<p>Mini, I really don't see highly selective colleges as particularly snooty places. It is ok to be smart....does not make you snooty or "elite" or rich, as you are aware of naturally with your brilliant daughter. I don't find Smith snooty either.</p>
<p>It's all relative, and it doesn't necessarily have to do with the students (but with their parents - US!) Go to a ****tail party of doctors, lawyers, or business executives in a major metropolitan center (especially on the east coast, but true here in Seattle as well), start talking about college admissions, and you can watch the noses go up and down (LOL!) Of course, where I live, the noses go up and down depending upon whether someone rode over an opposum or a skunk, and Huskies vs. Cougs are fighting words.</p>
<p>Soozievt: If your D likes CITY life, like my D does, she will love PITTSBURGH. With your CMU card you travel all over the city for FREE! My D uses her weekends to explore...as she is the adventurous type. The ethnic neighborhoods are so enriching and the variety of eating establishments are broad, interesting, and NOT expensive by our standards. Now..I must warn you...CMU is not for everyone! She has a roommate that REALLY wanted to go to Boston College but was rejected. POOR THING! She is very very religious...looking for Jesus, etc. Not having a good experience in this school. You need to be a bit OPEN-MINDED and truly accepting of all types. My D actually has been spending much time with an entrant who is only 16 years old from down SOUTH and is any amazing graphic artist. So, what can I say? I will let you know how she does..as she tends to be a gadabout..and I do think you need to buckle down here. It's not an easy school. We'll see.</p>
<p>Mini: i am really so curious about the bobbing noses thing. Are they looking people up and down? I don't get it. It must be a west coast thing!</p>
<p>(Strongly agree with Soozie re: snootiness.)</p>
<p>But back to the topic at hand. On cc it does seem as if many students apply across the board to the highest ranked colleges, but amongst people I know I have rarely seen that. Too many fit issues generally come into play, especially if the student is heavily involved in extracurriculars. Can't get the same dance or musical theatre or opera experiences everywhere, for example. Have seen the SAT ranges used to get a VERY ROUGH idea of what schools kids might be accepted at, though.</p>
<p>Soozievt wrote, "Also Fiske has lists of schools strong in certain disciplines and that list is useful (though is not the same as a ranking). Books like those are a resource in my opinion but not like the US News Ranking thing being referred to here."</p>
<p>Right! I knew they were different and I meant to say that we used that kind of resource in lieu of the rankings that this thread is about, which we didn't use at all, though it's hard to avoid knowing that Harvard, for instance, is usually if not always ranked #1--it's even harder than not knowing each year who is in the superbowl which I always try to do and always fail.</p>