<p>In his senior year my S told friends, relatives neighbors he was going to Pomona while his girlfriend stated she was going to Columbia. Many times he heard her being congradulated enthusiastically, while he was asked Oh is that a state school, I never heard of it. He joked about it but on some lesser level he was annoyed. All I can say is who cares what your neighbor think, it is the grad schools, job recruiters and most of all fit that counts.</p>
<p>I'm sorry if I sounded elitist or arrogant by using the term "ignorant" to describe people who aren't familiar with schools like Dartmouth or Williams. I certainly didn't intend to come across this way. What I was trying to say, in the context of my daughter's issue, is that if people haven't heard of these schools, it is not surprising that they havent heard of the school she chose, which is much less well known in the whole scheme of things. I guess I selected the wrong word, but in my mind I meant "ignorant of the realm of liberal arts colleges" not ignorant in general.</p>
<p>Oh, no, I didn't take it that way at all. Please don't apologize. I just wanted to make the point that the "scheme of things" is so narrowly circumscribed.</p>
<p>Arizonamom -</p>
<p>Here in California we are blessed to have Pomona College, perhaps the finest LAC in the western half of the US. But most Californians have no idea. Ask the average person on the street about Pomona College and about 90% of them will think you are referring to Cal Poly Pomona.</p>
<p>lol so true, when people ask me where my S is going to college, I usually now say it is a school you have probably never heard of in Ca.called Pomona College. I then brighten when a few say Oh yeah I know of it, it is a great school, I know so and so who went to Cal Poly. My smile wanes...</p>
<p>Add Caltech to the list. Usual response, "They have a great football team".</p>
<p>Sigh. All I have to say is that when your DD gets to college nothing about high school is going to matter anymore. My first DD got an awful lot of flack about her choice of a small second tier LAC over Berkeley and UCLA. Nobody outside of higher education knew much about the school. She chose it because it was a top school for her area of interest. I will never forget the day when we ran into her 6th grade teacher and she asked where DD was going to college. When she told her (she had taken to saying the name in a quiet voice by then) her old teacher went wild with excitement! SHE knew the school very well. She is currently a Junior and has been happy since day one.</p>
<p>LACs , in general, are terrific schools.</p>
<p>This time of year everyone is curious about where everyone else is looking and what everyone else is doing. There are thousands of colleges in this country, not just ten. Stand behind your DD. I am sure she made the right choice.</p>
<p>MotherOfTwo, I think there are three separate issues at play here. First, there's the anxiety over having made the right decision. Sooner or later, whether they apply early or regular every student has to choose a college. Anecdotally, it seems that once they're enrolled, the misgivings evaporate and the kids settle into loving their choice. Some through their own choice or by elimination, make the wrong choice. I don't know if the dissatisfaction ratio is higher for ED than for RD, but I can say that I personally don't know any student who didn't end up extremely happy his/her ED choice. In my son's case, he went with his intuition and two years later we have a lot to be thankful for!</p>
<p>Secondly, there's the sort of wistful feeling that the kids who got their ED acceptances in December feel in April when their friends are getting multiple invites. They miss being part of the general excitement, bragging a bit, talking about their choices, comparing options. Eventually, this too settles down. Once they're in school, the ED's and RD's meld together and it really doesn't make much difference.</p>
<p>The third point is the name recognition factor. This is a cross that LAC kids and families have to bear cheerfully. You'd think that Williams would be fairly well known among prestige hounds after its USNWR rating, but we still get the "poor you" looks when we mention it. All I can say is let it go! Having gone to a large (albeit wonderful) university myself, when I compare the quality of education that I received to what my son is experiencing, I'm 100% sold on the LAC route.</p>
<p>When my D decided on Grinnell, we got lots of "Did you say Cornell?" comments. Also of course the comments suggesting that no one in their right mind would choose to go to the middle of Iowa. </p>
<p>S attends a small private HS that is very well respected here among those who are in the know about the area's HSs. It is also known to the adcomms, and we routinely send kids to the top schools every year. But lots of local people don't know his HS - which has made college name recognition an issue to him. Not a big one, but he did mention that he hopes to attend a college whose name he won't have to repeat or explain.... On the other hand, most of his classmates have/will apply to LACs. That is not at all what he wants, and it doesn't bother him in the slightest.</p>
<p>Any chance that your D is preparing, or guarding herself emotionally against the possible rejection from her ED school? (I didn't really want to go there anyway)
