<p>I notice that these are all schools in the Northeast. And Harvard grads from those years as your parents shared the snobbery (scuse me, but that's what it is) that ALL Ivies were better than ALL LAC's. So they think it'll be easier for you to get in there? They're out of date with the percentages of admissions these days at LAC's. It's competitive. As someone said, fewer spots..and everybody trying to get in to these places, too, with solid GPA's.
The most important thing is for you to identify what will be "rightness of fit"
for you. Your parents have jumped ahead of you and made a school list but you don't have the work-up of criteria that will make you feel right-and-happy there, feeling like you want to wake up and engage each day. Remind them that YOU have to be the one to get yourself out of bed each morning so motivation is very important. You want to be at a school that YOU love, just as much as they loved Harvard.
You should be starting your list based on, "do I want big or small? rural, suburban or urban? and where do my stats put me, so I can identify some reaches, matches and safeties?" From that you get a list, not from a same-type list of schools that your parents think are "easier" to get into than Harvard.
You have to want to go there!
The school spirit thing, pride, the larger university...they should be able to relate to that especially BECAUSE they had that for themselves at Harvard. So why shouldn't you try for some universities, too?
And, here's the clincher: the JOBS are going South. If you have connections, internships, professor recommendations, and simple "name recognition" of intervieiwng employers from around Atlanta or the industrial growth areas of the Southeast...you have a brighter future ahead.
BTW, this will only move a Harvard boomer type couple if they believe you can get the scholarly love-of-learning there, too. So look up some of the faculty in the departmetns teaching at those schools you want to go to. See where they went to college, as the departments often list their degrees after their names. Look up clubs for various subject areas, theme houses or language dorms, everything enriching for LEARNING. Your folks probably want to see you get that love-of-learning, and you should.
You'll find plenty of Harvard/Yale/etc. trained faculty teaching at those universities.
THAT SAID, maybe they know you and believe (espec with the poor GPA you refer to, which everyone here wonders about since your parents have set the bar high perhaps)...that you will do better in a smaller school where the profs know you and you won't fall through the cracks. WHere you're taught directly by profs not grad students; and the class sizes are small. Where "everybody knows your name." So that might be motivating your parents to think of "their" list as making sense for you, and there might be some wisdom in that to include in "your" list. Small is beautiful, sometimes.
Well, then, how about finding some smaller LAC's that have the energy or spirit you crave? If they play in Division III sports, people on campus get excited for the team even so, and if all you want is to enjoy yelling and cheering, then believe me there are loyal fans of Div-III teams at the smaller LAC's, too.
Also, you sound like you favor places that are near some bigger cities. So that's where places like American U (in Washington, D.C.) could be interesting so you can enjoy life in a more dynamic city. If that was part of your Emory attraction, then look for places connected to cities you'd enjoy.
I've met your parents many times over and I do sympathize. Their info is dated and it's time for YOU to tell them you'll meet them in a few days with a presentation of data, to enlarge everybody's vision, before they make the visiting motel reservations!
Best of luck. Take heart and stand up for YOUR dreams now!</p>
<p>AND...you do NOT have to fight over any of this. Tell them you want to make a shared, mutual goal: to explore and get you accepted into the best possible school the fits your needs and inspires you to learn, just as they were inspired then.
How can "WE" come up with that list? It's not you vs. your parents; it's all 3 of you trying to work as a family to make the next year a productive search that will net a big, fat, juicy ACCEPT from a range of colleges, all of which you'd want to attend and they'd wish to support. Never apply anyplace you don't want to attend or your parents won't support. Reading on CC tells that story, again and again.</p>