<p>DD is going to Scripps College… </p>
<p>The response is always “Oh, I know Scripps - I didn’t she was into Oceanography” </p>
<p>BUZZ</p>
<p>Nope - not the graduate school in San Diego, the women’s college in the Claremont Consortium… </p>
<p>Oh… too bad, San Diego is really nice…</p>
<p>As a NJ resident I am not terribly familiar with west coast and mid west schools. I love CC because I have learned so much about schools outside of our typical NE bubble. Kids in my area tend to apply to schools along the east coast. People want to know why S would turn down BC for W&M. BC is such a “hot” school in our area.</p>
<p>I do agree with mamakin that there’s a difference between the completely clueless and the downright nasty.</p>
<p>Oh, about UChicago. Take a look at the entry in Urban Dictionary. It’s too hilarious. My husband insists that his Grandmother actually asked him why he was going all the way to Chicago to go to a City school, and his grades were much better than that.</p>
<p>Joe Bloggs: Oh, yah, I’m going to [Cambridge/Oxford/Durham/Imperial/UCL/St Andrews] next year, what about you?
Me: Actually I’m going to the University of Virginia! 
Joe Bloggs: Is that in New York?</p>
<p>sdmbgaslhg/lsu;aigasghoag</p>
<p>Bear in mind I go to the top grammar school in the UK…</p>
<p>This thread could not be more perfect for our situation. Our D was excited to be accepted into Furman this fall. However, we are from Connecticut so the college has limited name recognition with people in our area. There are only a few people that have heard of the school so we get a lot of blank stares and comments. The most common are:</p>
<p>Furman? Never heard of it. (that came from her Guidance Counselor)
Furman? Never heard of it. (D’s mom)
Isn’t that an all black college? (we are very white)</p>
<p>When told it is a very strong southern Liberal Arts College, we usually get the “what is a liberal arts college?” question. I think we will just start answering that she is going to Bucknell.</p>
<p>So, if to the lesbian response you said, “Yes, she is a lesbian”, do you think the other person would say, “I’m sure she’ll be very happy there” or just turn red?</p>
<p>No one has really answered my question from before - are y’all okay with genuine curiosity? Like what really did tip the scales in favor of Princeton, or why a person from NYC would choose to go to school in Arkansas? I always very interested when someone is going to a school for a specific, possibly unusual major (e.g. U of Houston has a Hotel and Restaurant Management major).</p>
<p>S2 is very, very quiet at school, not shy, but not a joiner, so most people tend to think of him as very serious and studious and a bit dull. When he told his band teacher that he was going to Tulane, the teacher said “You DO know that’s big party school?” S answered “Yes, my parents think it is time I learn to drink.”</p>
<p>missypie, when someone says something like that out of the blue, it is usually difficult to come up with an immediate pithy response (though I liked lolou’s S’s answer). I wonder what he would have done in that case.</p>
<p>lololu, love your son’s answer, good for him.</p>
<p>missy, ^^ I’m always curious about that too. “What made you choose that one?” Maybe that’s another thread?</p>
<p>Last year, my DS2 went to Northwestern. Of course I got the “Is that in Boston?” question. This year, my DS3 is headed over to WashU in the fall. I’ve already heard the “Is that in Seattle?” question. I feel like I need to pull out a Princeton Review book of college listings whenever I get into this discussion. Maybe I just need to pull out a map of the US.</p>
<p>We’re getting many of the same comments – how could we let her go so far away? (East Coast from CA), weather comments, etc. </p>
<p>The one that I really can’t figure out how to respond to and that comes from so many people are comments on how much the school costs. I don’t ask people what they’re mortgage or car payment is, or how much they put down, but there seems to be this sense of entitlement to knowing how much of the college bill we are footing. I wouldn’t dream of asking people how much aid they got, how many loans they are taking otut, etc. but I seem to be in the minority on this one.</p>
<p>^^ I find it unbelievable that people are actually commenting on that to your face…are they actually asking you that? Maybe an appropriate response would be: “He/she wouldn’t be going if we weren’t aware of that”…</p>
<p>How have you answered? that’s a tough one…</p>
<p>I’ve gotten the cost question a lot, too. I have no problem saying, “Of course, he got merit and financial aid! That’s the only way we could afford it!”</p>
<p>I’ve gotten a lot of questions about cost along the way. If they’re coming from people who are trying to figure out things for their own kids down the road, I answer as honestly as possible. If it’s just nosiness, I express my gratitude for the blessings my D has received.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I agree with you. There’s another thread that’s discussing this very thing at certain points:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/924365-if-i-hear-i-got-merit-aid-need-only-school-one-more-time.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/924365-if-i-hear-i-got-merit-aid-need-only-school-one-more-time.html</a></p>
<p>I don’t mind the cost question, I mean our mortgage is a private decision, anyone could look on line and find out how much the school costs. I guess I would feel weird if people were asking how we were paying tuition.</p>
<p>Loved Lololu’s post! </p>
<p>Wrong responses, after you tell someone where S or D is going … I’ve heard them all so far this year.</p>
<p>Why? (inference that there can’t be a good reason)
Did he/she get a lot of money to go there? (inference that money is the only reason to go there)
Oh well, where you go to grad school is more impt (credit and kudos to Post #46)
Too far from home, or too close to home.
He or she can always transfer.
I know someone (describe kid with drug problems, very low stats, or otherwise considered not a sterling role model) who went there.
Is your S/D still on any wait lists? (inference that maybe a better school will come through).
Oh. Did I tell you that my S/D is going to …(allegedly better school). </p>
<p>Right response == OP++++ Smile, nod and congratulations!!</p>
<p>Besides the typical questions about where he’s going to college, S has had a few kids ask him what he’s majoring in (interestingly, these seem to come from kids who haven’t a clue what they will major in.) S responds “Science.” This is actually accurate with the Northwestern U honors Integrated Science Program, at least until such time as he’s decided to chose a double major in one of the sciences. Of course, the next question he gets is, “Well, WHICH one?” He then replies “All of them!” and then tries to describe how the ISP works. I told him to just tell them he’s Mr. XXXXXXXXX, the science guy (you know, like Bill Nye?)</p>
<p>And yes, being in SoCal, he gets the cold weather comments. So he’s thinking about creating a FB group for his classmates who are attending schools where they will freeze their CA a**** off.</p>
<p>:cool: 
</p>
<p>My mother (who really does know better):“Your nephew had decided to major in … Now what is it called? I can never remember … Oh, yes, Subsistence Farming!”</p>
<p>Me: “I think you mean Sustainable Agriculture.”</p>
<p>Her: “Oh, right, I keep getting them confused.”</p>
<p>My nephew got a great kick out of this and is telling everyone he’s learning how to be a sharecropper.</p>
<p>D2 is a sophomore at Bard.</p>
<p>Not Barnard.
Not Bates.
Not Bowdoin.</p>
<p>It’s not in Maine.
It’s not a girls school.</p>
<p>Not everyone is stoned.</p>