<p>If you have any one-line nuggets of advice, what would it be? The following is one of my chestnuts, provoked by yet another "How do I get into an Ivy?" student in one of the student forums.</p>
<p>Suggested protocol: your one line post at the top. Any comment in a separate paragraph below. </p>
<p>I'll start in the next post.</p>
<p>You can't spot the right answers until you've found the right questions.</p>
<p>The question "How do I get into an Ivy?" is all wrong. A better question is, "How do I find the best schools for me?", something that subsumes quality but isn't predicated on the Ivy label.</p>
<p>Identifying, researching, and visiting your safeties will take more time and energy than doing the same for selective schools. They're not easy to find but they're out there. Your state college is not a true safety if you don't want to go there. A true safety is one that the idea of attending doesn't make you (or your parents) feel queasy. Unless you love your safety you can expect plenty of sleepless nights between December and April.</p>
<p>If you aren't 100% positive you will have no regrets about attending your ED school, don't know if you can pay no matter how bad the financial aid is or know you might have doubts about not having options, than do not, under any circumstances apply ED. After 2.5 years of posting, I see every year people who get caught in this situation, and it's not pleasant. Do yourself a service and make sure you know what you're getting yourself into- before you apply</p>
<p>Never take no for an answer from someone who can't say yes.</p>
<p>I fear too many times people are too easily dissuaded by others from applying at dream or reach schools when they may actually have a chance at attending. Or ,I'll post it another way-</p>
<p>You are guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you don't take.</p>
<p>Y'all just knew I'd get basketball in here somewhere, didn't you?</p>
<p>From St. Augustine, in reference to the two thieves who were hanged with Christ at Calvary:</p>
<p>"Do not despair; one of the thieves was saved. Do not presume; one of the thieves was damned."</p>
<p>(This line was apparently among the inspirations for Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot.")</p>
<p>Curmudgeon - </p>
<p>I thought that was a hockey reference. Wasn't that phrase popularized by Wayne Gretzky?</p>
<p>Those pictures will come back to haunt you, as people ranging from Dr. Laura to Paris Hilton have found out.</p>
<p>Actual advice, actual story. If an acceptance letter (from the school you are thinking of applying to ED) would make you happy enough to hop in your car and drive five hours each way to get the sticker for your car, apply ED. If not, then wait for the RD round.</p>
<p>College is a time to explore passions and interests. DO NOT BE TOTALLY CONSUMED BY ACADEMICS. Stretch yourself to try new things, find new interests (even off campus; ESPECIALLY off campus), get involved with people who are DOers!</p>
<p>Ours was vandalized within 15 minutes</p>
<p>Depending on the type of schools you're looking at, many families can end up paying less for an "expensive" private school than for a state university.</p>
<p>In my daughter's case, it cost us about $5,000 LESS for her to go to a private liberal arts college vs. our local university. And that was her third best finanical aid offer. </p>
<p>This works only for top students you say? Au contraire. My daughter's unweighted GPA was 3.4.</p>
<p>I can remember back when papyrus scrolls of information about the colleges I would apply to where a rare treasure. (Well, okay, not quite.) Today there are gobs and gobs of official information about colleges, written by college officials, on the college Web sites, and you should browse all over those to find out more about the college you might apply to. Check some course descriptions. Find out what credits from earlier college study transfer, if any. Get a good idea (Google "common data set" and the name of the college) what the stats of the college's freshmen are. All of that is official information (= propaganda), but it is still INFORMATION, a lot more information than I had when applying to college in the New Stone Age. </p>
<p>Of course, because each college Web site only has official information, you will also want to refer to unofficial Web sites, of which this CC Web site is my favorite.</p>
<p>"Take my college, Please."</p>
<p>Henny Youngman</p>
<p>I've waited at least 45 minutes for every tour.</p>
<p>Sorry, TheDad, (refer to post #1) I couldn't resist. Past life was ag and food major.</p>
<p>There's more than one college out there that's your soul match.</p>
<p>Show passion in your ECs</p>
<p>Don't join every club in junior year. better to pusue one true love for years</p>
<p>It's never to early to start thinking about where you want to go, but senior year is not too late, either</p>
<p>If your child is and 8th/9th grader, and you or he has thought or mentioned a college, it is time to start. A casual visit to a college close by or on vacation. A casual appraisal of your child's strengths and weaknesses, and encouragement to participate in an EC or club, maybe start thinking about summer jobs. Maybe take a college course together or an art class, become a coach or asst Scoutmaster - encourage, don't push. Make a folder for awards, clippings, etc, so that when the kid is 15-16, and all of a sudden he needs it, the folder will be ready. In sophomore year, sit down and look at test schedules with your child, there may be a test she actually should take this year, and will need to plan junior activities around those test days.</p>
<p>chill</p>