director at my sorority decades ago and am shocked at how much rush is different than I experienced. At UVA, very superficial things that she has little control over, like the high school she attended, will matter (strong preference for private schools and feeder affluent public schools) as well as how much she fits a sorority’s type in terms the way she dresses and looks.

Parent of two daughters who graduated from NOVA public high schools who attended UVA and who both rushed. Neither had any problem getting the bids that they wanted.

Assuming that OP’s daughter has half the personality and likeability that OP says she has, she will have no trouble rushing at UVA.

Your dds are probably at sororities with lots of other girls from their high schools. It’s a lot harder for oos girls.

Wrong. Both of my daughters’ sororities were full of OOS “girls” and not a single one of them were from their same high school. You really don’t know what you’re talking about.

I know oos girls who were very social who were shut out of the top tier sororities at UVA. Perhaps we just are coming at it from different perspectives, or your dd’s were willing to go beyond the “top” sororities (which I think is great, but many girls aren’t).

It would be a shame to chose UVA predominantly for its Greek life and not have it work out. I’ve seen this happen to girls at many southern schools.

Ha ha ha, now I get it. You are suggesting that it only it’s worth rushing if you can get into one of the so-called “top“ sororities, and you’re suggesting that OP‘s daughter can’t do that.

Do you really think that there aren’t social tiers at the Ivies? Are you really saying that OP’s daughter can’t make it socially at UVA being from out of state, but can just swoop into the top of the social scene/tier at Penn and Columbia? What a joke.

It’s less competitive to go Greek at Penn, I don’t know about Columbia. I don’t think it’s only worth rushing the top tier sororities, but I do know many college age girls who think so, which is why so many schools have girls dropping rush while still having houses that can’t fill their pledge class. For what it’s worth, I have one college age kid and three close family members who recently graduated.

If UVA is her dream school, send her there. If she just wants reassurance that she can have an active social life, she can have that at Penn and likely Columbia. Neither has Northwestern’s current reputation as just being fun for the recruited athletes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I find it very endearing that you don’t really know what majors your kid applied to. Not being sarcastic at all. Good job parenting a very reasonable and smart seeming kid who has (at least) three excellent college choices, without micromanaging their college process and decision.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life is too short to value prestige over happiness. No one on their deathbed laments, "wish I had picked a higher ranked college with the lower acceptance rate." Way more people regret not having been true to themselves vs. other people's expectations.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3377309/

You do realize attending elite/ivies IS being true to oneself for many students, right?

From everything that's been posted thus far, what makes you think OP's daughter attending Penn or Columbia is being true to herself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is committed to UVA (out of state and chose over Berkeley, Michigan, Northwestern and a few others) and very excited about it but about 10 days ago got off the waitlists for SEAS at both Penn and Columbia. DC was given roughly 2 weeks to decide by each school because of pending financial aid (we receive(d) a minimal amount as we have 2 older kids in college).
DC really wants to stick with UVA because they believe it will be a more enjoyable, well-rounded. classic college experience.
Major is uncertain but probably statistics/data science or economics. DC applied to different majors at each school and I'm not actually sure what.

What would you do as a parent in this situation? All the schools will end up costing about the same (roughly $75K/year give or take).
Did your kid make a similar choice?

Yes. My DS chose Penn State over Cornell and Northwestern. He can't wait. He is super smart, self motivated and because of AP transfer credits will start as a second semester sophomore (he had 14 APS and had 5s on the 8 he had taken at the time of admissions) - this was a big appeal as he will do an integrated masters 4-year program. He had such a great time at Penn State on the tours and from visiting over the years, and didn't like the vibe at the other campuses (a drag, a grind, etc). He can't wait to go to Penn State. He wanted school spirit, a big school, etc.

I thought my cousin was the only one. It was a while ago, and I’m not entirely sure why he chose Penn State over Cornell. Engineering. No regrets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Northwestern is done. We did the accepted student day and she really did not like it. Didn't see herself there. She revisited UVA and loved it.

