I worried about my DD entering a USNWR top 5 known for its “stress culture.” It turned out fine. DD marveled at the photographic memories and other talents she met there. But DD also rose to the occasion, pushed herself, and graduated with a number of semesters on the Dean’s list.

That’s the benefit of having a fantastic peer group, they'll push (and coach and tutor and encourage) your DD to exceed her and your expectations. My DD graduated with terrific confidence in her own abilities.

How low are we talking? Is it possible to flunk summer placement testing? I don't believe the Ivy League or elites like Chicago MIT WashU even have remedial courses like a public university. Elites generally have a 90-95% graduation rate. Many kids do flunk out.

Most elite colleges are as invested in making sure your child does well as you are, and they have the resources to make sure their students succeed. Just make sure your DC is aware of those resources and knows to use them as needed.

What school? There are some elites and some programs at other elites that really have the “trying to drink water from a fire hose” reputation. Others offer a lot more help and a gradual transition for first year students.

MY kid will be off to an elite school this year. Honestly many of those schools have so much help and support to make sure kids don't fail. There are peer counselors, academic advisors, the writing center, a math center, easy access to professors - my kid is doing a summer math program sponsored by the school to be more prepared. I've told her to take advantage of every support available even when she doesn't feel she needs it.

Good Luck.

I was a faculty child at an elite. I had excellent SATs but ok grades from very well-known high school that were trending up. In retrospect I think i was a shoo-in bc it was the early 90s but not today.

If you are really worried tell her not to stretch herself too much until she has her sea legs. Stress that freshman year is A LOT of transitions and not the time to dive into the deep end academically. I had earned 4s on AP calc and AP bio senior year; those scores made me eligible for higher ranked classes that were too hard for me given my lack of interest in majoring in those subjects and the fact that it was an elite college with lots of REALLY brilliant kids. My freshman fall grades were not pretty. Spring semester I purposefully took a classes with friends so I had a study buddy and played to my strengths. It worked out much better and turned things around.

There are tutors at the school for free. I have heard rumors that Harvard is NOT significantly harder than Boston College.

There are plenty of athletes and legacies who didn’t get in for academics. She will be fine.

Princeton will no doubt benefit from the best damned electric bassoon player in the land.

She'll be fine.

Anonymous wrote:There are surprisingly not-bright kids at every school, including Harvard. People will argue that I'm wrong, that they're brilliant in some very non-obvious way, but it's not true. There is a range of abilities, and she'll gravitate to waht she's good at and likes. She'll be fine.

+1

There are surprisingly not-bright kids at every school, including Harvard. People will argue that I'm wrong, that they're brilliant in some very non-obvious way, but it's not true. There is a range of abilities, and she'll gravitate to waht she's good at and likes. She'll be fine.

There are always outliers who are taken by surprise. A friend of mine's DD just this year got a place at MIT and the whole family was reeling with shock including the DD.

It doesn't mean she won't attend though.

Good luck to your DD. I'm sure she can do splendidly there, they obviously think so.

I was sure that I was the "admissions mistake", and maybe I was. But I still had a wonderful experience and got a lot out of it. I wasn't summa cum laude, but I did fine.

Never let her know that you're worried. She'll be fine.

If it wasn't MIT or UChi I'd relax. She'll get her bearings.

DD had an eclectic hook that I believe was read by the right person. Am I crazy for thinking this? What is life like at an elite for kids that were genuinely lucky to be admitted? Honestly, even her advisor at school didn’t believe her at first. This college is stretching us financially, so it’s not like we can afford hire her private tutors this fall.