Academic Rigor: Little Fish, Big Pond?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have a rising senior. She is a "good student" at a big public high school. Meaning she is organized, does what she is supposed to do, gets good grades with the occasional disappointment. She is social but not extroverted. She is not especially assertive. She has taken a reasonably challenging curriculum (in other words, a far more demanding and varied course of study than I ever took) and should be as prepared for college as she could expect to be. We are thrilled with the way she turned out.</p>

<p>The issue in my mind is that I think she could get admitted to some good schools (strong ECs, anticipating strong essay and recommendations). Her reaches are things like Wesleyan, Georgetown, Duke, and we might toss an application Yale's way for legacy reasons. Just so she doesn't spend the rest of her life wondering whether she could have been admitted. :)</p>

<p>Say we wind up with the following choices: Wesleyan, Bucknell, Univ. of Charleston (so a reach, a match, a safety).</p>

<p>Here's the question: Is it better to go with your match and hope to finish at the top of the class? Or is it better to go with your reach and hope you can hack it? If you're reaching to get into a school, is that a clue that you might not do very well? What are the consequences (jobs, grad schools) for finishing at the middle or lower of a place like Wesleyan? Are the students at a super-selective university so much better than those at a less selective one such that you could hope to rise to the top faster at the less selective school?</p>

<p>I know we haven't been admitted anywhere yet and could find ourselves clutching one offer to a safety. But we're trying to think ahead a bit, as this issue does affect our list of schools.</p>

2

<p>For me, I think being a smaller fish in a big (in terms of student caliber, not size) pond was the right way to go. I think it made me a better person in a number of ways. And I seem to have done all right finding good, well-paid employment.</p>

3

<p>I think those schools are all sufficiently different that if you go for "fit", the question of her gpa will resolve itself. I can't see a person getting good grades at a place where they are unhappy. Nor, where they're unchallenged. It's going to be the same work no matter where she goes (and, if it's not -- then, you have other worries -- like, will grad schools consider her match too easy?) Her "reach" would not have admitted her if they harbored doubts about her ability to do the work.</p>

4

<p>Talk to any good athletic coach and they will always tell you it's better to be a mediocre player on a great team than to be a great player on a mediocre team. The reasoning being that the athlete will learn more if there are more quality players on the team. I think the same can be applied to schools.</p>

<p>I recently made a similar decision and went with the more difficult school because I want the challenge and didn't want to short-change myself. Hopefully grad schools will look at my undergraduate school and be a little more lenient if my GPA isn't as high as it otherwise would have been.</p>

5

<p>I agree with ^^. Most of what you learn during college is from your fellow students--more so than the faculty. In general, the better the school--the better the quality of the student body. Yes, the better school may be more challenging, stressful and more work--and your grades may be lower--but I think you will get more out of it in the long run.</p>

6

<p>With grade inflation prevalent these days at most schools, even an average student has a shot to finish with a B average. So it isn't as if you are trading an A average at a less competitive school for a C average at a challenging one. </p>

<p>More important, in my view, is the peer effect. If you're at a top school and you see the kids around you preparing for grad school, careers in challenging fields, getting to know their profs, finding internships, etc -- it becomes the standard in a sense and the group ethos gives guidance to those in it. If the average kid expects a lot from herself, it sets the tone. </p>

<p>By contrast, if everyone is convinces "nobody really needs grad school", the internship game is rigged for kids who already have a parent working at the firm hiring kids for the summer, etc -- it becomes difficult to be the one going against the prevailing wisdom. And with fewer examples to follow, a kid that doesn't know about the choices they can make in college may not discover the opportunities in time. For example I recall a posting a while back from molliebatmit (MIT student) when she was touring grad schools in which she noted the big difference she saw between her friends and smart kids from large state schools is that far fewer of them had research experience.</p>

7

<p>First, you need more than three schools to apply to. You need at least 8. Expand your list: 2 reach, three matches and three safeties. Because admissions is a funny and chaotic game and you NEVER know what is going to happen. Kids with high stats get trashed by Georgetown and someone with a 2000 SAT score gets in. Stuff like that.</p>

<p>Next, compare offers of admission.</p>

<p>But to answer your question, in my opinion there is NO PRICE you can put on happiness. Its your kid going to college, not you. Happiness equals success. Stress does NOT equal happiness or success. Know your kid and hopefully she knows herself. VISIT the schools and THEN decide where to attend if you get admitted.</p>

<p>Your list is fine (if by Charleston you meant College of Charleston in South Carolina and NOT West Virginia). </p>

<p>College is not just about grades, its about maturing and meeting lifelong friends and making your own way in life. The "campus feel" is as important as anything. Getting into a prestigious reach school can be rewarding and SOME kids are up to the social and academic challenge, but others are not. </p>

<p>Go to a challenging school that is the BEST FIT for her socially, academically, financially etc. You will know it when you walk on campus.</p>

<p>Consider for example: Villanova, Fordham, Lafayette, Lehigh, Furman along with Bucknell as match schools. Each is unique in what it offers students and how they may feel. </p>

<p>"Reachable" Reach: maybe add Emory or Davidson </p>

<p>Safety schools look at Clemson, NCState,
UNCW, Florida State etc.</p>