Many years ago I graduated from University of Michigan. Over the past year, with my S we have visited many very small noname LACs. They all boast a real feeling of community and low student/teacher ratios and no teaching assistants, amazing facilities given the small enrollments (many under 2000). I finished several college tours wishing I could do it all over again. (not the tour, but 4yrs of college!)</p>
<p>Hey NJres, I'm U of M class of '69. My son's at Williams and although I feel I got a fine education at Michigan, after all those tours I'm convinced I would have been much happier at Kenyon or Swarthmore. We visited Ann Arbor and my son was tempted but not enough to bite. So far his LAC experience has been overwhelmingly positive. </p>
<p>(Having just read CLDad's account of his daughter's negative LAC experience, I stress they're not for everyone.)</p>
<p>And yes, the ED process is really schizophrenic. The applier is told to love his/her ED choice with all his/her heart and soul and at the same time steel his/herself for possible rejection. Very difficult for us oldsters skin thickened by years of rejection and almost impossible for a hormone driven teenager.</p>
<p>"the school where they invented the cough drop"</p>
<p>Please tell us which school we'll need to thank during cold & flu season!</p>
<p>We experienced four years of blank looks, and "Is that a girl's school" while D was at Swarthmore. I confess I fully expected that here in Tennessee. What counts is that when your D is at the school she will be among friends, and ALL of them will know what's what!</p>
<p>"the school where they invented the cough drop"</p>
<p>Please tell us which school we'll need to thank during cold & flu season!"</p>
<p>Smith (Bros.) of course.</p>
<p>Mother of Two,
Regarding GC's:
What on earth goes through these GC's minds? The latest remark from my son's GC was "Don't you think that school is too expensive? Most of your peers are applying to X or X. I know you'll get in to either of those." I wanted to go up to strangle him! Does he think we don't know the cost of a school? S is reconsidering and thinks he should apply to a state school to save us money--besides, so many of his classmates are going there.<br>
I wish your daughter success on her ED application--and tell her to listen to her heart.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. My daugher hasn't mentioned anything about these concerns in the past few days, and when I told her that I had read on an Internet Parent's discussion that a lot of other people had similar experiences, she seemed to think it was funny. I will be very relieved in a few weeks if she is accepted to the ED school and this is all over with.
To Chocolate: Both of my kids have expressed "guilty" feelings about being encouraged to apply to private colleges while many of their friends are only considering state schools. The guidance counselor also said something to me like what was said to your son, but not to my kids, as far as I know. I just tell my kids that education is a priority for us and also that one of the reasons I have worked since they were young is so that we could afford college. Also, I tell them that they have worked very hard in high school and that I am sure that they will take advantage of the opportunities given to them. Finally, I remind them that quite of few of their classmates left public school after 8th grade to attend private school, and we have saved a lot of money by sending them to public schools.</p>
<p>I have another "gripe" similar to Chocolate's story about the GC commenting on the price of the college. When my coworkers or other acquaintances learn that my son goes to Stanford, the most common remark is "How can you afford that?" or "He gets a scholarship, right?" Then I say that schools like that don't give academic scholarships, but they try to meet the financial need of everyone they admit, but people usually don't seem to quite get it. On the other hand, if someone else says their child goes to Lehigh or Bucknell or Lafayette or other such private schools, people just say "How nice. That's a good college" or whatever. In their minds, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, etc. cost orders of magnitude more than other private schools. I guess it shouldn't really bother me, I just find it tiresome after going through it numerous times.</p>
<p>The GC at my daughters school are quite different.
They are almost competitive about the numbers of "their" kids that are admitted to the Ivies or caltech/MIT/Stanford.
They also seem pretty well informed about the top LAcs or good state universities, but I am not as sure about their energy for kids who aren't going to Stanford or Princeton.
I am very happy so far with their dedication but at the same time I am glad mine is only in 9th grade!</p>
<p>While there is no excuse for rudeness, maybe the GC has had to deal with a few situations like those that played out last spring. Child gets into dream school, suddenly parents realize that there is no such thing as an Ivy League "scholarship", and they can't afford to pay and everyone is unhappy. Dealing with the fallout from that would leave a bad taste in your mouth.</p>
<p>Cangel,
That is exactly why anyone with money concerns should always apply to financial safeties and not go for ED. But, they should always apply to their dream schools, too because you just never know what will happen.</p>