<p>Yea, with a President’s child it’s less of a media-invasion issue, it’s more of a personal safety issue.</p>
<p>Come to think of it, here’s one kid who can concentrate entirely on fit–she doesn’t have to worry about how the prestige of her college will affect her future life.</p>
<p>^ ^ ^
And so I choose…Faber College! </p>
<p>She’ll probably just go to Harvard, Yale or Princeton. They’ve all had incredibly famous kids in the past, children of world leaders and the like, it wouldn’t be anything new. If she’s moving more toward the arts though, she might switch up and go to NYU or UCLA or something. Who knows. </p>
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<p>A gap year would solve this problem…</p>
<p>Lets be real here, she’ll be set wherever she goes.</p>
<p>That kind of celebrity has got to be both a blessing and a curse.</p>
<p>The “puppy essay” is a joke, people. She’s part of the First Family; every single school will know exactly who she is, her unique background (imagine trying to be a high school kid but escorted by the Secret Service all the time - not your standard HS experience!), etc. I’m sure she could go to any school she wanted (in the US) and the application would be a mere formality.</p>
<p>Agreed that most Philadelphians are surprised to discover that they are not a major city. For some reason, they seem to think they rival NYC. It’s a shock to many of them to learn otherwise, as if they never noticed we weren’t still in the 18th century.</p>
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<p>@FCCDAD </p>
<p>No Philadelphian in his right mind thinks the city rivals New York. That’s ridiculous. Nonetheless, not being NYC doesn’t make Philadelphia some small, insignificant city or one of its close-in suburbs a great place for a President’s kid to hide! The Borough of Swarthmore isn’t exactly Grinnell, IA, or Gambier, OH.</p>
<p>And I don’t know what constitutes “major city” in your world, but the fifth-most populous city, the sixth-largest metropolitan area, and the fourth-largest media market fits the bill for me. You originally cited “SF” as a major city after all. </p>
<p><a href=“List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population</a>
<a href=“Metropolitan statistical area - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas</a></p>
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<p>It might have been funnier if you hadn’t tried to suggest the president egotistically named his dog after himself…</p>
<p>Sans Serif, I have to agree with you, sadly. It’s a fact that Mr. Obama has received more hate mail and incendiary letters than any sitting President. And it started the day he was inaugurated in 2009, according to the Secret Service. Therefore, the Obama family and Malia’s target college have to make special plans for her college life. Any college that heretofore has essentially an open campus (I’m thinking of small town and rural colleges), might need to make some changes to provide a safe environment for the President’s daughter. I hate to imagine the uncomfortable imposition that will bring to a college freshman’s life.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, you should talk to a few Northwestern alumni. I know plenty of folks who unfortunately, do not fondly remember their days at Columbia et al. As I recall, Mrs. Obama herself is not in love with Princeton, her alma mater. On the other hand, every African-American Northwestern grad I’ve met has nothing but great memories to share. Could be that they are exaggerating.</p>
<p>LW, Pizzagirl IS a Northwestern alum (as am I:)).</p>
<p>Philadelphia is a zombie city, died long ago but technically is still shambling on as a population center between Baltimore-Washington and NYC. No one aspires to live in Philadelphia. People have been staying away from (and leaving) there in droves at least since WWII. Does residual population = major city? Well, I think it takes more than a threshold number of people to be a major city. Your definition may differ from mine, of course (and it obviously will if you want it to include Philly).</p>
<p>W.C. Fields’s commentary on the place was apt. I say, life is too short to spend in Philadelphia. My guess was simply that Malia Obama might want to get away from the Chicago/Washington major city settings she’s always been in, and attend a small (but good) LAC. I do think it would be a great place for her to avoid most of the national media attention for a few years. Would you feel better if I suggested she might choose to go to Providence RI, or Northfield MN? Basically, someplace where there’s a good college and not much else.</p>
<p>Re: puppy essay, the point is that it doesn’t matter if she writes something completely banal or ridiculous, she doesn’t need to (and might not) write ANY essay at all. She’ll make her choice, she’ll fly out to wherever she decides, she will meet with an admissions officer to formally interview her while her parents chat with the college president, and then they will all announce that she will be attending there. Essay? Pffft. We’re not even talking about a common A-list celebrity going to college, we’re talking about a (maybe) once in an administration event. We’re talking about only the 4th Presidential child to go from the White House off to college (Chelsea Clinton, Barbara and Jenna Bush, and now Malia Obama) since the Ford administration. She doesn’t need to distinguish herself among other teens; you basically can’t BE any more distinguished than First Daughter. She’s in a unique position, and the joke is in talking about her as if she were just any other applicant.</p>
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<p>Well, I thought that was funny. Tough crowd here. </p>
<p>She’s not like any other applicant, and doesn’t need an essay to distinguish herself, but for her own sake, I hope the college and her parents expect her to apply like every other applicant. This includes writing an essay, and it could certainly be an interesting one since she has a unique perspective. </p>
<p>It’s possible that after six years of lies and hatred directed toward this president I am being too sensitive. Not trying to be a tough crowd. :)</p>
<p>Does anyone know her stats? Chelsea C and Barbara B were high stats kids. </p>
<p>Last month while the president was speaking at the UC Irvine commencement ceremony she toured UC Berkeley and Stanford, reportedly preferring Berkeley. I don’t think her stats matter, she’s getting in. Sounds like she wants a West Coast school.</p>
<p>Sally, hateful political opposition is nothing new and usually does not spill over to kids. I know you probably think it’s worse now than ever. The internet makes it easy to think that, but I doubt it. </p>
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<p>Zoe Bartlet got a single as a freshman. :)</p>
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<p>Not a surprise with Chelsea, but surprising for Barbara Bush. I assumed she got into Yale as a legacy.</p>
<p>I would be surprised if Malia had low stats. Both parents are intelligent, even though I don’t care for their politics. </p>