<p>I thought I posted here last night but must have gotten distracted and forgotten to click "Post." </p>
<p>Tebro, you're impressive in ways that you may not even be aware. I'd love to see you as part of the Smith community but it looks like one of your Safeties and I think you will get into a "better" school.</p>
<p>ConcernedDad, my D actually expressed unhappiness with school environment as early as 2nd grade. I told her then that she would like middle school more than elementary school, high school more than middle school, and that she would positively blossom in college and find it a blast. Now, if my gift of prophecy only worked with elections, too....</p>
<p>Tebro, you write so beautifully. Any school will be lucky to have you!! And it doesn't matter not being able to reach the microphone. :)
You could run for President and I'd vote for you!
(Remember labor secretary Robert Reich?)</p>
<p>Tebro, your poise and obvious intelligence remind me of our wonderful Ziggi. I once nominated him for president on this board. I don't know how tall he is, but to me it doesn't matter in the least. Same for you, Tebro. Please consider some sort of career in the public domain. God knows we need young people like you and Ziggi to lend us hope for the future!</p>
<p>Foundnemo...You should be so proud of having gotten into Brown.....It must be hard for you to hear that sort of talk from your parents...Keep in mind that you're your own person now and have confidence in your choices. There's a cultural disconnect , I understand, but you can't go wrong going to Brown. Enjoy every minute of it.!</p>
<p>Foundnemo - your post made me heartsick. I want to totally agree with dke - you are indeed your own person now. As you go forward with your own life, the important thing to remember is your parents have done their job. They failed at certain things, and succeeded in others. They may not always understand which was which, but hopefully you do. And what will become important is not so much whether your parents are proud of you (as they should be) but whether your children will be proud of you. I think they will. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>I feel sorry for you, but most of all for your parents who are so very misguided. Brown is a wonderful school. My S, who was admitted a few days ago to Harvard, fell in love with Brown when he visited there. He had a fabulous time talking to two profs (including one who is from the PRC originally) and to students, all of whom told him how happy they were at Brown. The only reason he decided not to apply to Brown was that it is stronger in applied math and experimental physics than in pure math/theoretical physics. Otherwise, he would have chosen Brown over Harvard in a heartbeat. You can show this post to your parents when they express disappointment.</p>
<p>a friend of mine has been pressured cooked by her family into something that fell apart after her deferral from Harvard. It was simply awful to behold as nothing anyone could say would make her feel better. We could only hold her and watch her cry. Even worse, the reason why she was crying was not because she didn't get in, but because she had disappointed her parents. </p>
<p>It would be too soon if I ever saw that again, but I have a feeling it'll be just until April. Please, just because you bear your parents' DNA does not mean that you are beholden to them for everything, or that you should live the life they would have liked to live. If you love Brown and you don't like Harvard, do out a list of Brown vs. Harvard traits, emphasizing the good points of B and the weaker points of H. </p>
<p>Parents are supposedly "more reasonable" and you can use that to your advantage. It is silly and unreasonable to consider B a disappointing school (O_o) and you ought to play up that absurb notion's lack of logic for all its worth. </p>
<p>Please, pick your life and not the one others pick for you. They are not joking when theu say it is one of the most important decisions in your life. And you should be the one making it. </p>
<p>TheDad: I really don't think Smith is much of a safety...it's such a wonderful school that it should not be shoved into the category of "go if 'better' schools reject you." If I do get accepted into Smith and other "better" schools, it's going to be a really difficult few weeks as my "straddling the fence" personality kicks into gear. </p>
<p>Optimizerdad: Let me guess: son/daughter/yourself went to WashU? ;)</p>
<p>achat: but...how will I address the nation and spell vegetables wrong?</p>
<p>poetsheart: I'd love to meet this Ziggi that you speak of. I assume s/he's going into government some fine day? Where is s/he applying?</p>
<p>Tebro:
You got me. D2 is currently a freshman at WashU. They're one of the few good schools that offer a good number of full- and half-tuition merit scholarships. D2 scored one of the full-tuition ones, and my wallet is at peace.</p>
<p>And PoetsHeart's 'Ziggi' is actually 'Xiggi', I think. A formidably erudite CCer - do <em>not</em>, repeat <em>not</em>, ever get into a debate with him. I speak from sad experience.</p>
<p>Tebro, Xiggi is a "he" and is taking finals at Claremont McKenna as a freshman; he's one of the most respected posters on this board.</p>
<p>I may have been unclear about Smith: I think it's a <em>great</em> school. I'm just not sure how many would choose to there compared to some of the "bigger name" schools on your list. Also, because it's a womens college, it's a little easier to get into than a co-ed school of comparable quality. I'm not sure you'll find a bigger booster for Smith on this board unless Mini elbows me out of the way...I've already trompled right over Carolyn. In fact, if you have questions about Smith, go ahead and raise them in the Smith forum, located in the Top LAC'S forum.</p>
<p>Tebro, you don't need to spell anything. When you get to be President, there will be hundreds of spellers for you. And maybe it WILL be possible for you to be the first woman president of the US. Hm..that would be many years from now.</p>
<p>I'm so glad you've started to post on the parents' forum. Not only do you write beautifully but you are someone I'd love to meet in person. I'm sure that come April you will have great choices.</p>
<p>Hmm. I think I just might go and talk to The Amazing Xiggi (great name). </p>
<p>TheDad, mini: One of my friends who graduated last year could give you two a run for your money in promoting Smith. She ended up snatching up any hapless junior and educating them about the greatness that is Smith--regardless of gender. She was so persuasive that one guy got really excited about applying...until he read the brochure. Cat had forgotten to tell him about the all-women's situation. :) </p>
<p>achat: A-V-A-C-A-T-O-E. </p>
<p>Politics are fascinating, but medicine is my One True Love. Fell in love at age six and only dug myself deeper as the years went by. And there's a small issue of being born in this country. (So, if you were born in France, to American parents, does that mean your chances of being President are nil? Other than the whole France issue?)</p>
<p>Mini:
When (not if) we have our first female president, I wonder what her spouse will be called. 'First gentleman'? No, that implies all earlier male occupants of the White House were cads and bounders, even if it's true :-). 'First husband'? That makes it look like the President has more husbands in mind.</p>
<p>Tebro:
As long as you were an American citizen at birth (and I think you qualify, since you had American parents), I believe you can stand for President. It's just us naturalized citizens who are left out in the cold.</p>
<p>I don't think that's true. Your birthplace must be the United States; or at least on American soil. That's why there's a movement now to change the Constitution so the Austrian-born Govenator could run for president. </p>
<p>We tease S how he might make a good test case; born in New Delhi but in the U.S. Embassy, so is it technically U.S. soil?</p>