the obsession with colleges
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Anonymous
Wow…you are lifting the veneer of many folks’ psyche here… does that mean if my goal is a top 25 and I spend all this money on private schools from 4th grade, it’s all for naught? In all seriousness, folks here don’t get that attending a public school actually demonstrates your well-roundedness and resiliency. And it showcases your ability to interact and form lasting relationships across all socio and economic groups. There is no more diverse atmosphere than MCPS, FCPS, and other systems. Inclusivity is a trait desired by many business leaders, and isolating yourself in the bubble of private schools is now being thrown into an unfavorable light. All to get into a Top 25, which studies show 77% of business leaders are not part of that club…mind-blowing! |
Anonymous
Private schools give off the appearance of entitlement and influential parents / enablers. Whether right or wrong. And the “e” word (entitlement) is not a pretty label these days. Employers are looking for inclusivity, not exclusivity these days. This will be more evident within the next 5 years - who would have ever guessed we would have gotten rid of test scores. Grades and essays are next. |
Anonymous
Take the money spent on private tuition, and all the other trappings, and give to your child upon graduation for a Top 100 school. Call it seed money to launch a business or other venture in life. Without giving this money a repurpose, it’s simply entitlement money otherwise. And your kids will be grittier and hungrier as a result! |
Anonymous
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It's fun Op. For some of us, it's fun. If it's not fun, stay away
Of course know your kid and what they think. They lead on this. Btw, it's fun because our family is open minded to a wide variety to colleges and experiences and parts of the country. So many possibilities. |
Anonymous
What will be the new metrics? I ask this as someone who comes from a family opposing standardized testing for over fifty years. My parents forbade schools from administering them to us. The first one I took was the PSAT. |
Anonymous
It's all about balance, and common sense. School name is important. Field of study is important. Fit is important. |
Anonymous
The new standard is demonstrated inclusivity, whether it’s successfully grinding through and successfully navigating the challenges of public schools, joining or starting clubs that focus on social justice and other community improvements, or demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit through side hustles / new businesses. Students who have been subject to adverse conditions / environment, and then demonstrate perseverance and grittiness in overcoming those obstacles will rise to the top. Those who attend privates, showcase privilege, or follow the herd, will have a harder time. The next 10 years will not follow the last 50 years…save your money on tuition, let your kids fail then overcome in a challenging environment, then package that to the admissions folks. Resumes will replace essays and grades to some extent (pass/fail) and other potential trappings of influence. |
Anonymous
Barf |
Anonymous
This is why 77% of business leaders did not attend a Top 50 undergraduate program. Parents on this board stress about the wrong things and want to try and control the outcomes, based on what worked for them or others in the past. The model for “success” and playing field have changed dramatically and will continue to move in the direction for the good. If it seems like you child gained an edge through influence and privilege (regardless if accurate or not), then they will actually be at a disadvantage. Who knew??! |
Anonymous
But it starts in kindergarten and I say this without exaggeration. There’s a Race to Nowhere mentality; get DC in the right preschool, then to the almighty base ES that happens to serve as an AAP Center so that kid can be in the AAP program in 2nd grade. Oh - and sports! Get on the right track to “make” travel (and surprise: there are 4 teams! Anyone who can pay can play)! Then you must get specialized one on one coaching for DC, but keep this a secret. Your kids will talk about the cool basketball facility with that coach, but you will not. Parents, welcome to your new social circle. You will only be friends with the AAP/travel sport parents. It’s from this crowd that you’ll glean info on the right tutor(ing center) for SAT prep. If you fore go the center, again, you will keep the name of your private tutor a secret. It’s like a good babysitter - do NOT share. And DC will ditch travel sports by 8th. Will not make HS teams. Lost all interest in sports. Might row crew or run track. And will go to Tech. |
Anonymous
Mind officially blown… |
Anonymous
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Honestly, it took me until a couple of years after my graduation from a supposedly prestigious institution to realize how much LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION actually matters in terms of getting a good job. If your dream is to end up working as a corporate executive at Disney, then get yourself to a good school in Florida, preferably one where you can intern at Disney. if you want to work in Hollywood, presumably the best thing to do would be to go to school in California and do the internships, etc.
Certainly that's true in DC. Students who walk into a job the day after graduation are often the ones from Georgetown, GWU, George Mason, etc. Part of the appeal of Stanford is that it's located near Silicon Valley. I think that the appeal of someplace like Bowdoin or Dartmouth is going to lessen. Particularly those small niche LACs that honestly no one outside your small circle even recognizes. When we first moved to the DC suburbs, I was amazed at how people are like "Oh my god. he went to Tech!" and who haven't even heard of Grinnell, Bennington, etc. I don't think that many of those names on the resumes are nearly as magical as you all think they are. Again, a lot of people would rather hire the proximity person from GMU that interned in the office and who they know over someone who writes really well from a small school in the midwest. If I had to do it all over again, I'd focus on schools that offered proximity and a strong alumni network. (And yeah, the strong network is not often connected to the most prestigious school. Boy do folks from Clemson seem to love their school and others from their school. Might buy you more than a degree from Mt. Holyoke) |
Anonymous
isn't it more impressive that 23% of business leaders come from only 50 colleges? |
Anonymous
And, honestly, nothing wrong with all of that (except the mental health of DC, and it’s long term adverse affects for the situation you thrust DC into at such a premature age)…your “average” (read: not extraordinarily and most folks are not) kid will finally get it after some good lessons and failure and will be grittier and hungrier and more successful because of this. But, parents, let’s stop manufacturing these artificial settings and let the kids, be kids… |
Anonymous
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CEO-U: The Top 10 Universities for Fortune 500 Chief Executives
https://www.equilar.com/reports/44-ceo-u-top-10-universities-for-fortune-500-chief-executives.html HARVARD UNIVERSITY Massachusetts 20 27 STANFORD UNIVERSITY California 12 17 MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Massachusetts 4 7 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY New York 6 6 DARTMOUTH COLLEGE New Hampshire 6 6 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Michigan 6 6 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY New York 4 5 UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME Indiana 3 5 TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Texas 4 4 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN Texas 4 4 Feeling good my kid's school is there |