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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP - is schooling in your spouse's foreign country an option?

We are in a similar boat in which I am Asian American and my spouse is from the EU. We are planning on sending children to my spouse's alma mater unless DC gets merit aid from a top choice in the US. We figured this is a good option especially since professional schooling in the US requires a bachelor's first.

Congratulate your son on his likely - he can always go to his likely (or a CC) and transfer but know that hard work and perseverance will pay off in the end. [/quote]

OP- I also think that if your son takes time off, to [b]perhaps work on finding an academic focus. [/b]I used to do college interviews for my alma mater -- a top college that is talked about frequently here. When I think back at students who interviewed with very little career direction versus those who had crafted a nice path that coincided with some of the strengths of my school, it made a difference in how I viewed that student. I said to myself  "this is a top college that this student is interviewing with. Could this student come in on day one and fit in/contribute to the conversation?" To make sure that I wasn't too harsh, I had shared my experience generically with a few select alumni at an outing (student name withheld). Oddly enough, they were more harsh than I was. And these were alum who went to the same caliber of top level grad schools (top 10). So I think we pretty much held the same approach to what type of students should get the nod. It wasn't just smarts and top numbers that impressed because many students had that. We wanted the story.

I am sure the same comes across in admissions essays where the student will have to state why they want to attend that school. Emory's stats and reputation have really increased over time. I think that it's hard to go in undecided or without a path of some sort or another, into a top school these days.

Some colleges will care less about career/major direction etc. But others will care because they force the student to apply to one of the divisions/departments for admissions. If you don't get into the division, you usually don't get into that college.We experienced that and it was a tough learning.

Having said all of that, again, I really wish you the best of luck. Your son will find a good path forward. And thanks for sharing so that others can learn.[/quote]
Isn't part of the purpose of liberal arts education to gain broad exposure and eventually find academic focus? It's nuts, IMHO, to expect a 17 y.o. to know what they want to do with the rest of their life. I'm so glad that wasn't an expectation when I went to school. Being a generalist w.r.t. academic interests doesn't mean someone can't "contribute to the conversation on day one". What nonsense!

--HYPS alum for undergrad and grad[/quote]

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