<p>i read in a college book very recently that Georgetown engages in a lot of political doublespeak and doesn't really defend both sides equally...also that they try to cater to the Catholics but they are very secular.</p>
<p>Despite these complaints, I can't imagine crossing Georgetown off my list. The kids there seem happy and occupied, and the atmosphere is one of a kind.</p>
<p>Clipper, sorry to hear that your daughter isnt finding like minds among her classmates at GT. I think this is one of the most critical points for a satisfactory college experience. Since she must be doing well academically, why doesnt she try to transfer to a school with more intellectual intensity?</p>
<p>A question --
OK, I'm a parent and have no experience whatsoever with Georgetown, but Georgetown SFS is on the list of potentials for my daughter (high school junior), who is very interested in politics and history, as well as intensive study of a foreign language. </p>
<p>But my question is a little bit of a twist: I was a very bright and capable student as a kid - had the sense of being smarter than most of the other students around me in college, or at least of being to get away with a lot less studying -- but I never really liked being around people who considered themselves "intellectuals" or getting into late night discussions about literature or philosophy or whatever. In class - yes, I wanted stimulating discussion, but the rest of my life has always been more grounded in reality -- that is, my interests tend to be in politics or commmunity issues. I was always involved in some project or campaign, and I cut class a lot. Back in the early 70's, when I was in college, I thought of this as a quest for "relevancy". </p>
<p>Now my daughter, who is very smart, is also very outgoing and a party girl. She also wants intelligent people to talk with, especially to discuss politics .. but I can't imagine her spending much time talking about more esoteric topics. I think she'd rather go out clubbing. </p>
<p>So here's my question to Clipper: is your daughter's problem more that her interests are different - or that she really finds her classmates to be less rigorous thinkers overall? I can tell from your post that there is a misfit - and your daughter certainly sounds like the type to be very actively involved - but I'm seeking clarification on whether the problem stems from the level of challenge in courses, or more from the focus and orientation of the serious students. I get the point about the lazy rich kids coasting in on their parents' money .... but I'll bet that any elite college has a certain percentage of kids like that ....I'm more interested in figuring out what her issues are with the other "public school kids who are very serious." Is it that there aren't enough of them? or, as momof2inca suggests, that the kids are more focused on their future careers and/or social life than in "learning how to think"? And if so.... I wonder if the distinction isn't somewhat more a result of the urban/DC environment -- I mean, I think that maybe colleges in major cities, especially DC, might tend to attract a lot of students who are more interested in what the city has to offer than what the school has to offer. (I don't mean that last statement negatively at all... when I talk to my daughter, I get the sense that she is very much in that camp.).</p>
<p>First of all, let me say that I feel terrible that I set off this firestorm about Georgetown. It is one person's opinion - NOT EVERYONES!</p>
<p>Lauren, Netshark, babybird - please do not let my daughter's comments scare you away from Georgetown!!! It is a wonderful school - I just don't think it is for everyone! YOU have to make your own observations and ask the questions that are important to YOU. MOMof2 did just that and found that it wasn't for her son. Another thing, you have to take into consideration the personality of my daughter. She has always been type A - very driven. She has very high standards for herself and perhaps expects others to do the same. I am sure if she went to any college she would see the public vs. private situation - as someone pointed out it is everywhere. There is NO public vs private RIFT!!! </p>
<p>Everyone gets along and it was just a comment that she made ONCE about the public school kids being more serious than the privates. There is NO rift - ok? </p>
<p>She does not want to transfer as I said bc she is on track to graduate early and start law school and she is NOT miserable. She has made a bunch of friends who are just like her so everything is ok. You will be able to find kids that are just like you no matter if you went to a private or a public school. Perhaps her dad and I read too much into her ONE comment!</p>
