Just smile and nod...smile and nod

Parents Forum
561

<p>MissBarbara, scroll thru again. The UPenn/PSU thing has been mentioned a half-dozen times. </p>

<p>My daughter told me SHE made that same mistake, even though she knows the two schools and the difference between them. She joined the swim team at our hs this year, and when the coach mentioned that she swam in college D asked what college she attended. Coach said, “UPenn.” D said, “Wow, you swam for Penn State? You must be REALLY good!” Coach, “No, UPenn, in Philadelphia.” BUT… in my daughter’s defense, the coach was wearing a Penn State t-shirt while they were having this conversation!</p>

562

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<p>^^ I live in Central VA and this is so true! lol. I usually get negative remarks when I mention that I will be attending UVA. </p>

<p>examples: “People there are snobs” “Well VT is better than UVA in football” </p>

<p>UVA is pretty much hated in the central region of VA (Richmond). This is surprising to me. I figured most Virginians would have more respect for UVA. (I’m originally from Brooklyn)</p>

563

<p>I’m not actually in college, but this is what happens when I tell people where I want to go:</p>

<p>Me: My first choice is Penn.
Them: Oh. I would think that would be a safety for you.
Me: Er, no… I really really want to go there. It’s the one in Philadelphia.
Them: Brandywine or Abington?
Me: No! Not Penn State! University of Pennsylvania!
Them: Ah! But I still think you’re more of an Ivy League type of girl.
Me: <em>smile and nod</em> … and when they leave … <em>head-desk</em></p>

<p>And about lesbians at Bryn Mawr, I live really close to it. It’s pretty and seems like a great school. But I have a friend whose parent worked at the school and claimed it’s where “rich people send their mentally disturbed, lesbian daughters for college.” I didn’t think that was very accurate or nice, but I don’t think I’ll be going there anytime soon.</p>

564

<p>part one: cottonwood “Sapling is going to Univ of Chicago”</p>

<pre><code> Aunt of cottonwood “oh that’s where Grandson Bleeper is going.”

         cottonwood  "Really!  Maybe they can be roommates!  What dorm?"

          Aunt of cottonwood  "Dunno.  You have to ask his mom."

</code></pre>

<p>part two: Bleeper’s Mom “No…Bleeper’s going to Univ of Illinois (Circle)”</p>

<pre><code> cottonwood “Well I was wondering how he could commute that far every day.”
</code></pre>

<p>part three: Aunt of cottonwood “Sapling is going to Univ of Chicago? That’s where Grandson Bleeper is going!”</p>

<pre><code> cottonwood “No, Bleeper is going to Univ of Illinois remember? Orange and blue. Not maroon. Remember? It’s not the same school as Univ of Chicago.”

            Aunt                     "Well tell Bleeper's mom, she's confused"     !!!

        cottonwood                "No, you're confused"

</code></pre>

<p>Maybe this may lose something in translation, but it is after a lifetime of one upping by this aunt. Well Bleeper couldn’t handle Univ of Illinois and switched to community college.</p>

565

<p>Me to someone: “Oh, hey, did you hear that [friend who shares his name with popular video game character] got into Chicago?” </p>

<p>Girl not part of this conversation: <em>jumps in</em> “Really? Chicago? That’s… okay, I guess… but he could do so much better!”</p>

<p>(I’d say he’s doing pretty darn well if he got into Chicago… but then again, what do I know?)</p>

<hr>

<p>My mom: “Yes, she did make her choice. She’s going to a liberal arts college out East.” </p>

<p>My mom’s coworker: <em>disdainfully</em> “Oh, really.” </p>

<p>My mom: “Yes.” <em>describes Smith</em></p>

<p>My mom’s coworker: “How’s she going to find a husband there? There are lots of boys at [fourth-tier state school]! That’s where my grandson is going. I filled out his application for him.”</p>

<p>My mom: “…That’s nice.” </p>

<hr>

<p>Me: “Yeah, I’m going to Smith. It’s a women’s college, so that might take some getting used to for me.”</p>

<p>Guy in calculus class: “Are all the teachers girls, too?”</p>

<p>It’s a college. Not a convent. And they’re called professors. </p>

<hr>

<p>My grandmother: <em>reads my graduation announcement, which includes a photo of me leaning against the Smith College sign</em> “Is that where [phanatic] is going to college?”</p>

<p>My dad: “Yep. It’s in Massachusetts, very selective, all women, and she felt really comfortable there.” </p>

<p>My grandmother: “…All women?” </p>

<p>My dad: “Yes.”</p>

<p>My grandmother: “…Oh dear…” </p>

<p>(No, Grandma, it’s not what you think)</p>

566

<p>As an incoming Pomona student, I often get:
“Couldn’t you afford a four-year?”
“You chose CAL-POLY POMONA over BERKELEY?”
“You can always transfer.”
“Why?”
and most annoyingly, “You really deserved to get into Yale.” (I didn’t apply to ANY Ivys. It was STANFORD where I got rejected, and it was tied with Pomona for my top choice anyway).</p>

<p>When my grandpa found out I was going to Pomona, he said, “I thought you were going to Tulane! I need something to brag about at the Jewish Center!” He was similarly unimpressed when I was accepted to UCLA and Berkeley.</p>

