Skip Ivies & focus on other T20 to improve chances and avoid heartache/stress

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have told my DD she can apply wherever she likes but that I would like her to consider schools outside the "top" schools that have very strong programs in her interest areas, or are located in places she's expressed an interest in working, just stop see. Not forcing her to apply but we will visit and see what she thinks. No looking for a "safety" or two so much as trying to make sure she's evaluating schools based on whether they will actually suit her interests/personality and not just based on how impressive it would sound to say "I'm going to X." I think when kids get too focused on prestige it clouds their thinking and can lead to poor choices when there were other really great options right in front of them.

We also make a point of expressing interest and congratulations to older kids on their college choices no matter where they are going. We don't look down our noses at schools and we also don't fall all over ourselves congratulating an Ivy-bound kid -- they get the same "That's wonderful! Are you getting excited? What attracted you to that school?" that anyone else gets.

Kids absorb some of the prestige-focus from peers but they also secretly want to make you really proud and they will listen and watch you closely. Make sure they aren't getting the impression that all you really want is for them to go to a top school -- make it clear that the thing you will be proudest of is them making a thoughtful choice that makes sense for them as a person and matches their goals.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are subset of T20.

Cornell #17
Brown #14
Dartmouth #13
UPenn #8
etc.
(by USN&WR)

They are just part of T20
What do you mean??

I actually think the Ivies should be treated as a separate group from the rest of the top 10 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are subset of T20.

Cornell #17
Brown #14
Dartmouth #13
UPenn #8
etc.
(by USN&WR)

They are just part of T20
What do you mean??

I actually think the Ivies should be treated as a separate group from the rest of the top 10 schools.

Well, some of them aren’t even in the top 10 of the list being batted around here, so…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are subset of T20.

Cornell #17
Brown #14
Dartmouth #13
UPenn #8
etc.
(by USN&WR)

They are just part of T20
What do you mean??

I actually think the Ivies should be treated as a separate group from the rest of the top 10 schools.

Just because!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have told my DD she can apply wherever she likes but that I would like her to consider schools outside the "top" schools that have very strong programs in her interest areas, or are located in places she's expressed an interest in working, just stop see. Not forcing her to apply but we will visit and see what she thinks. No looking for a "safety" or two so much as trying to make sure she's evaluating schools based on whether they will actually suit her interests/personality and not just based on how impressive it would sound to say "I'm going to X." I think when kids get too focused on prestige it clouds their thinking and can lead to poor choices when there were other really great options right in front of them.

We also make a point of expressing interest and congratulations to older kids on their college choices no matter where they are going. We don't look down our noses at schools and we also don't fall all over ourselves congratulating an Ivy-bound kid -- they get the same "That's wonderful! Are you getting excited? What attracted you to that school?" that anyone else gets.

Kids absorb some of the prestige-focus from peers but they also secretly want to make you really proud and they will listen and watch you closely. Make sure they aren't getting the impression that all you really want is for them to go to a top school -- make it clear that the thing you will be proudest of is them making a thoughtful choice that makes sense for them as a person and matches their goals.

Agree for sure

[Anonymous]

In addition to the Ivys, I would also skip Northeastern if you want to avoid a heartbreak. With 90,000+ applicants and a miraculously low acceptance rate, NEU has this year announced its presence as the elite-of-the-elite and the new king of the Boston-area schools. It will soon eclipse the old complacent elites in the area like Harvard and Brown who don't offer the vocational training and jobs focus that NEU does. NEU has a great business model for filling in seats and filling up dorms (and several five-star hotels in the area). So, apply here with caution.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I wonder if these threads are actually adults talking to one another or kids who just don't know any better or trolls seeing who they can get riled up. Because why would intelligent adults (or kids) believe the way to decide where to attend college is to use a ranking created by someone else whose only claim to authority is that they've been doing it for decades? There are hundreds of universities where a student with straight A's in all AP classes and a 1600 on her SAT can get an excellent education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the top schools -- ivy or otherwise -- have low admission rates. If you are trying to avoid heartache and stress, aim for top 50.

