Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a father of a young boy, I think about this all the time. Things are so different from when I was a kid which wasn't even that long ago. You can't do rec league soccer and more it has to be travel league, summer camp signup started before the New Year, high school kids are doing charity trips to third world countries... This list just goes on and on...

You can do rec soccer. It is a choice. Most kids who do travel soccer will eventually quit and it serves very little purpose.

Agree. Even if they are “good enough” to make varsity in competitive high school, so what? Putting varsity soccer on your college app means nothing. It isn’t a hook of any kind. It’s viewed the same as any other sport or activity.

So the only reason to play high school soccer is for college admissions reasons? You're the poster child for this messed up area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a father of a young boy, I think about this all the time. Things are so different from when I was a kid which wasn't even that long ago. You can't do rec league soccer and more it has to be travel league, summer camp signup started before the New Year, high school kids are doing charity trips to third world countries... This list just goes on and on...

You can do rec soccer. It is a choice. Most kids who do travel soccer will eventually quit and it serves very little purpose.

It’s really hard to find a rec soccer team after 6th grade.

I’m feeling this stress because my kid had a bad freshman year and even he got straight As the rest of HS, he probably won’t get into UMd or anything like a top 100 school. He had basically one bad month that ranked his second semester grades and it feels like there’s no recovery from it.

If you feel this bad about it, make a plan together for transferring colleges after freshman year. That is realistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a father of a young boy, I think about this all the time. Things are so different from when I was a kid which wasn't even that long ago. You can't do rec league soccer and more it has to be travel league, summer camp signup started before the New Year, high school kids are doing charity trips to third world countries... This list just goes on and on...

You can do rec soccer. It is a choice. Most kids who do travel soccer will eventually quit and it serves very little purpose.

It’s really hard to find a rec soccer team after 6th grade.

I’m feeling this stress because my kid had a bad freshman year and even he got straight As the rest of HS, he probably won’t get into UMd or anything like a top 100 school. He had basically one bad month that ranked his second semester grades and it feels like there’s no recovery from it.

It doesn’t really matter. My spouse went to a public university ranked outside of top 200 and is now a surgeon making 7 figure salary. Please don’t make your son feel like they won’t succeed because of this. There are many pathways to success. In many ways going to a lesser college has a lot of advantages. There are more available opportunities to shine and to set yourself apart. It is very hard to gain extra opportunities and set yourself apart at highly competitive top-rated colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who makes it look easy. He always makes the team and excels academically. He is hoping for an ivy.

I have another kid who is borderline good at everything and a third kid who is too young to tell. Not everyone will go to a T20 college and that is ok. My middle kid will probably go to a school like BU or Penn State. Your kid can go there too.

One of the problems is that your references to “BU and Penn State” are still top 60 colleges out of 3000…BU has a 14.4% acceptance rate…so no, most kids can’t “go there too”.

Everyone’s frame of reference is completely skewed. So, when you say not everyone will go to a top 20, you turn around and still only think top 50ish schools are worthwhile.

Agree with this! LOL. This lady feels like BU is slumming it but it's crazy hard to get into. Frankly almost as hard as several of the Ivies.
This area (DC) is so insane.

Pp here. My oldest is in high school. My middle kid is only in middle school. I have been looking at acceptance rates and my oldest is looking at all colleges with sub 10% acceptance rates and I’m confident he will get in.

My 7th grader has a lot of time. From our high school, it looks like BU is around 25-30% acceptance and Penn state is higher than 50%. BU is my oldest kid’s safety.

[Anonymous]

OP’s post makes me think they probably had everything handed to them as they grew up, and does not realize/appreciate it. For those of us that didn’t, it is no harder now than it was for us then. My kid will likely have it better than I did.

I do wish we had a better safety net that would make opting out easier. Obviously if you do not want to be a part of the rat race, maybe you are not owed a SFH in a prone neighborhood, regular restaurant meals, or other trimmings of UMC lifestyle. But you should be able to work a chill regular job or something that gives back to society, and have a safe pleasant place to live, and access to health care. The fact that those things have become so unaffordable has raised the stakes and that is why we see people climbing on top of each other to try and be king of the hill. Progressive policies aren’t necessarily the solution since they tend to throw more money at housing/higher ed/health care, making them even less affordable to those who have to pay their own way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a father of a young boy, I think about this all the time. Things are so different from when I was a kid which wasn't even that long ago. You can't do rec league soccer and more it has to be travel league, summer camp signup started before the New Year, high school kids are doing charity trips to third world countries... This list just goes on and on...

You can do rec soccer. It is a choice. Most kids who do travel soccer will eventually quit and it serves very little purpose.

Agree. Even if they are “good enough” to make varsity in competitive high school, so what? Putting varsity soccer on your college app means nothing. It isn’t a hook of any kind. It’s viewed the same as any other sport or activity.

