Your dream school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At this point? I don't think I have a dream school. I think any number of schools would have worked for me.

I "dreamed" of an Ivy when I was a kid, but didn't get in. Went to Wake Forest, though, and that turned out to be a great fit for me (even as a liberal Yankee). It was the Goldilocks school - not too big, not too small, but it also had Division I athletics. The campus was so pretty - definitely sold me when I visited. I made great friends and likely would have made the same choice all over again.

In visiting schools with my daughter, I have liked schools with a well defined campus but near other amenities

Someone mentioned honors colleges at state schools. University of Delaware sold the top kids at my parochial HS HARD on theirs 30 years ago. They kept pulling all of us out of classes to talk to us about it. I actually got very annoyed with them, because I had zero desire to stay home to go to school. I didn't even apply as a safety, which was highly unusual for my class. That said, I had applied to JMU as an OOS student, and they asked me to apply to theirs. I did and would have attended had I not gotten the yes from Wake. I think there are some advantages/benefits to honors colleges, but not sure the honors college is enough reason to go to the OOS school. YMMV

Ha, I went to Wake as a liberal Californian and loved it as well!

[Anonymous]

my dream school in 1986 was brown. Did not get in.

Not sure it would still be my dream school. I went to a very SLAC, not very well known. Made great friends. Maybe something slightly more prestigious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t get your kids all hung up on a “dream” school. There’s no such thing.

I went to a small SLAC and my best friend went to a huge state school. We visited each other while at college and both commented on how we had similar experiences in so many ways despite our schools being so different. I think it had a lot to do with the people we surrounded ourselves with and the experiences we sought out. So I agree, the idea of one school being "perfect" seems a bit silly (and dangerous) to me.

+1 best to avoid "dream school" ideas or at least quickly let the dream go and invest in where you ended up. I think this idea of the perfect school probably contributes to a lot of dissatisfaction and the high transfer rate. I look back fondly on my college years but now that I've had two kids go through freshman year of college, it really brought up a lot of memories for me about how really not-fun my freshman year was. My 1st roommate was a horrible fit (changed mid-year), I didn't find a great friend group quickly, classes weren't all that engaging. But it got better. My closest friend from college is someone I met junior year. That blah freshman year is not a big part of my college memories and that's been a helpful perspective to share with my kids as they have their own rocky 1st year transition. I think we tend to romanticize college too much, especially the 1st year. It's most likely going to be a challenging transition. But often kids just hear that it's going to be awesome! And when it's hard they think they picked the wrong school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a liberal arts HBCU. Dream school would be Stanford or Yale.

Why are people so obsessed with Yale?

I went to Yale and it would still be my dream school today.

+1

Boola Boola!

Immensely grateful for the education and experience.

[Anonymous]

DH and I both were admitted to our dream undergrad, and grad and professional schools. We are very fortunate, and know that, every day. No support, hooks or connections.

We paid our own ways (of each) and that taught us even more than any college, and we are also extremely grateful for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a liberal arts HBCU. Dream school would be Stanford or Yale.

Why are people so obsessed with Yale?

We are in DC so there’s a bend towards law and public policy which Yale is top 3 in. But not everyone is obsessed, one PP said they went to Yale but their dream school was Duke. It really depends on the individual.

+1

[Anonymous]

I’d pick Pomona or Davidson. Both amazing schools with super happy students and great weather!

[Anonymous]

I went to Williams and had a great experience. But now that I’m going through the college search experience with my DC, I would love to have the chance to go to College of the Atlantic, Bowdoin, St John’s in Annapolis, or Trinity College Dublin.

[Anonymous]

I went to Yale because I didn’t get into my dream school Stanford. My kids weren’t/aren’t interested in Yale, despite visiting and touring on beautiful spring days. Maybe because they are into STEM? Not sure. Ironically, my oldest kid’s dream school was Stanford and they had better luck with admissions than I did. Although I’ll never be a Stanford alum, I’m happy to be a Stanford mom.

[Anonymous]

I attended Princeton, my dream school back then. Coming from an under resourced school and community I was miles behind academically and totally out of my depth socially. Turned out well, but it was not a fun four years.

My son just got in. He attended a strong private high school, and I’ pretty sure he’ll have a far better experience than I did.

[Anonymous]

If I could change life..

Better classes and rigor in high school
Undergraduate Kansas State University or University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Masters - Kansas State University
Ph.D. - Purdue or Penn State

Or I would skipped PH.D. and went to MD/DO school somewhere in Midwest

[Anonymous]

[mastodon][/mastodon]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Yale because I didn’t get into my dream school Stanford. My kids weren’t/aren’t interested in Yale, despite visiting and touring on beautiful spring days. Maybe because they are into STEM? Not sure. Ironically, my oldest kid’s dream school was Stanford and they had better luck with admissions than I did. Although I’ll never be a Stanford alum, I’m happy to be a Stanford mom.

Beyond luck, I am sure your kid benefitted immensely from having a mom who went to Yale as did the above poster’s kid who is headed to Princeton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[mastodon][/mastodon]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Yale because I didn’t get into my dream school Stanford. My kids weren’t/aren’t interested in Yale, despite visiting and touring on beautiful spring days. Maybe because they are into STEM? Not sure. Ironically, my oldest kid’s dream school was Stanford and they had better luck with admissions than I did. Although I’ll never be a Stanford alum, I’m happy to be a Stanford mom.

Beyond luck, I am sure your kid benefitted immensely from having a mom who went to Yale as did the above poster’s kid who is headed to Princeton.

+1. Totally tone deaf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On one hand, I would want to go to the same school because my life wouldn't have turned out the way it did if I had gone to a different school. But aside from that, my dream school now would be a SLAC (probably Amherst or Bowdoin), rather than the HYP that I attended.

Move on cuz we all experience and accept rejection as a part of life. The worst way to cope with rejection is to deny it... DCUM wouldn't allow rejection to define you. Treat yourself with compassion...

[Anonymous]

Mine was always Harvard. And then I attended. It's a dream school for a reason, and some of us have what it takes to pull off our dreams.