IVY BOUND -- WHICH PUBLIC OR PRIVATE WILL GET ME THERE?

[Anonymous]

move to rural midwest and get your kid really good at a sport and lots of summer enrichment experiences. getting into an ivy from east coast major city/suburbs is a total crap shoot.

[Anonymous]

I don't think getting into an Ivy is a "crapshoot" pp -- there are definite formulas people can follow to get in.

[Anonymous]

Whichever school has a crew team. Then make sure that your kid is on it.

Or move to North Dakota. My orientation weekend at Brown, the president said that our class had students from every state but North Dakota.

And while you're there, take up Hockey. The Ivies are serious about hockey (not Columbia).

[Anonymous]

PP -- not bad advice! Some man at one of the Ivy orientations said there were more girls who got into the Ivies for rowing than any other sport.

[Anonymous]

OP, you might want to take your question to the college forum on DCUM. Here it seems you're only getting self-righteous people who deny ever wondering about this, even if they do!

[Anonymous]

Of course, this isn't the first thing any of us looks at when we choose a school for our kids. But my question is, why is it not OK to even think about it, even as a secondary and minor issue? Or, in OP's case, to voice your thoughts on it?

It's analogous to buying a house. First you find a house that meets your priority needs -- enough bedrooms and bathrooms, metro-accessible, kitchen is big enough to put a breakfast/study table in it. But then it's perfectly OK to think that the tiles in the upstairs bathroom are hideous. It's unlikely to change your decision about the house -- but can't you even talk about how much you hate the upstairs bathroom tiles, whether there are other attractive tile options, et cetera?

[Anonymous]

Even more to the point PP -- what's the first thing people think about when they buy a house? The school district it's in! More people would love to live in DC if the DCPS's were any good. Those of us who do live in DC -- would love to save the $$$ on private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course, this isn't the first thing any of us looks at when we choose a school for our kids. But my question is, why is it not OK to even think about it, even as a secondary and minor issue? Or, in OP's case, to voice your thoughts on it?

It's analogous to buying a house. First you find a house that meets your priority needs -- enough bedrooms and bathrooms, metro-accessible, kitchen is big enough to put a breakfast/study table in it. But then it's perfectly OK to think that the tiles in the upstairs bathroom are hideous. It's unlikely to change your decision about the house -- but can't you even talk about how much you hate the upstairs bathroom tiles, whether there are other attractive tile options, et cetera?

Because it's possible to get a great education, and to have a great career, and life, and make lots of money without going to an Ivy. If an Ivy is a great fit for your child, that's fine, but you won't know that until they are college age. Why not just focus on getting your kids a good education and if you think they will do well and fit in at HYP, then fine. But millions of Americans have done perfectly well for themselves without a degree from one of those schools.

[Anonymous]

But if someone wants to go to an Ivy -- that is their choice. There's no need to preach about how well people have done w/o going Ivy. That was back in the day when jobs were more plentiful. Competition for everything is much stiffer nowadays.

[Anonymous]

No one is criticizing kids who want to go to Ivies. What comes under fire is parents whose desperation and/or need to live vicariously has them obsessively trying to plot this course at a point (pre- preK?) when it's not at all clear that their kids will have the requisite ability or interest to pursue it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whichever school has a crew team. Then make sure that your kid is on it.

Or move to North Dakota. My orientation weekend at Brown, the president said that our class had students from every state but North Dakota.

And while you're there, take up Hockey. The Ivies are serious about hockey (not Columbia).

Ha. I once had an intern from North Dakota, and, sure enough, she went to Harvard (although she was too modest to announce it - she would always say that she went to college "in Massachusetts.")

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one is criticizing kids who want to go to Ivies. What comes under fire is parents whose desperation and/or need to live vicariously has them obsessively trying to plot this course at a point (pre- preK?) when it's not at all clear that their kids will have the requisite ability or interest to pursue it.

Agreed.
Actually I'm wondering if OP is a troll who just wanted to stir up an argument.

[Anonymous]

Nope -- it's OP -- just wondering what people would say. A number of people were helpful; others wanted to preach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Ha. I once had an intern from North Dakota, and, sure enough, she went to Harvard (although she was too modest to announce it - she would always say that she went to college "in Massachusetts.")

This probably wasn't modesty, but the opposite. She was probably hoping people would assume she went to MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope -- it's OP -- just wondering what people would say. A number of people were helpful; others wanted to preach.

So you're for real. I have to say that your original post is one of the saddest ones I've ever read on this board.