It’s also a reminder to parents- who like to “humble brag” that their kid already got into their safety school (which could be a school which your best friend’s kid is DYING to go to but hasn’t heard squat).
Keep it low key and keep it kind. Your kid might get $20K in merit from a college that a neighbor is breaking the bank to afford. And the kid down the street who is heading off to a community college to get certified in radiology tech could save your life one day (literally- a friend got a phone call during a holiday weekend from the tech to say that he’d been trying to get in touch with the doctor- who was out of town, not responding to pages, beepers, etc. and that the friend should head to a hospital ER ASAP and demand a neuro consult). Another friend had his leukemia diagnosed (or at least suspected) by a dental hygienist who insisted he have a full medical workup after she noticed something funky during a routine cleaning).
We know several kids who have gotten into their top choice or one that everyone thinks is fabulous only to transfer out because they are not happy or are doing poorly. It is all about a fit for your child. Everyone thrives in a different environment. It is all about finding the one for your child. It is hard to keep the chatter in the background but when you see your child thriving in college because you helped them find that fit, it feels terrific for both of you!! Good Luck!
I think kids are always like this about their in-state options, regardless of the state! We loved both Millersville and Bloom when we toured; lots of kids from our area go to Bloom.
But when you say Rutgers or Rowan, ewwwww why would you go there??? Kids are enamored of going away. And sometimes they get there and hate it, or leave after a year because the money is gone…easy for us adults to get it but the kids are still kids.
PASSHE is undergoing a change right before our eyes. New Chancellor from the Gates Foundation. New ideas…see educational opportunities from a student perspective not the perspective of a constituent. I have developed a relationship with Dan. Vision…understands the issues with PSU 24 branch community college type school. Time for change.
Ugh this makes me so sad, I’m sorry your kid had to be on the listening end. My D20 goes to a pretty high-pressure independent school and says that there is a general feeling that schools with acceptance rates in 50s are “only” safety schools and why would you ever apply there as your first choice? Drives me nuts. 2 of her top 3 choices on her preliminary (it’s still early in the process) are around 50% admission rate and now she’s questioning whether they are “good” schools. ARGH! I am just trying to push fit fit fit (and merit merit merit) and hope that everyone else clams up.
^ well, to be fair, op’s talking schools with 75-90% acceptance rates and they have been woefully underfunded for over a decade.
Perhaps your daughter @Itisatruth should start quoting even less selective schools. When she gets back to her original choices her friends will find them much more acceptable.
Campus visits have been inspiring… http://chancellorgreenstein.blogspot.com/ …I am not sure if I am allowed to post this from the Chancellor of PASSHE so if not, I apologize and please delete. If I am, it is indeed refreshing for residents of the Commonwealth to read about the uniqueness each school brings instead of labeling them as the same with the only solution being contraction.
@buckscountymom…PASSHE really has some amazing opportunities, unique campuses and much promise.Please do not let the downers on the board influence you to the point that you do not check out what is offered thru the state system. You might be surprised. The new Chancellor is afraid of Centre County or those that believe they have been in power. The power is in the hands of the people…particularly the students. Time for change is here.
Btw…my spouse is a teacher. They hired two new teachers this year in that grade.One from Notre Dame, one from CALU of PA. Huge disparity in college cost. Now making the same salary.
^ This is excellent news for the PASSHE schools. Really the huge downside all these years was how woefully underfunded they were by the legislature - not the schools themselves but the say they were treated financially then in the media.(there’s a French proverb I like “he who wants to kill his dog, accuses it of having rabies” - first, create the bad context and publicize it, to justify the future “kill”).
West Chester has been building for years. They haven’t had a lull for quite some time. Their acceptance rate on Niche is 64%. I think it is difficult to lump it in with all of the other schools in that system.
@amomof2girls…Most of the 14 PASSHE schools have been building for years. Academically…West Chester, Slippery Rock, Bloom and Millersville maybe be considered slightly better academically. West Chester is a PASSHE school. No different than how North Carolina, NY, Ohio has different schools in their system.
The point is…for the 1st time a decade or more…the perspective of service is from the eye of the student rather than the perspective of the constituent that could care less about higher education. Dan Greenstein is legit. He has vision, connections and hopefully commitment to make needed changes.
He has been unbelievably surprised by the beauty, resources, and the level of interest both students/faculty/staff have showed.
Remind your daughter that the goal is to get an education for a price you can afford and end up a degree that helps with her future adult goals.
There will be many students lost along the way - they apply only to unreasonable and/or unaffordable schools, they get in but can’t afford to stay, they believe their own hype and fail to study in college. Remind her to run her own race at her own future school. The classmates are young and have no idea where any of them will end up.
My DD’19 just this weekend switched from ragging on the school that was going to work for her financially, to telling people she’s going there and picking out a dorm. I think one catalyst may have been her older sister advising her to start contemplating the (many) good things about the place instead of trying to pick apart very minor stuff. It was hard for DD’19 to admit a complete turn around, so I just got little comments from her throughout the weekend. I didn’t make a fuss about the switch, just played it cool B-) But I’m very happy her attitude has changed.
So focusing on a list of positives about her options may help!
My advice? Just have her explain the strategy of applying to a variety of schools and then evaluating all the acceptances to see the best fit academically, economically, etc. Ask these friends if they think it is a smart strategy to graduate with $50,000-$100,000 in undergraduate debt? Ask them if they have calculated how long it will take to pay back that level of debt at 5-7% interest with a starting salary in their desired major? Ask if their parents are willing to co-sign a loan to even allow them to take on that level of debt.
@bester1 yes, am a resident of Pennsylvania and aware of the system. Am also aware of West Chester. My daughter was accepted and we visited many times. My dear friend is an asst dean there. Am very aware of what they have been doing for the past years.
It’s easy to brag about where you applied. Many of those bragging today will in fact be going to schools that have more humble reputations. To go to a school one has to be accepted AND it has to be affordable. Students often find one or the other can make them rather red in the face after giving others a difficult time.
Remind your daughter that these are other teenagers who have big dream, and who probably haven’t done the same level of research into both the atmosphere and the cost of college. They’re the ones who will be disappointed when they don’t get in where they want, or discover that their parents can’t afford to send them. They may then be stuck attending the local community college, unless there is a local directional university with rolling admissions that still has space. If they do end up where they want, and their parents stretch to pay, they might not finish there. It’s hard hearing others judging her choices that way, even if they don’t know those are her choices, but in May when everybody announces their final plans, she’ll the one who’s not disappointed with that final decision.
My son is very driven and really just likes learning. He has pretty good scores and is at the top of his class and even though he applied to two flagship schools he keeps going back to the idea of a PASSHE school. He was accepted into their Honors College which focuses a lot on writing (which he loves), was offered merit, class sizes will be smaller, and it’s half the price (after merit). He may very well take that route. I don’t want him coming out 100k in debt so I’m fine with that. I had this big vision of schools like Georgetown for him but realistically it isn’t a fit for our family for undergrad. There is always grad school. A friends daughters both went to the PASSHE school he is looking at and one is 24 and a Dr now and the other is taking her boards.