<p>I must comment. There seem to be many parents on this website who are more concerned about the SATs then their children are. I feel really bad for the kids. I understand that your worried about their grades and such, but seriously, are you going to be the ones who have to deal with them? Are you going to go to the college interview holding their hands? Don't take me the wrong way, but I think there's more important things in a kid's life than having parents pester them about scoring a 750+ and such. I think this should be a wake up call to those parents whose only bonding time with their children is on their way to a college tour. Please don't take me the wrong way, but I just think that kids need to be kids, and parents need to be parents.</p>
<p>I understand what you're saying, but I personally would like my parents to be a bit more involved. As the oldest child, I'm really exposing them to an area that they know nothing about. I would hate if they became obsessed (like my friend's who yelled at her for getting a mere 1470 on the old sats) like you are describing, but I think it's good for parents to be informed.</p>
<p>I wish my parents were more involved in my academic life!</p>
<p>I think what it comes down to is the kid themselves. If your child doesn't know squat about applying to college, it's basically the obligation of the parent to give them a good kick in the pants. I get what you're saying about some parents going way too far, but sometimes, those parents need to learn to discipline their kids instead of letting them party all the time. Personally, I've been pretty independent all my academic career. My mom had no idea what the SAT was until I took it. Even then, when I'm asking my parents for opinions on going out of state, they really have none. I find that there's really only two extremes in society--the uber involved and the under involved.</p>
<p>"There seem to be many parents on this website who are more concerned about the SATs then their children are."</p>
<p>i thought u said that parents are more concerned with the sat than their children.. lol
well, not to bash the parents (who are oftentimes very helpful), but may be a bit "obsessive", for lack of a better word.</p>
<p>I don't see the parents here as being obsessive; they genuinely try to help their kids to make the most of their abilities, and to learn as much as possible about what we know to be a cryptic process. You'll notice that there is much less of the "brand name" obsession on the parents' board than on the rest of the site, because of the general emphasis on "fit" rather than prestige (not to say that they are mutually exclusive). They just want their kids to find the best place for them, and I don't think that's obsessive at all.</p>
<p>glinda, I completely agree. My parents went to college in Europe and know nothing about the American system; it's up to me to find all the information about things I need to do before senior year. The parents on this board have given me so much advice, without which I'd be completely lost, and for that I can only be grateful.</p>
<p>ETA: This board provides a sense of community during a nervewracking period of time, and in a way I think it keeps them from getting too intrusive in their children's lives--because they can vent their anxieties in the posts. If you think about it, this is really the last time that they have the chance to be involved in their kids' lives. I think it's pretty reasonable that they, as parents, would take part in that transition.</p>
<p>I think it'd be a nice change - I know for me, my motivation and ambitions are mine and my parents do not share them at all. All they care about is how much it's going to cost (and of course everything is too much). It'd be nice if they were concerned about the SAT or ACT. They're like "You got a 26 on your ACT? Why would you want to take it again?" While I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I have to get a 30+ to earn a living wage.</p>
<p>Great contrast in my house.</p>
<p>thisyearsgirl..