So the only reason to play high school soccer is for college admissions reasons? You're the poster child for this messed up area.

That’s the point. It doesn’t help any for college admission. So you don’t NEED to play varsity anything. Just play whatever sport you like on whatever team you can play on, rec, club, school, whatever. IT DOESNT MATTER

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP’s post makes me think they probably had everything handed to them as they grew up, and does not realize/appreciate it. For those of us that didn’t, it is no harder now than it was for us then. My kid will likely have it better than I did.

I do wish we had a better safety net that would make opting out easier. Obviously if you do not want to be a part of the rat race, maybe you are not owed a SFH in a prone neighborhood, regular restaurant meals, or other trimmings of UMC lifestyle. But you should be able to work a chill regular job or something that gives back to society, and have a safe pleasant place to live, and access to health care. The fact that those things have become so unaffordable has raised the stakes and that is why we see people climbing on top of each other to try and be king of the hill. Progressive policies aren’t necessarily the solution since they tend to throw more money at housing/higher ed/health care, making them even less affordable to those who have to pay their own way.

You can. There are many many parts of the US where you can live a happy and safe life with a decent job, health care insurance, basic public schools, own a home. You just might have to leave DC

[Anonymous]

It's about not staying in the US and living according the American standards of needing to pay for health care, the torture of the time/energy/money you need in order to raise a couple kids, the work till you drop attitude. Life around the world is different. Not everyone lives the life we do - all the good and the bad parts. There are many cultures and many lifestyles to consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who makes it look easy. He always makes the team and excels academically. He is hoping for an ivy.

I have another kid who is borderline good at everything and a third kid who is too young to tell. Not everyone will go to a T20 college and that is ok. My middle kid will probably go to a school like BU or Penn State. Your kid can go there too.

One of the problems is that your references to “BU and Penn State” are still top 60 colleges out of 3000…BU has a 14.4% acceptance rate…so no, most kids can’t “go there too”.

Everyone’s frame of reference is completely skewed. So, when you say not everyone will go to a top 20, you turn around and still only think top 50ish schools are worthwhile.

Agree with this! LOL. This lady feels like BU is slumming it but it's crazy hard to get into. Frankly almost as hard as several of the Ivies.
This area (DC) is so insane.

Pp here. My oldest is in high school. My middle kid is only in middle school. I have been looking at acceptance rates and my oldest is looking at all colleges with sub 10% acceptance rates and I’m confident he will get in.

My 7th grader has a lot of time. From our high school, it looks like BU is around 25-30% acceptance and Penn state is higher than 50%. BU is my oldest kid’s safety.

Seems like you are completely missing the point of the thread...or I gather you are fine with the competitive nature of the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a father of a young boy, I think about this all the time. Things are so different from when I was a kid which wasn't even that long ago. You can't do rec league soccer and more it has to be travel league, summer camp signup started before the New Year, high school kids are doing charity trips to third world countries... This list just goes on and on...

You can do rec soccer. It is a choice. Most kids who do travel soccer will eventually quit and it serves very little purpose.

It’s really hard to find a rec soccer team after 6th grade.

I’m feeling this stress because my kid had a bad freshman year and even he got straight As the rest of HS, he probably won’t get into UMd or anything like a top 100 school. He had basically one bad month that ranked his second semester grades and it feels like there’s no recovery from it.

I gather this depends on where you live. In DC there are kids that have played on a Stoddert Rec soccer team all the way through seniors in HS.

You can do the same with Jellef basketball if you want. My kid is thinking of joining a rec basketball team with all his friends as a HS senior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a father of a young boy, I think about this all the time. Things are so different from when I was a kid which wasn't even that long ago. You can't do rec league soccer and more it has to be travel league, summer camp signup started before the New Year, high school kids are doing charity trips to third world countries... This list just goes on and on...

You can do rec soccer. It is a choice. Most kids who do travel soccer will eventually quit and it serves very little purpose.

It’s really hard to find a rec soccer team after 6th grade.

I’m feeling this stress because my kid had a bad freshman year and even he got straight As the rest of HS, he probably won’t get into UMd or anything like a top 100 school. He had basically one bad month that ranked his second semester grades and it feels like there’s no recovery from it.

Michigan State is ranked #60 and has an 89% acceptance rate...there are a number of Top 100 schools with high acceptance rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who makes it look easy. He always makes the team and excels academically. He is hoping for an ivy.

I have another kid who is borderline good at everything and a third kid who is too young to tell. Not everyone will go to a T20 college and that is ok. My middle kid will probably go to a school like BU or Penn State. Your kid can go there too.

One of the problems is that your references to “BU and Penn State” are still top 60 colleges out of 3000…BU has a 14.4% acceptance rate…so no, most kids can’t “go there too”.

Everyone’s frame of reference is completely skewed. So, when you say not everyone will go to a top 20, you turn around and still only think top 50ish schools are worthwhile.

