Rising senior DD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went through this just this year. Dream school was an ivy, kid well within range, multiple publications, etc. Rejected ED and that led to an update to all the RD schools (new publications, work on the hill). Admitted to another ivy RD. Ended up in a very happy place for her -- one of the strongest seven sisters.

What I'd encourage you to discuss with DD is not so much what the "brand" of the dream school is, but rather what she wants to get out of it. Education, experience, network / alums, path to envisioned future and how her choice would play in interviews etc. is ultimately going to prove more important than the bumper sticker you get to buy.

So much in this country now is about building brand hype and the appearance of being "elite". Other than playing into the competitiveness for "prestige" for many here (and in this city), there's little value to this and very little correlation to the quality of the education received. Look at metrics like % of graduates who ultimately go on to get a PhD, professor profiles and publications, student ratings of quality of life, commitment of alums, etc.

Stanford is great. So are about 50 other US schools.

You were doing pretty well until the last sentence. Your implication that there are "about 50" US schools on par with Stanford is ridiculous.

Not the PP to whom you're responding, but your boosterism is showing. You're misreading the PP. It's not about any school being "on par" with any other, it's about realizing there is NO one university or college that is perfect. The intense need to compare schools and always find every one of them lacking, except the poster's preferred name brand/"Top 10"/Ivy etc. -- it's so narrow. And it's damaging to kids, who absorb that thinking from their parents and then are crushed if they don't get into the one school that they've been told has no peers anywhere, ever, in any subject.

Earlier Poster here (but not the PP). Exactly what I was thinking, but you said it better than I could!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you have 10 AP as rising senior? Ours says none as freshman. Only encourages one as soph. Can do 2 if you push it. So how does yours (unless TJ I guess) have 10 done. I can't even figure it out?

DC self studied for some AP’s and took 2,4,4 AP tests in the 3 years, including this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went through this just this year. Dream school was an ivy, kid well within range, multiple publications, etc. Rejected ED and that led to an update to all the RD schools (new publications, work on the hill). Admitted to another ivy RD. Ended up in a very happy place for her -- one of the strongest seven sisters.

What I'd encourage you to discuss with DD is not so much what the "brand" of the dream school is, but rather what she wants to get out of it. Education, experience, network / alums, path to envisioned future and how her choice would play in interviews etc. is ultimately going to prove more important than the bumper sticker you get to buy.

So much in this country now is about building brand hype and the appearance of being "elite". Other than playing into the competitiveness for "prestige" for many here (and in this city), there's little value to this and very little correlation to the quality of the education received. Look at metrics like % of graduates who ultimately go on to get a PhD, professor profiles and publications, student ratings of quality of life, commitment of alums, etc.

Stanford is great. So are about 50 other US schools.

You were doing pretty well until the last sentence. Your implication that there are "about 50" US schools on par with Stanford is ridiculous.

Comparing Stanford to top 50 is ridiculous. If anything, compare to HYPSM and Columbia for STEM interests