Ivy Day. Good luck everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to your daughter. She sounds awesome. People are right that these are transitions for everyone. If chooses Harvard and has questions feel free to reach out. I went there and have family there now and happy to chat with her if ever helpful. (I also interview as alum and actually believe it can be very helpful fwiw)

I am the poster. The recent posts have been very encouraging. Yesterday was ecstatic but we are growing a bit more anxious.
Her father wants her to remain near the family. He would rather her go to UVA (1-hour drive from home )
She wants to be a pediatrician and my recent research suggests that UVA would better pre-med option. More and more we
are leaning toward UVA. It just feels like a more comfortable place for her and the family. Any thoughts?

Why does he want her to live nearby?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to your daughter. She sounds awesome. People are right that these are transitions for everyone. If chooses Harvard and has questions feel free to reach out. I went there and have family there now and happy to chat with her if ever helpful. (I also interview as alum and actually believe it can be very helpful fwiw)

I am the poster. The recent posts have been very encouraging. Yesterday was ecstatic but we are growing a bit more anxious.
Her father wants her to remain near the family. He would rather her go to UVA (1-hour drive from home )
She wants to be a pediatrician and my recent research suggests that UVA would better pre-med option. More and more we
are leaning toward UVA. It just feels like a more comfortable place for her and the family. Any thoughts?

Have your daughter reach out to Harvard’s first generation program:

https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/explore-harvard/connect-students/harvard-first-generation-program

They are very good and they even have a form in that webpage for your daughter to reach out. For context I am the PP above who said I had worked in admissions before (a long time ago now). I know the Harvard first gen program is very good. I think it is possible that if your DD wants to go pre-med she will get more support through the Harvard first gen program than at UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown: Rejected
UPen: accepted
Harvard: accepted
4.6 GPA
11 APs all 5s
1540 SAT
Great EC

URM? Athlete?

I am the poster. I am shocked to see some of these reactions. Here is a little background.
We are in Virginia but not in DVM. She will be indeed the first in the family to attend a 4-year college.
She handled all her college stuff. Father is a blue-collar worker and I work in health care.
At the start of the process, she only applied to two schools: UVA and VCU. But the school called
a meeting and urge us to consider top out-of-state schools. They specifically said that our daughter was
underselling herself. Applying to these schools or even getting accepted was not on our radar until this meeting with the school.
It was at this point, I started doing some research and started reading stuff on this forum.

She also had a good interview. The interviewer specifically said that it was his best interview.

I don't know what's wrong with all these other people. It sounds like you have raised a smart, hard working, committed, young lady, and she will do very well wherever she goes. Much luck to her, and I hope she changes the world.

People were reacting to the fact that the poster didn't initially mention that her daughter was first gen. If she had said that from the start, everyone would have understood why she was accepted to Harvard and Penn. That's almost certainly why her daughter was accepted, not because of her "Great ECs." There are nothing wrong w/ hooks, but people should be upfront. Otherwise it's a misrepresentation and gives others false hope.

+1. Being first gen was the most relevant detail.

I could see why that poster was hesitant to mention. People on here get pretty nasty about first gen & URM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown: Rejected
UPen: accepted
Harvard: accepted
4.6 GPA
11 APs all 5s
1540 SAT
Great EC

URM? Athlete?

I am the poster. I am shocked to see some of these reactions. Here is a little background.
We are in Virginia but not in DVM. She will be indeed the first in the family to attend a 4-year college.
She handled all her college stuff. Father is a blue-collar worker and I work in health care.
At the start of the process, she only applied to two schools: UVA and VCU. But the school called
a meeting and urge us to consider top out-of-state schools. They specifically said that our daughter was
underselling herself. Applying to these schools or even getting accepted was not on our radar until this meeting with the school.
It was at this point, I started doing some research and started reading stuff on this forum.

She also had a good interview. The interviewer specifically said that it was his best interview.

I don't know what's wrong with all these other people. It sounds like you have raised a smart, hard working, committed, young lady, and she will do very well wherever she goes. Much luck to her, and I hope she changes the world.

People were reacting to the fact that the poster didn't initially mention that her daughter was first gen. If she had said that from the start, everyone would have understood why she was accepted to Harvard and Penn. That's almost certainly why her daughter was accepted, not because of her "Great ECs." There are nothing wrong w/ hooks, but people should be upfront. Otherwise it's a misrepresentation and gives others false hope.

+1. Being first gen was the most relevant detail.

I could see why that poster was hesitant to mention. People on here get pretty nasty about first gen & URM.

I guess...although why are they on DCUM posting? You know what you are getting on this board.

[Anonymous]

Focus on why her teachers thought she was under-selling herself. They probably saw that she would benefit from spreading her wings and having experiences beyond her neighborhood in Virginia.

She will only be a few hours travel time away, and they come home more than you can imagine those first years.

[Anonymous]

1. I’d meet with the advisors who suggested she expand options and see what they think.
2. I honestly think she should go to Harvard. If she/your husband hate it you can always transfer to uva.
3. Their first gen program is excellent.
4. As a Harvard grad, I would say while it is not for everyone, it can be absolutely life changing - expose you to all sorts of interesting people and places and opportunities. It 100 percent changed my life and trajectory for the better.
5. While the name can be intimidating, there are tons of kids just like your daughter there - did great in high school but really nice kids etc etc.
6. She has rest of her life to live near you in VA/go to UVA for med school etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. I’d meet with the advisors who suggested she expand options and see what they think.
2. I honestly think she should go to Harvard. If she/your husband hate it you can always transfer to uva.
3. Their first gen program is excellent.
4. As a Harvard grad, I would say while it is not for everyone, it can be absolutely life changing - expose you to all sorts of interesting people and places and opportunities. It 100 percent changed my life and trajectory for the better.
5. While the name can be intimidating, there are tons of kids just like your daughter there - did great in high school but really nice kids etc etc.
6. She has rest of her life to live near you in VA/go to UVA for med school etc.

