Isn't it odd?

<p>I'll expand on Coureur's post: this is my third admissions cycle on this board and I can tell you flatly that public school students/parents predominate. There are more prep school parents/students than you would have in the general population but, given the selectivitiy of the schools most talked about (the CC effect), that's to be expected.</p>

<p>"To me, it seems like many of the parents on this site are parents of preppy private school kids."</p>

<p>Not me. Can't afford it. My parents before me couldn't afford it, and their parents before them couldn't afford it either. I am a little unusual among the parents who post here regularly in that my oldest child is still junior-high age, and I am here now not to focus on a particular school or kind of school, but just to get familiar with college admissions in the new generation. In my generation, I only applied to my state university, and I worked my way through school without receiving financial aid (my parents didn't fill out the forms) or help from my parents. I don't even know what's possible for a family like mine, but I'm here to find out. </p>

<p>I'm willing to hear from any parent or student who has something to post here, and I have NO IDEA what kinds of colleges my children will apply to. I'm in no position to do whatever it is that families with six-figure incomes do to get their kids ready for college, but I will do my best to help my kids get ready as best I can.</p>

<p>Coureur was a five time Jeopardy champ, back in the days when the limit for winning was 5 times. He may be middle class but this is a really bright guy with bright genes.
Right now all the early acceptances are arriving and that is the reason for all the joyous posts. It is not so much the bragging but it the little digs which some are inclined to make here whcih are hurtful. Professional people who are busy and have spent much time training and are bosses at work are frequently not the friendliest people.And they are competitive.They are quick to point out the deficiencies of others<br>
My advice is to use this board for your own benefit. Many of the folks here know each other . Post and share and be kind and you will find yourself welcome by many. As for me, my 18 yr. old son is facing jaw surgery and I found two folks here whose kids were having the same surgery. There have been other times when I have received help with school issues. But yes, there comes a time when this site is not a help. Then it is a good idea to tune out and open a good book.</p>

<p>It doesn't matter what my knee jerk reaction to UPenn is.
I am in the Seattle area and the schools I grew up knowing about were UDub and WAZZU. Both big public schools. University and a state name sounds like public to me, but so what?
I was an adult before I knew Stanford and MIT were private schools. I didn't really have a lot of knowledge about academics or really much of anything until I started investigating schools for my daughter.
She did attend private schools ( on virtually total scholarship) and while her elementary school was so down to earth and hippieish and there was nothing I could do to startle them, I admit that rather than trying to fit in with her 6-12 prep school I enjoyed sticking out with our "64" Ford truck and my husbands factory job while I attended community college . It was too fun. Most people didn't care that the school let a child in whose father didn't drive a BMW and had his own firm and whose mother didn't have her hair bleached in 6 tones of blond to be set off by her blacklambskin jacket , but the ones that were irritated were REALLY irritated ;)
They just couldn't figure out that you could work at Boeing and not be a computer engineer. Obviously a sheltered life!
Oh my point is diversity makes life interesting.
You can't assume that everyone who goes to the Ivies is brillant anymore than you should assume that those who attend state schools are dull.
Snobby people go to public schools and kids of blue collar high school drop outs attend private.
It does help a little to know background of people to filter responses, but after a while you run into a few people whose opinions you trust and you pay more attention to them and leave the others.
Think of it like when you had a baby. While when my mom had me, there was Your Baby and Child by Dr Spock, now there must be thousands of parenting & pregnancy manuals and advice books. We couldnt possibly pay attention to them all so you listen to a few and make up your own mind.
That is what this board is for. Info, but you are the last word.</p>

<p>Devil's rule....I have not observed the same generalizations that you have made regarding the parents forum. There are some parents here whose kids got into very selective colleges. There are definitely just as many who have gotten into other wonderful colleges, much to the pride of their parents. Perhaps this week there are many posts revealing acceptances to some Ivies but that is mostly due to those ED letters having just come out and the parents here who have kids who went for that option did post. </p>

<p>However, having been on this forum for almost 2 1/2 years, I can tell you that I have "met" a wide range of folks from every corner of this earth and from a variety of backgrounds. There are some well to do parents on this forum and there are some whose kids go to private school. I would not call them the majority but indeed, some posters fit that profile. There are also many posters whose kids go to pubic school....in fact, on this forum, I think there are more of those than prep school parents. Then there are minority parents on this forum too. There are first generation college students represented here too. There are city folk and country folk. There are those going for specialized programs, those going for LACs and those going for state universities and those going for Ivies. There are many on here looking for financial aid. </p>

<p>Me? I'm not rich and I'm not poor, but am in the middle. My child gets financial aid. I am educated. My kids went to a rural public school. I do have one child at an Ivy league school though Ivy admissions was definitely not her goal. I have another child applying to specialized programs in her field. </p>

<p>The one thing the parents on this forum have in COMMON is that they all apparently are quite devoted parents and have an interest in the college admissions process....to learn more, to share, to commiserate, to celebrate, to go through it with others. The various perspectives here is part of what makes it great. There is a lot to learn about all sorts of admissions processes, parenting, other people, and much more.</p>

