Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As almost all studies have shown, it is not the school that made the kid successful..it is THE KID...my son is 4.7 W 1520 SAT..and though we can afford any school, it is very difficult to justify paying $83K when 28K to the instate flagship that has a multitude of major options, and very "smart kids"...oh..it would be unpopular with the private HS crowd whose parents parted with 100K to 500K to educate their kid when 92% of the USA pays zero..

I only come to this site for laughs..parents whom are treating where the kids goes to undergraduate school is the most monumental decision of anyone's existence, when in reality is not even in the top ten most important decision that a person will make in their lifetime

As a parent who paid 100-500k (actually more because I have several kids at a 50k school from 3yrs to 12th grade) for private education, I can tell you that you missed the boat. I didn't send my kids there to get into a college. I send them there to get an education. I agree that it's the kid that makes a success not the school. Very little that is learned in school beyond 7th grade is applicable to what they will be doing to sustain their livelihoods. I gave them a broad range of activities and experiences, let them learn how to learn, and the rest is up to them.... college or not.

Most of the really successful folks in this world don't have degrees or a piece of paper that tells them what they can do. They learn what they need along the way. Oprah, Gates, Zuckerberg, Dick Cheney, Steve Jobs, Charles Dickens, countless actors, comedians, and sports stars, the list goes on and on. If they shoot for mediocrity then yes they need the paper - doctor, dentist, scientist.

No way in heck I'm paying for an arts, literature, or philosophy degree.. if they want to do that they can start publishing immediately to get credibility. And BTW we have fully funded 529s and a HHI of 800k. Folks just need to be pragmatic about the world we live in. It's all about return on investment. My kids learned this lesson young, like 5 years old.

Anonymous wrote:I know what you are saying OP, but do you have a senior in HS applying to college right now? Even kids that DCUM would say are average (including my smart and hardworking senior that doesn't have any APs but has a good GPA), are stressed. Even at lower tier schools there is competition, and these kids are fighting for their spots at lower ranked schools just like other kids are fighting for spots at ivys.

To be fair, the system is really impossible, every school (even lower tiered ones) have thousands of applications for every spot and our kids (attending the same high schools as your kid) want to go to college.

I actually agree with you, OP, but telling your kid that is hard, the kids want a real college experience and its stressful to be applying to all schools right now. So please don't tell me to calm down - I want the same thing you want for your kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an average kid and would be considered successful by most standards.

Unless you are under 35, times are really different. College admissions is so much more competitive than even 10 years ago.

Anonymous wrote:As almost all studies have shown, it is not the school that made the kid successful..it is THE KID...my son is 4.7 W 1520 SAT..and though we can afford any school, it is very difficult to justify paying $83K when 28K to the instate flagship that has a multitude of major options, and very "smart kids"...oh..it would be unpopular with the private HS crowd whose parents parted with 100K to 500K to educate their kid when 92% of the USA pays zero..

I only come to this site for laughs..parents whom are treating where the kids goes to undergraduate school is the most monumental decision of anyone's existence, when in reality is not even in the top ten most important decision that a person will make in their lifetime

Anonymous wrote:I was an average kid and would be considered successful by most standards.

Anonymous wrote:I know what you are saying OP, but do you have a senior in HS applying to college right now? Even kids that DCUM would say are average (including my smart and hardworking senior that doesn't have any APs but has a good GPA), are stressed. Even at lower tier schools there is competition, and these kids are fighting for their spots at lower ranked schools just like other kids are fighting for spots at ivys.

To be fair, the system is really impossible, every school (even lower tiered ones) have thousands of applications for every spot and our kids (attending the same high schools as your kid) want to go to college.

I actually agree with you, OP, but telling your kid that is hard, the kids want a real college experience and its stressful to be applying to all schools right now. So please don't tell me to calm down - I want the same thing you want for your kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about those of us worried if our child is going to graduate hs?

So frustrating to watch her chance at college just slipping away

Hugs! I was there with one of my kids. Got them therapy to deal with the ADD and self-sabotage. They turned around their grades but weren’t accepted at any reaches or even matches. They attended an out-of-state flagship that is well-respected but not a hard admissions. (think Univ of Iowa, Univ of Indiana, etc.), graduated with a liberal arts degree and, within five years, are earning six figures.

It can turn out fine.