<p>Liberal arts, state flagship</p>
<p>My personal least favorite is “top” college. What does that even mean? Top of what?</p>
<p>Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. How about some replacement terms that might be more helpful?</p>
<p>I like to use the term “highly selective” to describe schools that are difficult to get in. I can’t think of a better term for “hook,” which describes something real.</p>
<p>“lottery school” - It sounds like a backhanded slam to the kids who actually did get accepted.</p>
<p>“Holistic”
[10char]</p>
<p>@hunt To me, and it looks like others here, it’s not so much the words but how people use them (ie throw them around). Highly selective is fact-based; you can’t argue with admissions stats. But top to you and prestigious to me could mean many different things. This is all in jest to blow off steam during this incredibly stressful time. But I personally hate the way the admissions process has become all about name and stat dropping. The best school for any child is the one that makes them the happiest.</p>
<p>“ranking”/“rank” – as if it’s all important
“tippy top” – a bit too cutesy, no?
“elite”/“prestigious” – I usually use quotation marks when I post</p>
<p>Along these lines, when someone is considering schools X and Y and wants advice, the worst response is “go to X, because it is more prestigious/ranks more highly than Y”.</p>
<p>Osserpusser – How true.</p>
<p>I agree-tippy top is too cutesy. Also don’t like “snowflakes.”</p>
<p>Hate snowflakes! Hate “helicopter parents.” Also hate oft-repeated dismissive comments like “first world problems.”</p>
<p>“My personal least favorite is “top” college. What does that even mean? Top of what?”</p>
<p>Top of the heap.</p>
<p>" Legacy "</p>
<p>I don’t really hate any of those - my pet peeve is, “WE’VE applied to…”</p>
<p>I do hate many of those words but I TOTALLY agree with the “we’ve applied” WHAT??? I guess there are a bunch of 40 somethings going back to college!!!</p>
<p>‘directional state’ - ‘vocational’ - ‘remedial English’ - ‘used car’</p>
<p>This is one of the top threads on this prestigious site.</p>
<p>Elite and prestigious are definately at the top of my hit parade. “AP” is getting up there.</p>
<p>I’m ok with AP. It means something - or at least I know to what it refers. The one that gets me? Pre-AP. Huh? College board found another way to make money and control curriculum?</p>
<p>Hunt, I suggest “crochet” to replace hook. </p>
<p>Nothing like introducing a bit of French to make it sound more prestigious and more elitist. </p>
<p>And, as an added bonus, crochet is not usually paired with “bait.”</p>
<p>“Passion”</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with a passion, but I think it’s incredibly overused.</p>
<p>“crap shoot” Sounds nasty and low life. And like the almost-as-annoying phrase “lottery school,” suggests that the kids who got in the desirable schools were just lucky or somehow played dirty.</p>