Ivies vs. Top 20 schools (after listening to many a podcast on the subject)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:sophisticated troll fail re UVA

Nope, just a mom

with a uva obsession, based on this post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The title of this thread is, “Ivies vs Top 20 schools.”

What’s does UVA have to do with it? It’s not even a top 25 school.

Seems like a way of trying to put UVA down. Methinks someone's jelly, as folks used to say, circa 2007..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had no idea there were college admissions podcasts. I have a rising second year college student and a rising 12th grader. My kids don’t stand a chance with the level of parental involvement in the process that happens around here.

OP here - they absolutely will! There are so many colleges out there where kids can thrive And honestly, after listening to them, I wouldn't really recommend it. Inside the Admissions Office was interesting but some things they said really turned me off. For example, for one of the episodes they had a woman on who does interviews for Harvard. She was going on and on about how students interviewing should do their upmost to make the interviewer happy and comfortable because the point of the interviews is to keep alums involved at the school... okay. I get that interviewees should act appropriately but why is it my kid's job to make the interviewer feel good about the interview just so they keep giving money to a school that's probably going to reject my kid anyway? She also said how turned off she was by a kid who quoted his hockey coach a few times because "not everyone is into sports." Way to give a kid a chance.

I cringe whenever a poster writes "well, I interview for my Ivy and . . . "

They're doing it because they define themselves by the college they attended. It's the equivalent of peaking in high school and never getting over it. And even they understand completely that their interview will have little or no impact on the admissions decision. It's all about them and their egos, not the appliucant.

Pathetic.

Not an Ivy but I do interviews for my college and I do it because I love my school. I don’t have any illusions that I’m a meaningful part of the process, I just want to help kids learn about the place. Take a step back and try not to be so judgmental. Do you react to everything in your life so negatively? Yeesh.

As one annoying poster would respond, with the cliche of the century: you do you. I guess.

But I think it's kinda weird that adults define themselves by the college they attended, not recognizing the reality that colleges are largely interchangeable and "loving" the one that you ended up attending doesn't make the school unique. You probably would have "loved" another one too.

This could be the most DCUM response ever. Negative. Nonsensical. Poorly argued. I don’t define myself by my college. I just like it. I also have a picture of Kraków in my house, because I visited and loved it. And whenever someone wants to know about my experience there I share it, enthusiastically. I guess I shouldn’t do that because I didn’t go to Warsaw and maybe that’s better. Jeez, maybe I only “love” my wife because I didn’t meet someone else.

Sounds like you didn’t go to college or had a lousy experience, so you come here and try to crap on other people. Or maybe you have an annoying, braggy, competitive friend who throws junior’s achievements in your face. I know a few of those myself. So it’s easier to hit the anonymous board instead of dealing with the annoying friend.

Ha ha no. I went to a fine college and grad school and had a great time. But that was then and this is now.

My son was a true high school football star. He doesn’t even give it a second thought anymore. I guess we’re just not a “Glory Days” kind of family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The title of this thread is, “Ivies vs Top 20 schools.”

What’s does UVA have to do with it? It’s not even a top 25 school.

You’re reading the title too literally. I read it as the Ivies or 20 others. UVA certainly falls into that group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I've been listening to a lot of podcasts about college admissions (mostly Inside the Admissions Office) and after listening to some of the instagram episodes Dean J from UVA, it really jumps out at me how different schools like Ivies look at candidates vs. schools like UVA.

Obviously, the Ivies are amazing. And anyone would be extremely lucky to go there. But listening to some of the Admissions Officers from the top schools on Inside the Admissions Office is really just so different from the way Dean J speaks. The admissions officers from the tippy top schools expect *so much* from the kids (obviously) to the point where listening just made me exhausted. They're talking about filling the entire awards section (with state and national and even international awards preferably) and running your own business or nonprofit and the importance of showing a passion and making a major contribution in that passion, etc. Whereas Dean J is always saying that they know that they're dealing with teenagers who are 17 and have school work to focus on and like to hang out with their friends on the weekend and maybe don't really have a passion yet or are allowed to change their mind if they do something for a year and then decide they don't like it.

And of course it makes sense! It almost made me feel better - the Ivies *should* be for the tippy top students. Why do we want our kids breaking their back to be perfect teenagers unless they truly are superstars? Schools like UVA are still great and doesn't mean you've failed at anything, it just means that you were a normal teenager and they understand and even encourage this. Does anyone else feel the same way?

UVA is not a top 20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The title of this thread is, “Ivies vs Top 20 schools.”

What’s does UVA have to do with it? It’s not even a top 25 school.

You’re reading the title too literally. I read it as the Ivies or 20 others. UVA certainly falls into that group.

LOL that's a reach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The title of this thread is, “Ivies vs Top 20 schools.”

What’s does UVA have to do with it? It’s not even a top 25 school.

You’re reading the title too literally. I read it as the Ivies or 20 others. UVA certainly falls into that group.

LOL that's a reach.

Ok you win. The OP should be banished for bringing up UVA in the same sentience as top 20. The hell with her!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The title of this thread is, “Ivies vs Top 20 schools.”

What’s does UVA have to do with it? It’s not even a top 25 school.

You’re reading the title too literally. I read it as the Ivies or 20 others. UVA certainly falls into that group.

LOL that's a reach.

Ok you win. The OP should be banished for bringing up UVA in the same sentience as top 20. The hell with her!