<p>DKE is right - you can get an excellent education there - my daughter feels that she is and the professors are excellent. So don't be scared away bc of that. Georgetown has a very unique program in SFS - I don't think you can find a better program. A lot of students want to transfer into SFS bc in this day and age they will prepare you for a real world job. </p>
<p>Well, I hope I smoothed this over a bit. I should have consulted with her before I wrote what I wrote.</p>
<p>Just to echo Clipper a bit, the reason why we dropped GT from the list is that it didn't seem to fit our S, a very intellectual humanities nerd type of kid who likes nothing more than to argue late into the night about esoteric topics. We had GT on the list because he's intrigued with DC and wants to major in gov/poli sci and it was highly recommended by a friend of ours who is a Harvard grad and Rhodes Scholar who has a good friend who teaches at the GT grad school. </p>
<p>The people we met at GT seemed exceedingly happy there and quite friendly. We just didn't meet any that seemed like our S, who is also a friendly person (don't get me wrong). Our next stop was U of Chicago and everywhere we looked there was another kid like S -- I didn't understand half of the conversations I overheard in the student bagel shop at Chicago, but I recognized my son in them. So, there is nothing inherently wrong with GT and if S was a different kind of kid he would probably love it there. </p>
<p>Just make sure you visit... I would say that is true for any school that you plan to spend four years at and big bucks on. You cannot get a true picture of a school through its marketing materials, word of mouth or comments from well-meaning folks on the internet. You've got to go walk the halls, eat the food, browse the bookstore, talk to the kids and stroll the neighborhoods. If you can't do that before applying, I would say it's critical to do so before accepting. Unless you are an extremely adaptable kid who creates his/her own happiness no matter the circumstances (I have one of those types, too, and looking for colleges for her in a few years will probably be a bit easier). :)</p>
<p>I think the "peer clicking" factor is very important if the "clicks" are for the right reasons, i.e., not everyone wears A&F. This came up in another thread: I'm not sure I could articulate the difference between Yale kids and Chicago kids but I bet I could sort their files roughly according to their actual attendance.</p>
<p>how does waitlists work?</p>
<p>and also it seems that a lot of yale EA deferred people get in RD... is the deferred acceptance rate high??</p>
<p>oh and i just submitted all 10 of my applications!!! next year i think we need another one of these threads for the juniors now.. :)
and i just wanted to say thank you to all you very kind people here on CC.. esp. thedad!!! you rock!</p>
<p>SW, the acceptance rate for Yale deferred EA was pretty ugly. As always, <em>some</em> make it...but it's not the way to bet and the numbers ran pretty heavily against it.</p>
<p>Doesn't it feel great to have all your apps out?</p>
<p>YEh :) IT reallllllllllllyyy does!!!</p>
<p>I cannnott wWAITT till April :)</p>
<p>I hope I get in at least one place...</p>
<p>I have wondered is a deferred ED a polite way of saying denied? College literature and this site indicate people do survive their deferal to get accepted into their first choice school. Which colleges will deny out right and which ones let you linger until they see the RD pool? I wonder how many of these students opened their December mail and said, "Oh, Well" and then went after the other schools on their list.</p>
<p>It doesn't surprise me that people would be happy with second or third schools on their list. Ideally, the list doesn't include a school you wouldn't want to go to. Lot of questions, maybe I'll cut back on the coffee.</p>
<p>Mr. B, I continue to wonder myself. Someone posted on the P'ton forum, in response to a similar inquiry an approx. 9% acceptance rate for strictly RD vs. ~16% deferred from ED. I wonder if this is because adcoms getting a longer read of the app, & I also wonder if these percentages differ by school, and/or if there's an unwritten percentage guideline that the adcoms go by. (Or does the applicant get "brownie points" for having chosen the school as their First Love & energetically applied early?)</p>
<p>My belief about polite deferrals is that these are often legacies & that there is no prejudice one way or the other about the RD result, but that they will be truly compared in that round. We also know of non-legacies deferred, but only currently, & have no historical knowledge of outcomes.</p>
<p>Would love some "insider" knowledge about this process.</p>
