Is CC's Parents forum one of the most depressing places on the web?

<p>CC has too much good stuff to stay away. I really respect CC posters for sharing their opinions and thoughts, most of which are not related to college admissions.</p>

<p>Part of the problem is this myth that it really matters where you go to college - that if you go to a state school (maybe with an exception for the so-called “top” flagships) or a less-prestigious private - not to even mention (the horror!) a community college! - then your life, or you kid’s life, is ruined. If people would look at the evidence, which clearly shows that a motivated student can get a first-class education at almost any college - if that student is willing to put forth the effort and take the initiative to make the most of the opportunity - then perhaps there would be a lot less pressure and angst.</p>

<p>I haven’t read this entire thread, but I actually find it a place of relief from the rest of CC. I really can’t stand some threads in the other forums. Some of my favorites are those like “When is the application due for XYZ College?”, “Harvard vs Stanford, HELP!!!”, or “Should I go to ‘College Southern-Small-Liberal-Arts’ or ‘North East Big State U’?”.</p>

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What evidence?</p>

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<p>In ALMOST every aspect of our society, you will find a graduate from a none elite college at the top. Please take a look at 32 2012 Rhodes scholars - 4 each from Brown, H, P and S, but several are from relative lower ranked school.</p>

<p><a href=“Office of the American Secretary | The Rhodes Scholarships”>http://www.rhodesscholar.org/assets/uploads/2011_Winners_List.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>While I don’t like the “How to be a good parent” threads, the parent sections of CC seem pretty tame. You should see some MD’s go at it when they get to talking politics on some physician forums. Parents on competitive sport forums? Ouch. And the bashing of cooking show hosts on foodie forums. But there is NOTHING like the heirloom vs hybrid tomato battles on the tomatoes growing forums!</p>

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<p>DadII…are you saying that going to a better school does matter…or doesn’t?</p>

<p>If it doesn’t matter…then why aren’t your kids at the public universities in your state?</p>

<p>oldfort, I’ve cited the evidence on these forums over and over again. In brief, 30 years worth of scholarly studies summarized in Pascarella and Terenzini’s 2005 volume.</p>

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Because it was cheaper for his kids to go to Stanford and Chicago with their generous need based aids.</p>

<p>Annasdad, could your D have done as well at her given public HS instead of her charter school? (Not sure if that is what it was.) Why spend the money at that school when a motivated kid could have got the same education at her local free public? You wanted her be among the intellectually elite there, but college is a different story?</p>

<p>Well, with this same tired debate for the 1,000th time it’s suddenly gotten.a little more depressing.</p>

<p>Yep, can be a snoozer bovertine. But AD is so insistent. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>Whats depressing is when a poster hijacks a thread to present the same old tired one agenda issue that has been chewed up and spit out over and over already in a million other threads.</p>

<p>** oops bovertine beat me to it. Sorry to restate the obvious.</p>

<p>Please, I beg of you all, let’s not digress into that topic again! </p>

<p>During the last child’s college search, I felt uplifted by the fact that so many CC parents gave of their time to answer my questions about athletic recruitment.</p>

<p>Very grateful to find a place to discuss all kinds of things–windfalls, weddings, appliances, medical issues, romance, nonprofits, taxes, vacations, vehicles, insurance, entertainment, and a myriad of different topics. You can generally guess what the topic & tenor will be from the subject heading and avoid those threads that you are tired of/bored with. I REALLY like this place for support & perspectives of folks from other areas of the US & some folks from other countries as well. Mostly I find CC to be a great place to share info. </p>

<p>Do find it eye-opening to see how different my life experiences and values are from other posters & how similar to some posters.</p>

<p>This is the only place I find people who are different than me - realize I am not main stream.</p>

<p>I love to hear about the interesting things, academic and otherwise, that other people’s kids are doing. We live in a bubble of our own kids’ interests and don’t see the big picture. A lot of parents and kids who are upset about the “why him and not me?” angle of admissions might benefit from really getting to hear about others as unique individuals. There are so many way to be great and interesting in terms of the essay, EC, holistic part of the application that we just can’t imagine without hearing directly. I love that about some threads on CC.</p>

<p>Completely agree with the last three posts. CC is a terrific microcosm that allows me to see that my POV isn’t the only viable one. </p>

<p>And I also appreciate the opportunity to rub virtual elbows with intelligent, well-read people. Without CC, I’d never have benefited from their experiences and advice.</p>

<p>Yes, it does mean putting up with annoyances sometimes. But as the joke goes in “Annie Hall” - I need the eggs.</p>

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<p>This is part of reason I said CC is depressing. While I do like to share vast learnings from our experiences on CC. Every single time I join a general discussion, there are always certain posters want to make it personal. T1, would it be nice for you to post that question as a general question to all parents? To answer your question, my view is this: the only thing matters is the student’s ability and motivation within. </p>

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<p>That is just not true. They are attending the colleges of their choice.</p>

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It’s equally depressing when the same people insist on responding to it with the same exact questions posed in countless earlier versions of the debate.</p>