<p>He is also convinced that my cousin was accepted to Harvard without applying just because they sent him a flier asking him to apply (cousin did not apply to Harvard, was not accepted, and did not attend).</p>

567

<p>My m-i-l is 100% convinced that her neighbor’s D got money to go to Princeton because she dances. She’s positive - it was NOT financial aid, it was a scholarship she got because she dances. “Maybe D should apply there?” Ummm… D didn’t break 2000 on the SAT and she’s not in the top 10% at her hs and she quit dancing last year and she wasn’t even the best dancer at her studio. But sure, we’ll consider applying to Princeton so “she can get a scholarship for dance.” </p>

<p>Smile and nod.</p>

568

<p>“CA: Yeah, I guess. I don’t like my job - but at least with a business degree you can always make money and find a job. He really should consider changing schools and majors.”</p>

<p>facepalm</p>

569

<p>Oh man, you guys have no idea. There’s no doubt that Stanford is one of the most prestigious universities in this nation and here are some comments I got about Stanford.</p>

<p>Them: “Where are you going to school?”
Me: “I’m heading out to Stanford this fall.”
Them: “Wow, one of them schools on the left coast.”
Them: “Oh wow, aren’t you lucky to be close to family!”
Them: “Oh, I guess you didn’t get into Harvard.”</p>

<br>

<br>

570

<p>^Ouch at the last comment.</p>

571

<p>If anything, this terrible thread is proof of how much CC parents try to live vicariously through their kids.</p>

572

<p>Adult: Where did you visit on your college tours?
Me: [lists schools, including Harvard]
Adult: Oh. So which schools did you like the best?
Me: Well, I liked most of them. But I guess my favorites were Yale, Bowdoin, Amherst and Williams.
Adult: You didn’t like Harvard?!?!?!</p>

573

<p>I always just tell people I’m going to school in California. It does make things easier.</p>

574

<p>I live in Maryland, and my sister graduated last year and is attending University of Washington-- Seattle. Anyone who asked me always replied with “But that’s sooo far away!”</p>

<p>This year, the same people ask me where I’m going, and I tell them I’m going to Northwestern near Chicago. Their reply? “Will your parents be able to handle you being sooo far away?” I gently remind them where my sister is each time.</p>

575

<p>Me too, bandie124. I am also going “far away” according to some of my family friends. Most of their kids are just going one or two hours away.</p>

576

<p>Oh! One I forgot!</p>

<p>“They have a really good basketball team!”</p>

<p>or </p>

<p>“We watch basketball so we know who they are.”</p>

<p>And thus I’ve learned to tell people who have never heard of them:</p>

<p>“Yeah, I’ve heard they have a really good basketball team.” :D</p>

577

<p>Before I visited Northwestern I was set on Tulane, so this is the conversation I used to have.</p>

<p>Them: So where you going to college?
Me: I’m pretty sure Tulane. But I’m also considering Northwestern.
Them: Tulane? Where is that?
Me: New Orleans
Them: Why would you choose that over Northwestern?
Me: I loved being down there and the school and got a great scholarship.
Them: But why would you turn down Northwestern? That’s a great school.
Me: I know. So is Tulane.
Them: But there’s hurricanes down there. Aren’t you scared? Is the school still functioning after Katrina?
Me: It’s doing great.<br>
Them: Well you should really go to Northwestern.</p>

<p>I do live in Milwaukee so we’re close to NU and most of my school puts a NU admission on the same line as a H/Y/P admission, even though it’s not. I did end up choosing Northwestern after visiting it, but everyone was shocked it wasn’t my automatic first choice and I wanted to go to another school more.</p>

578

<p>Not a parent, but this conversation’s happened several times already.</p>

<p>Somebody: So where are you going to college?
Me: Hendrix College.
Them: …
Me: …it’s a small liberal arts school in Arkansas.
Them: Really! Arkansas? Why?
Me: Well, the school is good…
Them: Well, I’ve never heard of it.</p>

<p>Sometimes they add in something about small schools not being good, or stereotypes about Arkansas (“Aren’t you worried about everybody being like in Deliverance?”)</p>

<p>Everybody around here believes that state schools are a godsend, and sending your kids elsewhere is just stupid, because it’s uppity and expensive- never mind that these are the same people who talk about owning Ferraris and pay for lunch with $100 bills.</p>

<p>So instead of getting into how Hendrix is the perfect fit and it’s actually less expensive than our state flagship, I usually just say, “Well, it’s a nice school, they gave me good scholarships, and it’s nice and warm there.”</p>

<p>And we enter an awkward silence.</p>

579

<p>my friend got into colgate recently and he told his girlfriend.</p>

<p>He said: Guess what? I got into Colgate!
She answered: You’re going to college at a toothpaste factory???</p>

<p>and she was dead serious…</p>

580

<p>Forgot to mention- a friend of mine is going to Northeastern in Boston. A lot of people assume he means Northeastern State (a mediocre state school) and wonder why he’s going there rather than a “good school”. Because there’s such a huge quality gap between Northeastern State and Northern Illinois, where everybody and their mother wants to go, apparently.</p>