I agree with this. I've lived in three different countries now - Boston and Philadelphia are close to you in comparison to what my parents put up with.

I'd be concerned about your daughter's ability to grow if she comes home every weekend vs using this time to do new things and make new connections. If she has lived in your quiet corner of Virginia her whole life, this is a great opportunity to see the wider world. Skype and WhatsApp make the world a whole lot closer.

The grumpiness of earlier postings stems from the bitter realization that many of our kids are not flavor of the month for top universities. Your daughter has been offered opportunities and should grab them.

[Anonymous]

I’m a UVA grad. Great school and great experience. But I think you’d be nuts to turn down Harvard. The prestige of a Harvard degree will stay with her (and you, as her proud parent!) forever.

[Anonymous]

Under no circumstances- unless you’ve left something out about her mental state- should she go home on weekends. My roommate at “the school in New Haven” did her freshman year because her father wanted it, and she always regretted it. She said she just didn’t have our shared memories, missed many of the social connections, and never got fully into the swing of things. I suspect Harvard will give you a competitive financial package, so she should do that. Dad has to let go.

[Anonymous]

My heart sinks at the idea of her dad not letting her go to Harvard and I've never met any of you.
It's kind of like getting Wonka's golden ticket. You go, you don't tear it up or hand it over to someone else. It is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity and not to be missed.
Sorry, I just had to put my 2 cents down.

My sister went to an Ivy and her career has hugely benefitted from it, the people she met and became friends with - both students and professors, have totally changed her life trajectory.

[Anonymous]

New to this thread and saw the posts about the first gen Harvard admission. I had a somewhat similar experience, though years ago — parents were immigrants and did not really understand the college application process; I handled all my applications without a college counselor, studied for my SATs on my own, crafted my essays over several months. Went to Yale and it truly was life changing. I would strongly encourage you to encourage your daughter to visit, talk to students, etc., and above all, don’t be scared to take this opportunity! Ie, don’t just go for the more “comfortable” choice. If Harvard isn’t a good fit, she can always transfer after one year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My heart sinks at the idea of her dad not letting her go to Harvard and I've never met any of you.
It's kind of like getting Wonka's golden ticket. You go, you don't tear it up or hand it over to someone else. It is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity and not to be missed.
Sorry, I just had to put my 2 cents down.

My sister went to an Ivy and her career has hugely benefitted from it, the people she met and became friends with - both students and professors, have totally changed her life trajectory.

Poster here. Wow! We are truly overwhelmed by all these responses. I made my husband read some of your responses and had tears in his eyes. He is just realizing how big this is. After a long silence, his response was "we raised our daughter with the idea that no mountain is too big to climb. We come from too far... It may be time to fulfill that promise and let her go to Boston."

Thank you for all the responses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My heart sinks at the idea of her dad not letting her go to Harvard and I've never met any of you.
It's kind of like getting Wonka's golden ticket. You go, you don't tear it up or hand it over to someone else. It is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity and not to be missed.
Sorry, I just had to put my 2 cents down.

My sister went to an Ivy and her career has hugely benefitted from it, the people she met and became friends with - both students and professors, have totally changed her life trajectory.

+1

It’s a rare opportunity that your family isn’t likely to get again. Her kids won’t be “first gen” and are less likely to get into H.

Give it a try for a year and see how it goes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My heart sinks at the idea of her dad not letting her go to Harvard and I've never met any of you.
It's kind of like getting Wonka's golden ticket. You go, you don't tear it up or hand it over to someone else. It is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity and not to be missed.
Sorry, I just had to put my 2 cents down.

My sister went to an Ivy and her career has hugely benefitted from it, the people she met and became friends with - both students and professors, have totally changed her life trajectory.

Poster here. Wow! We are truly overwhelmed by all these responses. I made my husband read some of your responses and had tears in his eyes. He is just realizing how big this is. After a long silence, his response was "we raised our daughter with the idea that no mountain is too big to climb. We come from too far... It may be time to fulfill that promise and let her go to Boston."

Thank you for all the responses.

So happy for your family. Such an amazing opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown: Rejected
UPen: accepted
Harvard: accepted
4.6 GPA
11 APs all 5s
1540 SAT
Great EC

URM? Athlete?

I am the poster. I am shocked to see some of these reactions. Here is a little background.
We are in Virginia but not in DVM. She will be indeed the first in the family to attend a 4-year college.
She handled all her college stuff. Father is a blue-collar worker and I work in health care.
At the start of the process, she only applied to two schools: UVA and VCU. But the school called
a meeting and urge us to consider top out-of-state schools. They specifically said that our daughter was
underselling herself. Applying to these schools or even getting accepted was not on our radar until this meeting with the school.
It was at this point, I started doing some research and started reading stuff on this forum.

She also had a good interview. The interviewer specifically said that it was his best interview.

I don't know what's wrong with all these other people. It sounds like you have raised a smart, hard working, committed, young lady, and she will do very well wherever she goes. Much luck to her, and I hope she changes the world.

People were reacting to the fact that the poster didn't initially mention that her daughter was first gen. If she had said that from the start, everyone would have understood why she was accepted to Harvard and Penn. That's almost certainly why her daughter was accepted, not because of her "Great ECs." There are nothing wrong w/ hooks, but people should be upfront. Otherwise it's a misrepresentation and gives others false hope.

+1. Being first gen was the most relevant detail.

I could see why that poster was hesitant to mention. People on here get pretty nasty about first gen & URM.

I guess...although why are they on DCUM posting? You know what you are getting on this board.

Maybe they are optimists.