I agree, as I already explained my appreciation for their helpfulness. They are very concerned (ALL of them), however and without generalizing, I think it is fair to say that SOME just come off as a bit overzealous.</p>
<p>I agree with the original poster. In many of the posts on CC I see "My D could do so much better" or "My S is really good at math but.." It seems to me like you are a little too involved. Your son and daughter will be in college soon (although one you have personally selected most likely) and you will not be around to make life choices and help them with tests! Go out and be a normal parent, make some brownies or something</p>
<p>I must say though that i cant agree with you guys on this one. An "obsessive" parent will most definately bring out an intelligence in a child which may not (and probably would not) be brought out of a child with just support. The child can be smart without obsessive parents, but none of you could ever say that the child's intelligence would be reduced or that the child's intelligence would remain the same with an obsessive parent. Obsessive or not, these parents know the capabilities of their children and they know how far they can push their kids. A parent that yells at their child for getting a 1470 wouldnt yell at the child if that kid had gotten D's (or Cs) in school his whole life; chances are that kid was very brilliant and could have done much better based on his past performances. So you see, its hard for a bunch of kids like us to call someone obsessive because you did not raise their child, you don't know the capabilities of their child, and you don't know what bar that child could rise to.</p>
<p>I think we can conclude from this that no one is entirely happy with their parents, if your parents are uninvolved, you wish they were involved, and if they are involved, you wish they weren't. I do agree though, the parents that are on here are pretty ridiculously involved. I mean, you are only forcing your kids to resent you and rebel at some point.</p>
<p>i am happy they are uninvolved. Estatic to be the least. Gives me complete control. Except my mom wants me to go to this cheap, not so good school -_-</p>
<p>My parents were hardly ever involved during my education (my dad is almost always away on business), which I think is a great thing. It made me grow up quickly and become very independent and academically responsible. Many of my friends (who are going to Ivy league schools) have parents who have held their hands for their entire lives, and they feel that they're not ready to head off on their own. Parents shouldn't micromanage their children's lives. If they do, the transition from high school to college will be devastating.</p>
<p>My dad can barely operate a microwave oven, let alone manage to turn on a computer and find his way onto CC.</p>
<p>(but he makes 90 grand a year, he's bringing in the dough, so I guess I shouldn't criticize)</p>
<p>We've had 754805398608356 threads like these already; give it a rest. What other people's parents choose to do is none of your business. They're not making threads criticizing you for wasting your time on things that have no consequence to your lives; why don't you all just go ahead and return the favor?</p>
<p>how would I know there were "754805398608356 threads like these already"
oh right, i forgot i keep "wasting [my] time on things that have no consequence to [my] life."</p>
<p>That is why I responded to this thread for no reason other then to complain, yet I have every right to lecture those who "waste their times on things that have no consequence to my life." And thats why I made 608 posts in a forum which has "no consequence to my life" Still, it is alright for me to chastise you for getting involved in things that are not your business, yet it is perfectly acceptable to get involved in things which are not my business. </p>
<p>Woah, thisyearsgirl, im starting to sound a lot like you...</p>
<p>i think its sad when parents go as far as choosing their child's classes for them</p>
<p>Thank you IHATESAT for creating this discussion.
I always laughed at other students who would be always traced by their parents, everyday helped with homework etc. Can both parents and their children at CC understand that it is not within the normal range of parental responsibilities to discuss their children's grades etc. with the entire world. I am amazed by the number of parents on CC claiming their children to be geniuses and such. It is an "obsession", let's admit to it. Parents are trying to make out of their children what they will never become, forgetting that unless they will give their children a brain transplant, they will not overall perform better regardless what the parental involvement is.</p>
<p>I think that at the end those people will fail horribly as admission officers in colleges really get a good sense of which kid is an independent thinker and which one is fueled by their parent's pressure... Way too many students are dumb puppets pushed by their parents. Allow them to be more independent!</p>
<p>I guess this whole thing is a part of the American competition, but once the thousands of home schooled brainwashed young ppl leave the homes of their parents and their control, they will sink.</p>
<p>No practical life skills whatsoever.</p>
<p>laughs, i had to explain why it was that i was having to get up and go to school on saturday to my parents, and then what exactly the SAT was. The distinction between the SATI and SATII is still much too blurry for them to fully grasp. </p>
<p>They're not idiots by a long shot, but they choose not to get involved in my education in order to accord me the most independence possible. It's frustrating sometimes if you mention one of your current teacher's names and they don't recognize it or confuse it with a 5th grade teacher's, let alone know what all these standardized tests and funny block schedules are, but i wouldn't have it any other way :) I've always resented what i perceived to be intrusions in my academic life; i don't like to be made to feel inept.</p>
<p>my dad's 72 (took the "college board exam" in 1949 back when it was some strange kind of IQ/military aptitude test and nobody cared enough to make a fuss of it) so he's excused for being out of the loop, and my mother is a foreigner who never ceases to be puzzled and fascinated by the American college/university system and still thinks that international baccalaureate exams must somehow be comparable to her French baccalaureate, which thank god is not the case!!!</p>
<p>My asian parents are involved sometimes too much, but they don't really have a clue. They'll ask what my SAT scores constantly, and I'll tell them something like 2090, and they'll say "2090 over 2400, thats only 87 percent, YOU DONT EVEN HAVE AN A-." My parents needa get a clue that its something like 95 percentile. I don't like my scores either, but they blow it way out of proportion like it's easy to study and pull off a 2200 or something (haha, and ironically some CC people can get 2200 w/o any preparation).</p>