<p>I am in a crisis of sorts, have worked my butt off all my high school life, am the ultimate overacheiver admittedly. I got into Yale EA and have received some encouragment from Brown and Stanford. Please don't ask because I know I will get pms about this, but suffice to say I have been contacted and its my feeling I will get into both. Harvard is MY dreamschool. I wait to see if I will be one of the lucky ones. I have been contacted for an interview and they did call my advisor to ask her about a few things not clear on my record. My parents however DREAM of me going to YALE. My dad went there and he is beside himself just thinking I may go elsewhere, much less to his rival Harvard! The thing is this is my life and I want to be happy with my choice, Yale is a phenomenal school but I love Boston and after visiting Harvard, everything about it felt right. </p>
<p>IF I don't get in there, then my close second is Stanford, I LOVE Cali!! We have relatives there and just the whole intellectual/hippie vibe really appeals to me in a BIG way. If I don't get into those then Yale becomes a real likely choice. But I really believe I will get into at least one of the above if not 2. Any ideas or would you like to weigh in on how much "say" you think a parent should have in these decisions? I welcome and respect anyones opinion and maybe just need to hear a totally objective one other than my close knit circle of family and friends. Thanks!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>I would think that even though your parents would like you to go to yale they would be understanding if you went to stanford or harvard, it's not like their bad schools. Just tell them I can't see parents withdrawing finnancial support just because you have opinions on where you want to go to school. I think all will turn out great. Seriously though congrats on getting into Yale
Good Luck!</p>
<p>Try to understand why your parents favor Yale (beyond the legacy issue). Maybe they have some insights about why that school might be the best fit for you. Oftentimes kids opinions are formed based on what their high school friends believe. Your parents may have very good reasons for believing that Yale is a better match or more suitable for you. All of these schools have different campus cultures and are not interchangeable. See if they can explain their preference to you and then maybe you'll be able to articulate your reasons to them. Good luck.</p>
<p>Wait to get into Harvard first. No reason getting ahead of yourself if the problem never occurs. Just start going over the pros for Harvard and the cons for Yale. Do the same for Stanford. </p>
<p>IMO, your parents are entitled to have a say in where you go for college if they are paying for the bulk of it. They should not get the final say, but you should respect their opinions.</p>
<p>If you get into Harvard or Stanford, go for it! They are both amazing institutions and I can see why you would prefer them over Yale (New Haven isn't exactly Safe City, USA). If not, I would just go for Yale, also just an incredible institution. I honestly think you will be happy wherever you go. Whichever university a student attends, really tend to grow on that person. But like others have said, if you get into Harvard or Stanford, just tell your parents sincerely why you want to go to that school and hope they will understand. They'll support you.</p>
<p>Personally, I think your happiness is worth a lot...it's not as if you want to blow your college years away at a party school! It'll be Harvard v. Stanford v. Yale. All great schools...and if the difference it comes down to is your own happiness, then, by all means, talk to your parents!! They'll probably be reasonable if you state your case well. Good luck, and I hope you'll be happy wherever you end up!!</p>
<p>I'm (sort of) contemplating the same problem... I got into Harvard EA, which I'm 60-70% set on. My mom loves Yale, my dad is "settling" for Harvard (he wanted me to go to Penn Huntsman or Wharton, which I ended up not applying to). I'm wondering what will happen if I get into Princeton, or Stanford (they won't even pay for me to visit, which makes me wonder what the point is to even apply).</p>
<p>I guess the only thing to do is not assume any more luck will fall in our laps - and if it does, freak out then. Attend every prefrosh event and figure it out then, maybe? I'm sure no matter what we choose, we can't choose wrong. (Actually, that's not true. But I'm telling myself that for now, anyway. Overachievers tend to be overanalyzers too, eh?)</p>
<p>I had the same problem too. I was about 90% sure I wanted to go to Yale, but there were some aspects of Princeton (Woodrow Wilson) and Columbia (amazing location) that I loved. I sat down and thought about it, though...which school I would choose if I got in to all three. I finally decided conclusively that it was Yale, so I withdrew my other apps, and am now even more excited to go to New Haven next fall!!!</p>
<p>I get such mixed feelings when viewing these threads. I want to help, but when it comes down to it, are these people really asking for sincere advice, or are they bolstering their self-asteem by posting such topics? </p>
<p>If you are merited enough to got into Yale, you should be able to decide for yourself without help from an internet forum. Seriously. But what do I know, I'm just an anonymous poster like all the rest. Good luck in your endeavors.</p>
<p>Realisticly, this is a converstaion to have with your parents; especially if they are pulling the purse strings. Like just about everything else in life, it's all about the money.</p>
<p>Your parents don't want you to go to Yale?!
Moderate, can you please save this post permanently for posterity? I want our children to see the reason they're messed up wasn't us, but our parents' insanity.</p>