College Placement Disappointment from Big 3 Grads?

[Anonymous]

Ok, I admit at the outset that this is probably more sour grapes than anything else. But from those soon-to be Big 3 graduate families, after spending over 300K on the private school "investment," please share stories where the investment, at least measured purely on college placement, turned out to be a bust.

Here's my story - Big 3 applicant rejected from UMD. We're MD residents.

[Anonymous]

What pp? Are you serious? Honestly, maybe your child looked "too good" and they may not have wanted to admit the child and waste an admission spot because they probably believed he(she) wouldn't go there. It ruins their "admit numbers" when people reject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What pp? Are you serious? Honestly, maybe your child looked "too good" and they may not have wanted to admit the child and waste an admission spot because they probably believed he(she) wouldn't go there. It ruins their "admit numbers" when people reject.

You are very charitable, PP. OP, you don't say whether your child met, exceeded, or fell below the admissions criteria. What were the grades, test scores, etc.?

If you were complaining that the school didn't prepare your kid adequately, and that he/she wasn't qualified for UMD, and that you felt that your $300k was wasted, that that's a legitimate beef. However, that's not how it reads. Instead, your post reeks of entitlement, that somehow you were expecting your kid to get into the state school simply because of the school he/she attends. It's that attitude that generates the intense antipathy for some schools that sometimes seen here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, I admit at the outset that this is probably more sour grapes than anything else. But from those soon-to be Big 3 graduate families, after spending over 300K on the private school "investment," please share stories where the investment, at least measured purely on college placement, turned out to be a bust.

Here's my story - Big 3 applicant rejected from UMD. We're MD residents.

How is your child doing at you Big 3? Most private universities & colleges "weight" GPAs and lessen the emphasis on class standing of top tier schools (in our area I know this applies to NCS/STA/Sidwell & Potomac - I'm not honsetly sure about GDS), but some do not - mostly State Universities. Perhaps MD does not take into account the school from which you are applying and how the sheer competitiveness can put your child in the middle of the pack. Ironically your child might have an easier times getting into a tougher school than your home state. This would be useful information for families in MD, if that is where familes want to send their schools. Perhaps a college counselor can weigh in on this. Or post this question on the colllege board.

[Anonymous]

Is this supposed to be a slight to UMD grads? Just because your kid went to a "big 3" does not mean they are going to get into every college to which they apply. If you tell us your kids is a B+ student with decent SATs then that might be one thing, but if they didn't test well, or the GPA is low, then it is another.

Were there any warning signs from the college guidance counselors?

[Anonymous]

Two articles just today on how state colleges are now overwhelmed with applications and that Ivy degrees only really matter when it comes to that first job. After that, they get jobs based upon their own qualities and merit. Look at the fact that over 90% of all Fortune 500 CEOs are from non-Ivy colleges.

I think many posters are doing their children a great disservice when they think that Ivies will make them successful - instead of trusting that it is the child's talents that will make them successful.

OP, I feel for you but this could also be a blessing in disguise. Remember, college is not the destination - it is only part of the journey like the secondary school. I'm sure there is a wonderful fit out there for your child.

Think how Bill Gates' parents felt when he dropped out of Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Wonder how your child feels about a mom who thinks he is a bust and a poor return on your investment.

[Anonymous]

Was this early admission and if so can he try again for the second round?

[Anonymous]

We have friends whose son just graduated from Sidwell, and while ultimately the son did not attend The U of Puget Sound, that is where the guidance counselor suggested. Parents were not too pleased...

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your wisdom, 17:21!

[Anonymous]

I have two kids from "big threes" that are going to two of the three supposedly "top" ivy league schools. That being said, both were athletes and probably would have gotten in for their sports from a top public school as well. It seems as though most of the kids from son's big three school that got into Stanford, MIT, Duke, and the ivys were either legacy, athletes, huge donor families, or urms. So although the college placement numbers look really incredibly at first glance, when you start to look at all of the hooks and advantages that the kids had, most are not related to the private high school at all.

[Anonymous]

Hey pp -- a friend told me just yesterday I could have saved my money too. She was recruited to row at a top Ivy from a private school always mentioned on these posts. I agree with your thinking. W/O legacy, athletic, diversity advantages -- I think each Ivy picked one kid -- 8 total straight on grades.

[Anonymous]

If OP's kid was applying to the UMD "honors" program, I hear that's actually difficult to get into. I don't know the exact admissions stats, but apparently UMD has come up a lot in the past few years.

The fact is that no Ivy or other top college is going to accept more than a handful of kids from any single HS. So if all the kids at Sidwell are applying to all the same Ivies, and only a handful have the requisite athletic/legacy/urm(?!) or whatever hook, that can make it hard on the rest of the graduating class. And it's not inconsistent with the other PP who said that top colleges reaching down into the middle of the class rank, if they're looking for the athletes and legacies, so that even some at the top of the class rank might be left out.

19:39 -- what's an "urm"? That's a new one for me.

[Anonymous]

A while back a mom posted to complain that her Maret kid was "only" accepted at the University of Wisconsin.

[Anonymous]

Please tell me that not all parents think of their children's education is an investment. I would hope they would send their child to a school that meets the child's needs. The OP sounds like my dad who refused to pay for a private school education b/c he didn't see what "would come of it." How are such selfish people parents?