30 years ago it was one of the main reasons I didn’t pick RIT. So many kids from my high school would be there, or it seemed it at the time.

Anonymous wrote:DD ruled out JMU because everyone she knows was going there. I thought this was silly, but let her make her own decision.

Mine too

Anonymous wrote:DC has a probable top choice (currently deferred) it's a large state school.

Besides a few kids already in, there are probably 20 others waiting to hear. Having 10 other kids from the school all together and dealing with rush etc doesn't seem super appealing.

Curious if anyone pivoted based on this.

Dc goes to a SHS and tons of kids go to Cornell. Its not appealing to me for this reason but dc doesn't care

I had 25 from my HS class go to VT. It did not matter. We all hung a little the first few weeks when we had no friends, and then we drifted into our own worlds. They just became people I'd say hi to at parties or other places. In some ways it was nice!

One girl who I was only loosely friendly with became one of my long term good friends. I made many many other good friends while there too.

Maybe this is less bout running into previous classmates vs some level of exclusivity. Idea of going to a school where no one from your extended circle is going.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a few immature students turning down top in-state options like UVA, UT Austin, UNC and UMich just to avoid too many of their HS classmates. Instead they went to OOS public.

Why are parents letting immature HS kids decide on how $200K+ is spent?

Must be BigLaw parents.

My kid is getting a double major in UMD for the cost of room and board only, offset significantly by the summer paid internships.

Anonymous wrote:DC has a probable top choice (currently deferred) it's a large state school.

Besides a few kids already in, there are probably 20 others waiting to hear. Having 10 other kids from the school all together and dealing with rush etc doesn't seem super appealing.

Curious if anyone pivoted based on this.

Yes, UVA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has a probable top choice (currently deferred) it's a large state school.

Besides a few kids already in, there are probably 20 others waiting to hear. Having 10 other kids from the school all together and dealing with rush etc doesn't seem super appealing.

Curious if anyone pivoted based on this.

Does your kid seriously think s/he will run into ten kids from their high school at a large state school? C'mon, man. This is so stupid.

Gotta agree here.....my son is going to UVA and I think maybe 10 others from his school got in, none of which are in his closest friend group (large school). This is just not a concern at all. He is excited to go and meet new people. I also think he will find it nice to see a familiar face walking around campus once in a while....or maybe even someone to turn to to ask a question now and then since they share the same local bond.

It's what you make of it!

That's actually why I didn't want to go to our closest SUNY back in the day.

Ideally, dd would have preferred for that not to happen, but it is not avoidable if staying in state. She is going somewhere about 20 (or more, this is the ones we know about) kids from our school are going. Most are doing majors she's not interested in, and the campus is huge! Odds are she runs into some once in a while. One of them is a good buddy from her track team and they are planning on joining some sports groups together, so that is something she now sees as a bonus: she has one person there she really likes and can connect with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC turned down UMD-CS with merits For this reason, I think it is stupid

Agreed.

My DS's school counselor told us that there was a big difference in someone from a small town going to UMD and finding their "tribe" which never existed in their high school, and someone from MCPS going to UMD with a pre-existing tribe of like-ability schoolmates. These kids already are networked, and now the other thing they need to do is add on to this network from students from all over USA and world.

UMD is one of the largest universities in the country. DS attends from his W HS which sent a lot of classmates. However, it’s never been an isssue. He does run into kids from HS but he has a huge network he has built of kids from all over the country. He likes the HS kids but is friendly, gregarious and inclusive and seeks out new people. Meanwhile DD from the same HS also attended UMD years ago. She is introverted and seeing a few familiar faces helped her to settle in. Those familiar faces introduced her to people outside her HS and gradually her friend circle grew. For her that was a positive. It really is what a kid makes of it. It’s not like a kid from Wootton, Churchill or WJ is going to find their classes are 50% familiar faces. My kids only very rarely run into a HS classmate in a class setting or even walking around campus. The school is huge! Unless you request to live with a HS friend there’s almost zero chance one is going to end up your roommate. DS didn’t know a single kid from HS on his dorm floor freshman or sophomore year.