<p>I know I'm not getting in.</p>
<p>Its so painful writing these essays.</p>
<p>Suck it up. Finish the essays. It’s like one more day.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to apply to Stanford, don’t let your parents make you. Believe it or not, it’s your decision.</p>
<p>^The parents could theoretically pull funding for the rest of the apps. Or for college in general. I know some who would.</p>
<p>“Don’t let your parents make you” is sort of a ridiculous statement. Parents are supposed to look out for their children. An application to Stanford may be in the OP’s best interest, we have no way of knowing. They are, I assume, providing money for food, lodging, etc. It’s their “duty,” if you will, and certain “duties” – such as obedience in the form of applying to one school the parents like, which doesn’t seem horribly time-consuming – are therefore reciprocally expected.</p>
<p>It’s a communal decision because the OP is a member of a family. And it’s even less the OP’s decision if he is not even paying for it.</p>
<p>Here’s a suggestion for your essays: “I have no intention of attending. My parents are making me apply. Thanks for your time.”</p>
<p>Believe me, it’s been done. Your situation isn’t unique.</p>
<p>^Or that. And given that your parents are making you apply, they’re choosing to spend money on whatever application you submit. But if they find out, obviously things are not going to go so well.</p>
<p>I think independence and character are a bit more important than the risk of losing your umbilical cord.</p>
<p>Controlling parents who micromanage and hold the threat of disownment for independence do their children a disservice. There is no possible way to excuse making your child apply to Stanford.</p>
<p>Not true. My parents know me better than I do – they can predict big decisions I make far in advance of when I make them. I am not trying to say this is the OP’s case, merely that it is a definite possibility. This sentiment is very clearly laid out by many in the Parent’s Forum as well. If this is indeed the OP’s situation, then it’s not a matter of exercising independence, but instead a matter of recognizing that one is not omniscient vis-a-vis picking colleges.</p>
<p>It’s not a matter of micromanaging. It’s a matter of expecting the child to be justifiably obedient and receptive after eighteen years of having the parents support the child completely. This is, of course, not true for every family, and thus I’m not able to say it is the case for the OP’s. But if his parents are making him apply to Stanford, I doubt that he has supported himself up until now.</p>
<p>“It’s a matter of expecting the child to be justifiably obedient and receptive after eighteen years of having the parents support the child completely.”</p>
<p>This. Not completely obedient but considering that they’ve raised you and only want you to succeed, this is one matter where they should have a say.</p>
<p>It appears we have very different philosophies regarding this part of life.</p>
<p>bfd, keep writing until it is no longer painful. It’s important to be able to pull off a good essay whenever you need to, and making one for them might lead to a better essay for your other shcools. </p>
<p>On whether to accept or not later is another issue. An application is a good compromise for now. I’m with the suck it up school of thought. You can do a simple thing or two for your parents who are sending you to college.</p>
<p>I didn’t push Stanford for undergrad for my kid, but the whole family did for grad school, and she was just not all that interested (not so strong in her area.) Believe that a PhD application is more difficult than an undergrad application. Especially if you are applying to a bunch of programs. We paid the fee, she didn’t get in.</p>
<p>End story, except she did get in a top pick of hers, sooo…</p>
<p>Cgarcia, you’re right. I guess I think people should be allowed to spend their money how they want, for starters.</p>
<p>Don’t get snippy and set up straw men. Let’s play nice.</p>
<p>The playing is over. And because I noted in my previous post that it was not exhaustive, it is certainly not a staw man – you yourself acknowledged that it was the OP’s decision regardless of who was paying, i.e. The parents should be funding the child’s decision if the colleges he chooses are indeed his choice.
On a lighter note, rest assured that my last post was tongue-in-cheek.</p>