I agree with most of this except you couldn't possibly be equating UVA to... MIT? DP |
They are both crapshoots. MIT is much more of a crapshoot, but UVA engineering isn’t exactly a safety |
So, to summarize...a kid had to decide when he is 17 what school he will apply to Early Decision in the fall of his senior year. He also needs to apply to dozens of other private and out of state schools, because he probably won't get in to the Early Decision school, and if he doesn't, he is screwed. If he doesn't get into the school he wants to go to and says the admissions process is messed up, wealthy white women from DC will say that he is entitled and racist. If he does get into a second choice, it will probably cost upwards of $300,000. If his parents can't afford that, the white DCUMs will look down their noses at him and his poor parents. The same DCUMs will say that nothing is wrong with the system. Their kids went to mediocre private colleges that were expensive and think that the gender studies degree they got was well worth the cost. Amazing. My son wanted to go to an in-state school and was well qualified to do so. When faced with adversity, he found a way to get into the state school that his parents could afford. Some would be impressed with this (his current employer is), but toxic DCUMs are appalled that the poor peasant with white privilege doesn't suck it up and get in his place. This is the most toxic bunch of people I have ever seen. Nobody cares about grit, determination or hard work. If anybody has the nerve to complain about a system that needs to be fixed, the woke social justice warriors attack. The system is broken and there are a lot of factors involved. The administrators desire to have out of state student pay their salaries, affirmative action, yield protection, early decision, etc. DCUMs dont want to hear it because in their fantasy world, poor white people don't deserve anything. Seriously, parents (even the rich ones) look at GAA and VCCS. A lot of 17 year-olds don’t know what they want to do when they are adults and GAA gives them time to mature and figure out what they want to do. And it is inexpensive. For those of us that can’t afford a $300,000 private or out of state school, it is a great option. By the way, I just saw that GAA also has programs to private schools. My son will receive an Associate of Arts engineering degree in May and will be in Blacksburg in August. He was awarded scholarships and grants for all of his academic work at VCCS and has also been working. If I know how great it would be 2 years ago and how much money it was going to save me, I would have recommended it to him as a first choice. NOVA has been great. Classes are the same as VT and UVa, but with poor people, many of whom are older and working. Still all dudes. Engineers are dudes. How was he supposed to know that the only way he was going to get into a state school was by applying early decision? Were we supposed to pay $20000 for an elite college consultant? www.ivyscholars.com is $400/hour, billed at 10 hour retainers. The average total cost for College Applications ranges from $16,000-$24,000. Certainly not an issue for DCUMs, but definitely a problem for SWMV (Single Working Moms in Virginia). I sincerely apologize for being poor and for my son to have to the nerve to want to a state school in Virginia. |
Apples and oranges, for certain. |
I applaud you and your son, and I know that he will do very well, if he is anything like his mother came across in this post. |
So you’re poor, but your kid didn’t apply to any of the great private college that will meet full need. If you had picked up a guide book at the library, you kid might be at a great engineering school with a huge aid package |
Wow, you are very smart I should have thought of that. Sort of sounds like "let them eat cake". If you were literate, you could read that my son is very happily going to be going to the school that he wanted to, a state school that we can afford. GAA is a great program and admissions is woke evil. Admissions needes to be fixed. It is the endgame that matters. I really don't think that you read anything. |
Most definitely. DP |
| Did the repetitive PP actually say "Engineers are dudes"? That will come as a surprise to all the female engineering students I know. |
Yes, fellow social justice warrior. Every single engineer he works with and has class with is a dude. I know that this triggers you. |
Your kid (assuming you aren’t a troll) followed the dumbest admissions strategy imaginable and it didn’t work. Obviously it’s the fault of evil admissions officers. |
His plan has worked out wonderfully. He will be at VT next year because of his hard work and drive. Not a single person he ever discussed college with didn't think he would not get into the state schools. But it really doesn't matter. Nice work trying to blame a 17 year old with limited resources. Classy and hateful. |
Depends on the gender as well. Much easier to get into W&M as a male than UVA. |
But fairly similar academic stats. So more about differences in popularity than about ease of admittance. |
My high stats kid also wanted to go to UVA and we also didn’t want to pay for private. With reading DCUM and him talking to his FCPS college counselor, we definitely knew to ED to UVA. |