The issue that complicates the Penn and Columbia decisions is she hasn't visited either with students in session. We toured them briefly last summer and then toured Penn last week but just walked around Columbia with a friend of a friend (the undergrads are gone for the year and they are on a break from tours until June). It's been very hard to get a feel for the social scenes.

She wants fun mixed with strong academics. Very social kid. Traditional greek life (or so she says, as I mentioned above I'm not sure she knows what this really is).

Let her decide and stop.

OP back. Trust me. I am. This is not my first rodeo. I have older kids and as I said before in this post, she ALREADY (last month) chose UVA over more highly ranked schools. I stood by quietly when she did that. Frankly, I am becoming a freaking pro at letting her take the college decision reigns. I posted on here because I was curious about how many others have kids who chose similarly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These three schools don’t have that much of a difference in prestige.

If your DC are going for engineering, the differences are more significant. Cornell probably has the best engineering program among the three, and a strong network in the industry.

Thank you but DC did not get into Cornell. It's Penn vs Columbia vs UVA. Penn and Columbia are (i think) data science programs within their SEAS and she would probably go into consulting/finance/business/tech/etc. She is not planning on majoring in straight engineering. I need to clarify this as I'm not sure exactly which majors go with which of her applications.

I am at a big econ/business consulting firm. Penn is at a completely different level for target schools for junior recruitment. UVA is a level down, but still a target school.

This.

Question: Penn Wharton, or Penn?
If the young woman didn’t apply to Wharton that’s not what she’s been offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These three schools don’t have that much of a difference in prestige.

If your DC are going for engineering, the differences are more significant. Cornell probably has the best engineering program among the three, and a strong network in the industry.

Oh please. UVA boosters need to give it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These three schools don’t have that much of a difference in prestige.

If your DC are going for engineering, the differences are more significant. Cornell probably has the best engineering program among the three, and a strong network in the industry.

Thank you but DC did not get into Cornell. It's Penn vs Columbia vs UVA. Penn and Columbia are (i think) data science programs within their SEAS and she would probably go into consulting/finance/business/tech/etc. She is not planning on majoring in straight engineering. I need to clarify this as I'm not sure exactly which majors go with which of her applications.

I am at a big econ/business consulting firm. Penn is at a completely different level for target schools for junior recruitment. UVA is a level down, but still a target school.

This.

Question: Penn Wharton, or Penn?
If the young woman didn’t apply to Wharton that’s not what she’s been offered.

I am PP at a big consulting firm. Penn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These three schools don’t have that much of a difference in prestige.

If your DC are going for engineering, the differences are more significant. Cornell probably has the best engineering program among the three, and a strong network in the industry.

Thank you but DC did not get into Cornell. It's Penn vs Columbia vs UVA. Penn and Columbia are (i think) data science programs within their SEAS and she would probably go into consulting/finance/business/tech/etc. She is not planning on majoring in straight engineering. I need to clarify this as I'm not sure exactly which majors go with which of her applications.

I am at a big econ/business consulting firm. Penn is at a completely different level for target schools for junior recruitment. UVA is a level down, but still a target school.

This.

Question: Penn Wharton, or Penn?
If the young woman didn’t apply to Wharton that’s not what she’s been offered.

I am PP at a big consulting firm. Penn.

Also, many Econ kids at Penn take rigorous classes at Penn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is not a huge difference between the schools in terms of academics/prestige. They should go where they think they will be happy. Especially since UVA is so different from Penn/Columbia in terms of not being in a big city.

Wait - what?

[Anonymous]

There’s a reason why Princeton Review states kids go “ga-ga” for UVA. Your daughter will thrive there.

[Anonymous]

My DS turned down an Ivy and a WASP for Notre Dame. In the honors program with tiny core classes and guaranteed summer funding for travel. Faculty are undergrad focused. Alumni network is fervid.

I may have chosen differently for myself, but for him, the admitted students event made a huge difference -- said the people were so energetic and excited to be there.