Agree with this! LOL. This lady feels like BU is slumming it but it's crazy hard to get into. Frankly almost as hard as several of the Ivies.
This area (DC) is so insane.

Pp here. My oldest is in high school. My middle kid is only in middle school. I have been looking at acceptance rates and my oldest is looking at all colleges with sub 10% acceptance rates and I’m confident he will get in.

My 7th grader has a lot of time. From our high school, it looks like BU is around 25-30% acceptance and Penn state is higher than 50%. BU is my oldest kid’s safety.

Seems like you are completely missing the point of the thread...or I gather you are fine with the competitive nature of the DMV.

DH and I are both ivy educated. I agree that the landscape is very competitive. It is still relatively not that difficult to get into good schools in the top 50. I put BU and Penn State in a similar category. Maybe my kid won’t get into BU and end up at Northeastern or some school in California or Elon. Maybe he will get lucky and get into NYU or USC. Either way he will be fine. I just wrote BU as a decent good school that I think would be a good fit for my kid. No reason for you to be offended by it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who makes it look easy. He always makes the team and excels academically. He is hoping for an ivy.

I have another kid who is borderline good at everything and a third kid who is too young to tell. Not everyone will go to a T20 college and that is ok. My middle kid will probably go to a school like BU or Penn State. Your kid can go there too.

One of the problems is that your references to “BU and Penn State” are still top 60 colleges out of 3000…BU has a 14.4% acceptance rate…so no, most kids can’t “go there too”.

Everyone’s frame of reference is completely skewed. So, when you say not everyone will go to a top 20, you turn around and still only think top 50ish schools are worthwhile.

Agree with this! LOL. This lady feels like BU is slumming it but it's crazy hard to get into. Frankly almost as hard as several of the Ivies.
This area (DC) is so insane.

Pp here. My oldest is in high school. My middle kid is only in middle school. I have been looking at acceptance rates and my oldest is looking at all colleges with sub 10% acceptance rates and I’m confident he will get in.

My 7th grader has a lot of time. From our high school, it looks like BU is around 25-30% acceptance and Penn state is higher than 50%. BU is my oldest kid’s safety.

Seems like you are completely missing the point of the thread...or I gather you are fine with the competitive nature of the DMV.

I was feeling nervous from reading these threads about high stat kids getting rejected. In actuality, a lot of kids get into good schools. I mean if your kid has a 3.0, no but if your kid has almost straight As with rigor, 1500+ SAT and good extracurricular activities (not just sports), your kid should get into a T50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

I moved to the south. Even here, so many transplants bringing the competition. My area has nothing so it’s a huge sports place that recruits athletes.

The thing is without competition what jobs are there? Blue collar. That’s it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who makes it look easy. He always makes the team and excels academically. He is hoping for an ivy.

I have another kid who is borderline good at everything and a third kid who is too young to tell. Not everyone will go to a T20 college and that is ok. My middle kid will probably go to a school like BU or Penn State. Your kid can go there too.

One of the problems is that your references to “BU and Penn State” are still top 60 colleges out of 3000…BU has a 14.4% acceptance rate…so no, most kids can’t “go there too”.

Everyone’s frame of reference is completely skewed. So, when you say not everyone will go to a top 20, you turn around and still only think top 50ish schools are worthwhile.

Agree with this! LOL. This lady feels like BU is slumming it but it's crazy hard to get into. Frankly almost as hard as several of the Ivies.
This area (DC) is so insane.

Pp here. My oldest is in high school. My middle kid is only in middle school. I have been looking at acceptance rates and my oldest is looking at all colleges with sub 10% acceptance rates and I’m confident he will get in.

My 7th grader has a lot of time. From our high school, it looks like BU is around 25-30% acceptance and Penn state is higher than 50%. BU is my oldest kid’s safety.

Seems like you are completely missing the point of the thread...or I gather you are fine with the competitive nature of the DMV.

DH and I are both ivy educated. I agree that the landscape is very competitive. It is still relatively not that difficult to get into good schools in the top 50. I put BU and Penn State in a similar category. Maybe my kid won’t get into BU and end up at Northeastern or some school in California or Elon. Maybe he will get lucky and get into NYU or USC. Either way he will be fine. I just wrote BU as a decent good school that I think would be a good fit for my kid. No reason for you to be offended by it.

I am not offended by it, but you seem to continue to miss the point of the thread. You clearly like the competitive landscape, and it is difficult for you to write IU or Michigan State or any school with a 70%+ acceptance rate.

Now you reference Northeastern which has a sub-10% acceptance rate (for the Boston campus). Your entire frame of reference is quite skewed...I wonder what "school in California" you are referring because of course the UC schools are super-competitive, and it goes without saying that Stanford is ultra-competitive (as are the Claremont schools).

So...I think you are saying that you are fine with the ultra-competitive world that OP rails against.