Thank you! 
Congrats! I’m excited for her! You did such a great job of researching and guiding her while letting her take ownership of this decision. Having her heart in it will go a long way toward her success. Maybe now you can go get a massage or something to treat yourself for all the energy you put into this. 
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YES WE ARE!!!
WPI here we come!
(Now we need to figure out how the whole roommate match/find your own and housing thing work…)
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YAY CONGRATS!! I hope he’s excited! My D is chatting with incoming kids on one of the social media groups can’t remember if it’s Zeemee or Discord. If your son doesn’t know I can ask her. (Which sounds funny to me since she was never a social media kid before!)
See you on the parents’ FB page!
Haha that would make it too easy!
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You did a great job in guiding your daughter through this process. Also, your daughter, through her hard work and accomplishments, put herself in a position to have these great opportunities. Congratulations to you both!
Here are a few restaurant recommendations for Worcester if you get a chance; Volturno, Dead Horse Hill and Flying Rhino.
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Thanks so much, really appreciate all the extra advice, tips and support you’ve given us. You’ve been so kind!
Yes, she’s worked so hard, she’s exhausted but finally getting to enjoy some of the high school traditions they missed the last couple of years. Senioritis is in high gear so that’s stressing me out (I freak out when I see the “will they rescind me for X grade” threads!)
We’re now dealing with the blank stares when we tell friends and neighbors where she’s going. Thankfully she’s excited and knows no one will have heard of the school, so she’s prepared with her explanations. Still stings a little since she sees the reactions to her friends’ plans in comparison.
But I think she’ll get over it soon enough especially once she arrives at WPI. In the meantime, she’s singing its virtues to anyone who asks. Who knows, they might get a ton of applicants from her high school next year! 
I forgot about your Worcester connection – we will definitely check out those restaurants! Thank you!!
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I’ve found calling a college a “boutique” school helps with the blank stares. As in “WPI is an amazing boutique school with a unique stem program that is just perfect for me. Very cutting edge”. It absolves the listener from not knowing what you are talking about, and it makes it about how much research she did to find her college and fit, as opposed to prestige. And anyway, I’m sure her enthusiasm keeps judge-y people at bay. At the end of the day people just want others to be happy. And those that don’t? ____ them. 
Fwiw, I had blank stares back in the day when I went to William and Mary from California (“wait, where? Did you say Loyola Marymount?”). It was both tiresome and fun to explain the gem of a school I was going to. Vive la difference!
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For what it’s worth, my D is a freshman at a uni no one from her high school had attended for three years (although many kids applied). Three kids out of the current graduating class of 115 have accepted for class of 2026. It is funny how that happens.
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Haha, perfect, I’ll send D the script! I’m guessing your well-wishers commented on how Loyola Marymount is a great school in a great location! 
I also got blank stares when I went to the University of Chicago, followed by “Why do you want to go so far? It’s going to snow all the time!”. These were teachers and school counselors, not just family and friends questioning my decision. I was First Gen and no one I knew had heard of the school. Plus it hadn’t clawed its way up the rankings then.
I stopped making the mistake of calling it “U of C” whenever I was home in California as everyone thought I meant UC and waited for me to say which campus. I’m guessing that’s part of why they re-branded to UChicago. I love that kids call it “UC Hicago” these days.
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Yay! Maybe the marketing/admissions people need to give your D extra swag to thank her (and continue the marketing).
In our case, I suspect D’s singing the praises of WPI will get lots of kids to apply – but to RPI because no one here knows the difference. Doesn’t help that we still can’t pronounce Worcester.
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Trust me, just based on the Parents of the Class of 2021 thread, and also visiting back East, no one has heard of Cal Poly SLO. So, who cares what others might know or think about WPI.
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We’re in IL, and I got blank stares any time I mentioned D was applying to CalPoly and Rose Hulman, ha ha! I’ve found saying things like “under-the-radar” “hidden gem” “they’re not into slick marketing” is a nice way to subtly say “just because you’ve never heard of it doesn’t mean it isn’t an amazing institution.” (Not that CalPoly is under the radar for anyone west of the Rockies!)
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Yes! I’m pretty sure I attempted to make a self-deprecating joke about all the California schools (UC and CSU) at some point. Knocking on us east coast “uninformed” folks.
As in UCSD = UC San Dimas with a Bill and Teds movie reference. Joking, of course.
In summary, there are many amazing schools that may not be name-dropped in regional conversation. But that should not keep your kid from being proud of their school. Congratulations to the OP!!!
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Ask anyone outside of a 5 state area what a SUNY is - and they’d have no idea…it’s just how it is.
Colby? what??
Washington & Lee?
Even Wash U - has to add St. Louis to their name or few would know.
Lots of schools have branding issues if branding to the masses is the goal.
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Our S20 goes to one of those name recognition schools. You tell one person where he goes; they say, “oh, that’s nice” The next person it’s like, “great school, he must be a quite a student.” WPI is like that for those who know it; it’s really well respected.
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My guy is going to WPI next year and my mom (my mom! Who should know me and my kid!) said “oh, is that a VoTech school? I thought he wanted to be an engineer?” Oh mom.
Anyhoo, I appreciate (a) the thoughts on how to respond to people and (b) just hearing that it’s not just us. We aren’t all about the reputation, but darnit, my guy has worked really hard, the blank stares are kind of disheartening when his friends are getting accolades for their schools.
(And FWIW, I went to William and Mary too, but being from VA, there was no name confusion 
)
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I loved reading this thread. I was rushing to see the end! Congrats on a well earned and researched decision. My math major daughter narrowed down her acceptances to UCSB and Cal Poly SLO. She let go of Northeastern and Oberlin (with merit). She chose SLO. She’s on the UCLA waitlist, but she loves SLO so much now, she is sort of/actually hoping she doesn’t get in (and be pressured internally and externally (by society and Dad) to go). Hearing your journey was great. What a ride!!
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Have to laugh at the “you’re going where? That’s nice” and branding comments above.
We live in the mid-Atlantic and after this brutal year, my youngest is going to WashU which had record competitive admittance this year but is still “WashU…is that in DC? (no that’s George Washington.) or in Washington state? (No, that’s the actual Washington schools.) So, Midwest somewhere? (Yes, St. Louis - top ten university, oh well, moving on.)”
And my oldest is class of 2024 at Davidson which is an incredible LAC on par with northeast schools, but very small and intentionally quiet. And we hear every time “Is that Davidson… or Denison… or Dickinson?” So we sigh and say, “No, Davidson in Davidson, North Carolina… you know Steph Curry, the basketball player, where he went?” And then usually and “OH, Ok!”
And then the convo moves right on ahead…
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Ooh, yes, spa day sounds great, we deserve it! Thanks for your kind words and all your help too, nice to go on this journey with other parents, especially since our kids seem so similar!
I’m so excited your kid’s going to Mudd! I think that’s the only waitlist school D would consider going to if she got in. These kids are so lucky to have found their places!
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