Do parents prod you for advice after your children get into great colleges?

[Anonymous]

Just curious is all.

[Anonymous]

no

[Anonymous]

Yes

[Anonymous]

Forget the parents, I’ve had teens ask me for advice

[Anonymous]

Sure. When my daughter got into UVA, I had acquaintances messaging me on Facebook outright asking me her GPA, test scores, and extracurriculars. I thought it was very strange and borderline aggressive.

[Anonymous]

No. My children went to good but not great colleges. They are both happier and more successful than their peers, many of whom have advanced degrees but no sign of steady employment. Several have gone back for teaching certificates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes

In what way, what sorts of questions? In real life or on facebook? I don't even know what I'd say — get really good grades and get really involved in low-income D.C. from 9th-12th? Doesn't really seem like a mystery, to me.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but for more than just advice. I've had friends ask me to brainstorm essay questions with their children and even to edit their child's personal statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes

In what way, what sorts of questions? In real life or on facebook? I don't even know what I'd say — get really good grades and get really involved in low-income D.C. from 9th-12th? Doesn't really seem like a mystery, to me.

In real life.

Test prep (honestly, we hired a different prep company for each kid and the most useful thing was taking the SAT a few times to get used to it. DS did a better job reviewing grammar out of a prep book.)

Do we need a counselor? No, we didn’t.

What was the essay about?

[Anonymous]

Parents have asked me for advice on how to find schools that award merit aid. But no, not about test prep, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes

In what way, what sorts of questions? In real life or on facebook? I don't even know what I'd say — get really good grades and get really involved in low-income D.C. from 9th-12th? Doesn't really seem like a mystery, to me.

What does this mean?

[Anonymous]

Lol, no. ONE person who'd always thought my son was "dull" asked if we knew someone at Stanford. No, he's just not dull, you bitch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure. When my daughter got into UVA, I had acquaintances messaging me on Facebook outright asking me her GPA, test scores, and extracurriculars. I thought it was very strange and borderline aggressive.

Did you respond? Did you just copy and paste everything to them all? lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes

In what way, what sorts of questions? In real life or on facebook? I don't even know what I'd say — get really good grades and get really involved in low-income D.C. from 9th-12th? Doesn't really seem like a mystery, to me.

What does this mean?

Daughter has been super involved with two orgs working with low-income kids 4-6 days a week for several years. Deep, provable, sustained work in an impoverished area is far more impressive than some bullsh*t bookbag drive, fundraising effort, or 2 week trip to Africa.

[Anonymous]

Everyone wants to know what DD’s “hook” was—but she didn’t have one.