Anonymous wrote:Random guy at the gym says to me, “my son goes to that school”. I respond and say, “my DC got rejected by the school but DC is at an ivy instead” it’s all fun. We all proud parents.

Cringe.

Anonymous wrote:It's not that deep. My DC bought swag at every college toured if they would consider attending. They wear all of them and many kids in our area wear them all the time before acceptance. Once DS is in ED I am sure he will continue to wear the swag from the other schools, as he genuinely liked them. Buy the swag, let him wear it now. It does not define anything. If he never wants to see it again, donate it or pass it along to a friend.

Same. Bought a hoodie if on the list post-tour, no hoodie if not. She lives in them.

Anonymous wrote:Y’all are so weird. It’s okay to buy expensive SUV’s that are gas guzzlers. But not okay to spend on some swag. Hmmmm.

My expensive SUV is useful. Functional. And used daily. You're buying fabric that was produced via chemicals and sweatshops just to shove it in a dresser.

Anonymous wrote:Random guy at the gym says to me, “my son goes to that school”. I respond and say, “my DC got rejected by the school but DC is at an ivy instead” it’s all fun. We all proud parents.

This is so weird.

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Anonymous wrote:I feel like I'm in an alternative universe. College t-shirts and sweatshirts are extremely common where my DC goes to HS. They are worn by kids in all grades. And, yes, plenty of people do get gear when they have visited a school they actually like.

Things change when active applications are out there.

My kid is a senior, still wearing college shirts/sweatshirts and so are their friends. Heck, they wore the heck out of the Pitt free tee and never even applied.

I'm the one whose kid put all his clothes in the closet. I guess different kids handle stress differently. Also, super weird to wear a shirt you have zero connection (even mild interest) in.

Not in the least. At least for people who don't take this so dang seriously.

I suppose some of us just aren't into mindless consumerism.

We let our kids purchase t-shirts or hoodies on all our college visits if they wanted. It wasn't mindless consumerism - every time they wore it they were reminded what their goal is. What you see as mindless consumerism is actually strategy and motivation. Whatever school they choose is fine by me - it's their path. Ivy, state, it doesn't matter to me. It also shows spirit and joy even if you don't attend. That is why NFL, NHL and college jerseys are everywhere; it does not mean you will play for them but that you think they are great!

my kid is not inclined to wear merch from random colleges they don't attend. why would they?

I bought a bunch a merch from my college and law school, but had no interest buying merch from a college I turned down (or which turned me down).

Nice scenario this time. Respect that you have not given up overusing the parentheses!

Lots of kids wear swag from schools they have visited. Maybe they love maroon and orange. Maybe the cut is super flattering. Maybe they hope to go there one day. Maybe they are just having fun announcing that they are looking at schools. It's not that deep

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Anonymous wrote:To entice my kid, told DC unlimited swag if DC gets into colleges. Visited 3 on acceptance days and spent over 1k, swag for the whole family. The family still wears swag from all 3 schools and we try to match when we go out. It’s fun and don’t regret spending.

This is so weird.

To this day, I still wear tshirts and hats from my undergrad, graduate, and post doc schools. Now, I wear my kids undergrad school.

How is that the same as wearing swag from 3 random schools, 2-3 of which your child did not attend?

One was my grad school and the other is school that he turned down (T10). Still very proud.

You wear clothes from a school he turned down and that he didn't go to? Nutcase.

We bought a few things from admitted schools. All free or on sale, so no big outlay. She wears some of the ones she didn't choose and gave some to little sis.

If nothing else, wearing swag is a good conversation-starter.

I love our W & M swag even though my kid didn’t end up there!

Clothes are clothes. If someone picked up a good sweatshirt while visiting colleges, good for them. The only time it matters is when some schools have a seniors day and everyone displays where they are going. Other than that, it doesn't matter. But I do think you are testing the gods by wearing the sweatshirt of an ED school before admittance. Would keep that one in the closet.

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Anonymous wrote:When my kids got in ED to UVA, we drove down literally the next morning and raided the bookstore to the tune of $600 (Total for two kids). I think they probably had some UVA attire prior (growing up in VA), but I would not have tempted fate to buy anything prior.

Are you for real? How many TShirts do you get for $600. My W&M graduate owned 1 swag hoodie.

As I said two kids, and no we didn’t just get a tee shirt. They got things like notebooks, keychains, a throw blanket for the dorm, a jacket, a couple glasses, sweatshirt, hat etc. it’s quite easy to ring up that size bill and you know what? They deserved it and still wear/use it all. For what it’s worth, they both each have W&M hoodies too lol

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Anonymous wrote:I feel like I'm in an alternative universe. College t-shirts and sweatshirts are extremely common where my DC goes to HS. They are worn by kids in all grades. And, yes, plenty of people do get gear when they have visited a school they actually like.

Things change when active applications are out there.

My kid is a senior, still wearing college shirts/sweatshirts and so are their friends. Heck, they wore the heck out of the Pitt free tee and never even applied.

I'm the one whose kid put all his clothes in the closet. I guess different kids handle stress differently. Also, super weird to wear a shirt you have zero connection (even mild interest) in.

Not in the least. At least for people who don't take this so dang seriously.

I suppose some of us just aren't into mindless consumerism.

Even teen stores sell college shirts and random kids buy them. Old school college swag is especially a thing. My nieces beg for all my old college stuff and none of them went there (or would have even wanted to). It's "cool" fashion. My kids collected a ton of t-shirts between them and wear them all. The t-shirts of the schools that rejected you seem to be a point of particular pride on college campuses. It's kind of hilarious and a great exercise in both humility, being over it, and getting the big picture.

Anonymous wrote:Random guy at the gym says to me, “my son goes to that school”. I respond and say, “my DC got rejected by the school but DC is at an ivy instead” it’s all fun. We all proud parents.

"We visited there once. Loved the school colors."