It's ok. We're used to it here on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

I think part of the issue is the "arms race" is actually perpetuated by everyone except the admissions people.

They're going to pick the best of the people who apply. When people try to one-up each other with more APs, more awards, more research, and so on, we can't be surprised when admissions gets ridiculously hard.

I like the point about taking an interviewer's word as reliable. They're performing a small service for their alma mater and probably don't know the ins and outs of how the sausage is made.


In my experience, UVA was more forthright about how competitive they are than a lot of the other schools. I watch the instagram videos too and my read was that they were not happy how crazy it's gotten. I swear there was one video where Dean J looked totally beaten down over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had no idea there were college admissions podcasts. I have a rising second year college student and a rising 12th grader. My kids don’t stand a chance with the level of parental involvement in the process that happens around here.

OP here - they absolutely will! There are so many colleges out there where kids can thrive And honestly, after listening to them, I wouldn't really recommend it. Inside the Admissions Office was interesting but some things they said really turned me off. For example, for one of the episodes they had a woman on who does interviews for Harvard. She was going on and on about how students interviewing should do their upmost to make the interviewer happy and comfortable because the point of the interviews is to keep alums involved at the school... okay. I get that interviewees should act appropriately but why is it my kid's job to make the interviewer feel good about the interview just so they keep giving money to a school that's probably going to reject my kid anyway? She also said how turned off she was by a kid who quoted his hockey coach a few times because "not everyone is into sports." Way to give a kid a chance.

I cringe whenever a poster writes "well, I interview for my Ivy and . . . "

They're doing it because they define themselves by the college they attended. It's the equivalent of peaking in high school and never getting over it. And even they understand completely that their interview will have little or no impact on the admissions decision. It's all about them and their egos, not the appliucant.

Pathetic.

Not an Ivy but I do interviews for my college and I do it because I love my school. I don’t have any illusions that I’m a meaningful part of the process, I just want to help kids learn about the place. Take a step back and try not to be so judgmental. Do you react to everything in your life so negatively? Yeesh.

As one annoying poster would respond, with the cliche of the century: you do you. I guess.

But I think it's kinda weird that adults define themselves by the college they attended, not recognizing the reality that colleges are largely interchangeable and "loving" the one that you ended up attending doesn't make the school unique. You probably would have "loved" another one too.

This could be the most DCUM response ever. Negative. Nonsensical. Poorly argued. I don’t define myself by my college. I just like it. I also have a picture of Kraków in my house, because I visited and loved it. And whenever someone wants to know about my experience there I share it, enthusiastically. I guess I shouldn’t do that because I didn’t go to Warsaw and maybe that’s better. Jeez, maybe I only “love” my wife because I didn’t meet someone else.

Sounds like you didn’t go to college or had a lousy experience, so you come here and try to crap on other people. Or maybe you have an annoying, braggy, competitive friend who throws junior’s achievements in your face. I know a few of those myself. So it’s easier to hit the anonymous board instead of dealing with the annoying friend.

Ha ha no. I went to a fine college and grad school and had a great time. But that was then and this is now.

My son was a true high school football star. He doesn’t even give it a second thought anymore. I guess we’re just not a “Glory Days” kind of family.

Brag about glory days then says not a glory days person. Yikes, what a train wreck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think part of the issue is the "arms race" is actually perpetuated by everyone except the admissions people.

They're going to pick the best of the people who apply. When people try to one-up each other with more APs, more awards, more research, and so on, we can't be surprised when admissions gets ridiculously hard.

I like the point about taking an interviewer's word as reliable. They're performing a small service for their alma mater and probably don't know the ins and outs of how the sausage is made.


In my experience, UVA was more forthright about how competitive they are than a lot of the other schools. I watch the instagram videos too and my read was that they were not happy how crazy it's gotten. I swear there was one video where Dean J looked totally beaten down over it.

Well, yea. If you look at her admissions blog you’ll see she’s inundated by helicopter parents. That would drive me nuts too.

[Anonymous]

Did someone actually write “high school football star”? That actually happened?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The title of this thread is, “Ivies vs Top 20 schools.”

What’s does UVA have to do with it? It’s not even a top 25 school.

You’re reading the title too literally. I read it as the Ivies or 20 others. UVA certainly falls into that group.

LOL that's a reach.

Ok you win. The OP should be banished for bringing up UVA in the same sentience as top 20. The hell with her!

Haha. I have been accused of being both a UVA plant and trying to put the school down. Can’t win. I like listening to Dean J which is why I brought her up and I thought UVA was ranked in the top 20 (not that it really matters). Sue me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did someone actually write “high school football star”? That actually happened?

Yes, that was me. I realize this is Nerd Central and none of you can relate. The point is that people move on. College is over. I’m surprised that with your college educations you are all too obtuse to grasp the analogy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was a kid I thought college choice was incredibly important but as an adult I realize it really wasn't. What you do when you get there matters more. At my job we have someone who went to Yale and someone who went to Florida State. Same job.

It's cool that your job doesn't require basic understanding of statistics.

They don't seem to require critical thinking either.

I'm the original poster and I actually went to a top ten school. And I know people who showed up there, did the bare minimum (barely passed, no internships) and didn't do well. Whereas my best friend went to our state school got top grades and pursued internships and is now a highly succesful surgeon.

School snobbery is just boring