Reply to calm down about the college-admissions madness

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The author is likely a Gen X'er and I am too and from that perspective and in my own experience what he writes is absolutely correct and it used to be a narrative I strongly believed in.

Then, I watched my nieces and nephews go to college in the past few years and some graduate and I realized things have seriously changed.  I have heard their own regrets and the regrets of my siblings. What they would have done more of, less of, and generally how they wish they had started planning far before junior year of high school.

Even getting into basic state schools takes so much more even right now today.  My child isn't attempting college admission for years. What will it be like then?

There are state of VA schools that 20 yrs ago one could have gained admission to with maybe 0-2 extracurriculars, no sports, and a gpa in the range of 2.8 - 3.1.  Those same schools today wouldn't even give a second glance to such an application.

And then there is the reality of the job market.  So many more degree holders available today vs. just 20 years ago especially here in the DC area. When there are a stack of resumes to go through, of course name schools stand out. They just do.  All the other schools are fine as well but when there are hundreds of resumes in a pile for a single job having something stand out is going to help.

So yeah, I now get the madness and believe it's real at least for this area. [/quote]

I'm in DC and yes the madness is real and my DD a junior is in the thick of it. I didn't read the article but to help mellow things out, I rely heavily on my Gen-Xer slacker ways. I support everything she wants to do to help her get into the best school possible, we even hired a private college counselor.  But I've told her, I don't really care where she goes I just want her to be in an environment that is supportive and where she can thrive and also have fun.  The other day I showed her a photo of kids at a beach party at University of Miami and I was like "this look awesome" - she just rolled her eyes.  Just watching the process up close reminds me of how much a slacker I was compared to these kids today. [/quote]

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