Reply to High-stat kids w/o great college options

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It seems to me that a major problem stems from parental pressure and the mindset that there are only a handful of schools that are worth attending. Parental cravings for prestige, affirmation (I’m a good parent because my kid goes to HYP..), or a desire to live vicariously through their kids, are creating a pressure cooker environment for high schoolers and churning a generation of kids who are having serious problems with separation and individuate on—the critical process for becoming a happy, healthy, functioning adult. I see threads where parents are talking about their kid’s academic interests where all the replies are portents of doom.  Make them study engineering! Computer science! Something STEM.  Otherwise they are doomed for failure. Anyone ever stop to think that maybe the kid has neither aptitude for nor interest in those areas?  Give me a break. Let the kid explore, learn and grow. You don’t have to pick your career at 16.  There is no preschool to Harvard pipeline.
There are an estimated 3.7 million teens slated to graduate from high school in 2021. Even if 40% of those kids do not head off directly to college, that’s still over 2 million kids vying for slots in the college admissions cycle. Parents have convinced themselves that there are only 20 schools worth going to—and I think I’m being generous there.  And there are maybe 10 more that parents feel like are okay enough in a pinch. So you’ve got at least a million kids vying for admission at 30 schools. If your kid doesn’t get in to Harvard it isn’t because of scores or hooks or those URMs stealing their birthright—it’s because of STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY.  There simply isn’t enough room for everyone.  
The dirty secret of college admissions is that it is essentially a lottery. Or like a craps table. You buy your ticket or place your bet and hope you win.  
Please remember that there are more than 3000 4 year colleges in the US.  Do your kids, yourself and your wallets a favor. Look at some of the well known and excellent schools that are not in the US News top 30 ranking. Stop giving money to these schools that bombard you with glossy adverts and just want your (and 200-300 thousand other poor suckers) $80. You kid can get a good education at a school where they fit in, where they are a valued member of the community and where they can feel free to learn and explore[/quote]

+1000!! Very well said! [/quote]

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