<p>just as a side note, I know what you feel like, when it feels like all the parents are related to Donald Trump with children with IQ's equal to Einstein. I mean, my friend thought MIT was like a community college, like a tech school, but like associate degrees. No one here cares about any ivy's that aren't yale or harvard (princeton sometimes, sometimes not) Duke and Wake forest and Stanford are more common than Georgetown and Emory. Sometimes it would be nice if it felt like the parents could understand</p>

<p>Devilsrule...there are plenty of us non-Ivy parents out there! You might want to check the specific forums for your schools under alpha listing. I post frequently there to help students who are interested in where my son attends. I have another non-Ivy applicant this year in my home, but...I will be just as thrilled and excited as the Ivy folks when the fat envelope arrives. :-) Sometimes we parents just can't help living in the moment.</p>

<p>cheers !!
[quote]
There is a funny Ivy business which extends far beyond this forum. It's the business of mentioning "your" Ivy as often as possible.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>There is some truth to that statement! **LOL<a href="but%20others%20do%20it%20also">/b</a> I have thought long and hard about what are the tangible, universal, undeniable benefits of attending any particular college, OK, let's say an Ivy league university, as opposed to any other fine institution. The only absolute I could come up with is putting the sticker of the university on your car window and attending alumni events after graduation. You will have the opportunity to meet interesting people and learn from great teachers at many schools. </p>

<p>And now I am commited more than ever to NOT reveal my Ivy league affiliation on this board!!!! :)</p>

<p>NJres....I just recalled something when reading about the sticker on the car thing with regard to Ivy League. I know on a thread on here recently someone mentioned how people in their town were hanging college jerseys on the door after acceptances and stuff like that and I thought whoa. I don't recall my child calling anyone to tell of her acceptances but her grandparents, and aunts/uncles (and told GC next day).</p>

<p>At the open house for admitted students at her intended college, she bought three car decals, one for me, one for dad, one for the car she drove. When she gave it to her dad (who believe me is very proud of her), he did not want to put it on his car ...now isn't this the OPPOSITE of the "Ivy..>I must display it" mode of thinking being talked about here, I just realized. He said he never really liked how stickers looked on cars. My D was rather insulted that he might not make an exception of having school spirit of her college on his car....he did give in....he never realized that his comment about not putting it on his car would make her feel badly. But as you can see, the idea of going around and saying "Ivy" was not big in this family. ;-)</p>

<p>PS...to NJres...
When you say you do not want to reveal your Ivy affiliation....
I went to graduate school at an Ivy league university and sometimes, I find myself in situations where I go out of my way to NOT admit it. Like when folks ask where I went to school, sometimes, it is a weird feeling but I am almost embarrassed to admit the name.</p>

<p>D accepted TrinityU, Knox and Willamette all with merit-haven't visited any of the 3 yet</p>

<p>Arizonamom, congrats to your D . Knox is on D's list, and Trinity is still on mine (not hers ,too close). Were the merit packages more , less , or the same as you were thinking they might be?</p>

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<p>It's true that I won on Jeopardy, but that doesn't make either me or my D a privileged private school sort that Devilsrule is complaining about. Actually Jeopardy knowledge is of very little use in getting into or succeeding in college. Jeopardy knowledge is what my dad would have called "a mile wide and an inch deep". </p>

<p>College is about thinking and sythesis of ideas. Jeopardy is about quick recall and and quick button reflexes.</p>

<p>Personally, I'm not fixated on Ivy League universities schools, though they certainly have a lot to offer. </p>

<p>One reason why this board has a lot of traffic about highly selective schools is that (duh!) they are hard to get into, and applicants and their families are wise to dig up whatever information they can find that will help admission. But it isn't necessary to hang around a college admissions website 20 hours a week to find out how to get into St. Cloud State.</p>

<p>D goes to a private, preppy school so technically she fits your type, but the tuition is only $7000/year - I don't think that's quite what you had in mind.</p>

<p>Well, Devilsrule, if you live in Edison, I can say for a fact that you attend a much better high school than the one my kids went to, so no private preppy ( or even average public) education here.</p>

<p>curmudgeon,
I sent you a private message about merit . Did you visit Knox yet?</p>

<p>I think part of the appeal, for me at least, of this site is that there is such a variety of people and ideas and experiences. I have not noticed that it is overwhelmingly private school, Ivy League families, and even if it were, so what? None of our four Ds is going/went to a private school before college, although my husband and I could have afforded to send them to one. The first two who have already gone through the admissions process weren't really interested in Ivy schools, although D2 had one on her list if she didn't get in E.D. to her #1 school. D3 who is going through the admission process now is applying to Canadian schools. I have four very different daughters with different strengths and different passions. If one of them was interested in an Ivy school, I'd do everything I could to help them pursue that dream, just as I have for them in the paths they HAVE chosen. </p>

<p>All of us on these forums have different experiences and, in most cases, all we know about each other is what we see typed here. We all have other things going on in our lives and are not ONLY what is represented here! People seeking advice on more selective schools are likely to seek out as much information as possible, whatever their financial situation. That is probably the reason that the more selective schools are discussed as much as they are here. It's not a good idea to jump to conclusions about individuals, though, and it's also not a good idea to cast aspersions on people simply because of their economic status. There are good and bad in every demographic. :)</p>

<p>alwaysamom --</p>

<p>your last two sentences were very wise! Bump!</p>