<p>epiphany, "my belief about polite deferrals is that these are often legacies" is also the way I'd look at it. I'm getting a little off topic but I wonder who's had this kind of ED experience: in our family 4 years ago S was rejected ED at ivy where I spent 4 years getting grad degree (he was officially a legacy). He had taken many APs, did reasonably well with little effort and his testing was above the averages for the ED school so we thought he had a chance though his grades could have been a bit higher. Part of the problem was we as parents didn't realize how hard it has become to get admitted to this school (before CC for me and unhelpful GC). </p>
<p>I can tell you from my perspective the rejection was personal, to me as an alumnus, of course I never let on to him about it. I still dislike the school for this and childish as it sounds, will not donate to them.</p>
<p>His pov was different from mine...he was much more mature about it. From a non-emotional point of view, if deferral will not eventually work out, the early rejection can actually be better. You get that school out of your mind and move on quickly, as RD apps need to be finished quickly. Also he got an EA acceptance a couple days after the ED rejection, which helped even though he didn't go there. Happily all worked out, as he has had a great college experience and I think where he eventually went was a perfect fit for him.</p>
<p>Edit: my point was an ED deferral would have been a lot nicer to an alum than the ED rejection.</p>
<p>I don't really understand your point. Would you have felt better about it if he had been deferred and then rejected in April? He would still have been rejected.</p>
<p>MotherOfTwo, I do understand what he's saying, I think. However, depending on the person, it can really affect the energy & motivation put into add'l apps to be deferred instead of rejected. (Many students on CC have said as much.) The ones that I've seen that were outright rejected became very aggressive about their college search. (Look at silver_wavez, valuable1212, etc. I would add a friend of ours, who widened her search considerably after rejection, vs. another friend who was merely deferred & feels like she's in limbo.)</p>
<p>I also understand the resentment felt as an alum; I would probably take it personally, too.</p>
<p>In my view, legacies are just one more way that colleges control the admissions process -- by providing an illusion to the applicant that he/she has a significant advantage, by keeping the family on a string, by admitting early just those legacies that have ADDITIONAL hooks or unique qualities, without really letting the deferred legacies know just where they stand. I have a problem with colleges being hard-ball sellers in the ultimate seller's market (particularly Ivies). Yes, it's a supply and demand relationship, but this is an artificial & narrowly quantitative way to look at it. What is not overtly acknowledged is that the students are invaluable commodities themselves, who may significantly affect the visibility, stature, & profitability of the college -- both near term & far. Bluntly, the colleges need the students, & particular students, every bit as much as vice-versa. The only pragmatic leverage is possessed by those students who have been accepted EA (vs. ED), & especially those EA acceptees in line for financial aid.</p>
<p>I'm so glad it worked out for your son. Love hearing these comforting success stories & positive "reversals of fortune."</p>
<p>e.</p>
<p>I just wanted to bring back this thread...
Cus TheDad was totally right!
I may have been crushed in December after my Columbia rejection... But I really want to get the message out to everyone.. especially juniors that will be going through this very soon! An ED/EA deferral/rejection is NOT the end of the world.
I have grown and matured so much from this experience.. and I am SO glad how everything has turned out.
The Columbia rejection was MOST DEFINITELY a HUGE blessing in disguise.
I have now gotten 4 acceptances so far.. it's definitely a great feeling. I wouldn't have missed this for the world!!!</p>
<p>Good luck for the rest of the RD decisions... and to all of you juniors for another crazy year of college admissions!</p>
<p>School: Bryn Mawr
Result: Wait-listed
Attending: Trinity, Ct.
Happiness: 10+</p>
<p>Son-
School: Stanford
Result: Deferred then Rejected
Atending: Duke
Happiness: Seems to me to be a definite 10!</p>
<p>Me</p>
<p>School: Columbia
Result: Rejected
Attending: Barnard or U of Chicago (bigg dilemma)
Happiness: Confident to say verryyy high, unquantifiable! I'm very happy :)</p>
<p>This thread is great and it is nice to see the kids who are happy with the school that WANTED them!</p>
<p>My D..LAST year:</p>
<p>Rejected: Tufts, JHU
Waitlisted: UChicago (first choice)
Attended: Carnegie Mellon
Happiness Quotient: 10+ (how could I have been happier anywhere else??? Love those TECHIE guys!!!)</p>