Top 50 except schools like Georgetown, NYU, USC, Northeastern, NYU, BU, BC, Tufts
Their acceptance rates are low to mid teen on par with some of the T20 like Rice, WashU, Notre Dame,

What? You sound vey ignorant. What are these magical high acceptance rate schools in the T50? For example, Tulane had an acceptance rate of 8% this year. Most (all?) T50s are extremely competitive. I would also add that T50 schools are all TOP schools.

[Anonymous]

Part of the issue is that there seems to be higher demand for schools that are in cities - like several of the Ivys, Georgetown, tufts, Northeastern, Northwestern etc.

It is the rural-ish schools like Oberlin, Kenyan etc that have fallen a little out of favor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Part of the issue is that there seems to be higher demand for schools that are in cities - like several of the Ivys, Georgetown, tufts, Northeastern, Northwestern etc.

It is the rural-ish schools like Oberlin, Kenyan etc that have fallen a little out of favor.

But Oberlin and Kenyon are SLACs, right? OP is talking about t50 universities. Maybe OP meant T50 universities and T50 SLACs combined?

[Anonymous]

Different take: skip choosing schools based on rankings, and focus instead on those that are a great for for your kid. Avoid most heartache and stress, plus help them find an environment where they will truly thrive.

[Anonymous]

How about focusing on Colleges That Change Lives schools instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have told my DD she can apply wherever she likes but that I would like her to consider schools outside the "top" schools that have very strong programs in her interest areas, or are located in places she's expressed an interest in working, just stop see. Not forcing her to apply but we will visit and see what she thinks. No looking for a "safety" or two so much as trying to make sure she's evaluating schools based on whether they will actually suit her interests/personality and not just based on how impressive it would sound to say "I'm going to X." I think when kids get too focused on prestige it clouds their thinking and can lead to poor choices when there were other really great options right in front of them.

We also make a point of expressing interest and congratulations to older kids on their college choices no matter where they are going. We don't look down our noses at schools and we also don't fall all over ourselves congratulating an Ivy-bound kid -- they get the same "That's wonderful! Are you getting excited? What attracted you to that school?" that anyone else gets.

Kids absorb some of the prestige-focus from peers but they also secretly want to make you really proud and they will listen and watch you closely. Make sure they aren't getting the impression that all you really want is for them to go to a top school -- make it clear that the thing you will be proudest of is them making a thoughtful choice that makes sense for them as a person and matches their goals.

+1000

This post should be required reading for anyone who comes to this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the top schools -- ivy or otherwise -- have low admission rates. If you are trying to avoid heartache and stress, aim for top 50.

Top 50 except schools like Georgetown, NYU, USC, Northeastern, NYU, BU, BC, Tufts
Their acceptance rates are low to mid teen on par with some of the T20 like Rice, WashU, Notre Dame,

What? You sound vey ignorant. What are these magical high acceptance rate schools in the T50? For example, Tulane had an acceptance rate of 8% this year. Most (all?) T50s are extremely competitive. I would also add that T50 schools are all TOP schools.

Don't get too excited.
Those were examples, and I forgot Tulane.
Again these shools are relatively more competitive almost on par with some of the T20 schools.
We are talking in terms of T20 competitiveness.

All the T50 schools are great and competitive.
However schools like Case Western, URocheser, etc. in T50 are in the 20s 30s range while those are particulary more competitive almost at T20 level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the top schools -- ivy or otherwise -- have low admission rates. If you are trying to avoid heartache and stress, aim for top 50.

Top 50 except schools like Georgetown, NYU, USC, Northeastern, NYU, BU, BC, Tufts
Their acceptance rates are low to mid teen on par with some of the T20 like Rice, WashU, Notre Dame,

What? You sound vey ignorant. What are these magical high acceptance rate schools in the T50? For example, Tulane had an acceptance rate of 8% this year. Most (all?) T50s are extremely competitive. I would also add that T50 schools are all TOP schools.

Don't get too excited.
Those were examples, and I forgot Tulane.
Again these shools are relatively more competitive almost on par with some of the T20 schools.
We are talking in terms of T20 competitiveness.

All the T50 schools are great and competitive.
However schools like Case Western, URocheser, etc. in T50 are in the 20s 30s range while those are particulary more competitive almost at T20 level.

NP: That was a thoughtful and knowledgeable response, considering the PPP's rude name calling.