Reply to For purposes of college admissions, should I have raised my child elsewhere?

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[quote=Anonymous]^^I'm just going off of my husband's experience growing up in one of those small towns.  His sibling is just graduating college, and he knows a number of people in the community, so not much has changed since he graduated.  I don't know if you were the one who guided them to look into places like Bates and Williams (because the parent's attitude has a HUGE impact), but basically he took the ACT, his guidance counselor told him "oh, you'll be ok" and didn't have time to deal with him, nor did he know that financial aid existed at privates, and he basically just applied to an in state school where everyone else in his family went.  He filled out the FAFSA at 18 with no help from his parents, and they would have thought "why go to some liberal arts school when you can go a couple hours away in state."  He did very well there, went to a great graduate program, and has since moved away, but he feels like your kids experience is not typical.  Sure resources exist online, and a very savvy and self-motivated student can find them--but how many 18 year olds are that savvy and motivated, especially with no nudging from an adult mentor?  I know my husband is very much a self-starter, but even he had a lot of anxiety about being just a small town rural boy from blue collar roots, and wondered if he couldn't hack it in a competitive environment, and if he even applied he was getting too big for his small town britches.  One girl from his hometown wanted to apply to Dartmouth and was discouraged by several faculty for not being smart enough--and attitudes like that are pervasive in his town.

I'm sure an exceptional student with parents (especially who are appropriately encouraging and/or savvy) can figure out how to navigate it all with less guidance/packaging/etc.  And I'm sure that many students get a lot out of not having it all handed to them.  But I can't help but think that DH's situation is a more common occurrence than what was experienced by your kids.  This new york times article from last year says as much: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/opinion/elite-colleges-are-as-foreign-as-mars.html?_r=0[/url][/quote]

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