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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Nah, she wasn’t realistic about a lot of these colleges. I’m pp whose DC got into 8 schools a while back.

I agree with other posters. You have to do lots of research to get good outcomes. And I mean a lot of research. And then you have to be very realistic about the game and how you can win at it.

We were lucky because 1) my kid was not a 1500+ student; 2) the Ivies were never a consideration because of it, and 3) a few other “street smart” factors that we homed in on that narrowed our focus.

[b]Colleges tell you who they are without necessarily telling you who they are if you are researching well and asking the right questions.
[/b]
My last thought is that very few students should be applying to Ivies. It’s too hard to win at that game, and the penalty of losing other options early on is just not worth it unless you are really hooked.

[/quote]

I’m intrigued by this. Can you please share more? Maybe an example of two?[/quote]

Okay. I will try.

I have another kid and we recently visited on of the colleges that was on your student’s list.

We went on the college tour and really listened to everything said; scoured the brochures and website; and compared this place to other school/programs we knew.

We walked away thinking that this is a top university, but is not a top STEM university. The course depth and opportunities in the areas that my kid wants to focus on just wasn’t as prominent or plentiful as you would find in a STEM focused school. We had visited several STEM focused schools and could see the difference. Therefore the school, though a top school, would not be a good fit for my kid.

Now the school will try to say that they are big in Engineering (which they are good at, but not necessarily the biggest name). Our take was that they were more of a liberal arts focused school with a good engineering department, which is different than being a strong engineering school.

Compare that to let’s say UMD College Park. As soon as you walk on campus, the whole quad on the right is focused on the Sciences and Engineering. Wind Tunnel building, new Tech buildings and CS/AI. Biological and agricultural science. The school’s media emphasizes the millions invested in programs for STEM and top labs, research, etc.

College Park offers many disciplines of learning. But any student visiting there would clearly see the strong focus on STEM. The same goes to Rochester, Rutgers NB (chemistry molecule statue), Case and so many others. Again, surprised that these schools were not on your list. They ooze STEM and premed and some tech. They have hospitals and medical schools. You can’t get more premed than that.

Another college that we visited recently added a very specialized STEM-related department that would allow students to gain on campus experience in a certain area. What the college isn’t saying is that their graduates have been disadvantaged in this area without specific experience. So the school decided to invest in adding some experience in this area to make future grads more competitive. I won’t name the school, but it is a school that is trying to build out a bigger premed presence.  They’ve also added student internships in medicine around the world to the curriculum for premed students, another key way to gain clinic hours during the school year.

So it’s there if you know what to look for.

Look at how the school invests its money. Look at how students spend their time. Look at disciplines that are prized on campus and in the broader educational community, etc. [/quote]

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