<p>I also think that for many people “prestige” translates into “have I heard of it?”. </p>
<p>I know that when I looked at colleges with my parents 25 years ago, I took 2 trips with each parent. My mother, who would have done well on CC, carefully researched schools that aligned with what I said I wanted, my prospective major, and my scores. My father, on the other hand, took me to schools he had heard, primarily because they had football teams. The summer before my senior year he and I took a trip to look at colleges and visit family in Texas. I had high scores, and wanted a small secular school in an urban setting. My dad took me to see UT Austin (his alma mater), TAMU (where he threatened to disown me if I so much as applied), Oklahoma (same message as TAMU), Baylor, and SMU. I can remember my mother looking at him in amazement and asking “You drove all the way from Houston to Oklahoma, but it didn’t cross your mind to visit Rice?”</p>
<p>My dad wasn’t uneducated, he had 3 graduate degrees, one of them from Harvard. But it just didn’t occur to him that he needed to research colleges. </p>
<p>I think there are lots of parents who encourage their kids to apply to Harvard, not because they think they need the “best” but because they only think to look at schools that they know.</p>
<p>Snowflake’s dream was to attend the public HYP of the greater southeastern NW, but after a gaffe with her hook the only acceptance came from Podunk U. DD almost AP’d herself.</p>
<p>The term I’m sick of is “right match” or “right college”. Yes, of course, one should and will put some serious thought into which colleges to apply to… but frankly, a bright kid with a healthy attitude is probably going to do well at just about any decent college while a kid with significant issues will probably continue to have issues at Perfect U or Dream LAC. I’ve seen so many parents go to the ends of the earth (not to mention deeply in debt) to place their snowflake at the “right” college for him/her, only to have the kid drop out or transfer after a semester or a year. Other bright resiliant kids go to whichever college they can afford and do just great. Way too much emphasis on finding Soul Mate College!</p>
<p>OMG!!! I’ve been laughing my *** off this morning. Was beginning to wonder if I was the only person on earth who doesn’t have the world’s most perfect, high-scoring, over-achieving, gonna save-the-world child… </p>
<p>I have a typical, fashion-obsessed, texts-way-too-much, cares-way-more-about-her shoes-than-studying-for-a-test teenager who represents the other 90%!</p>
<p>In reference to small rural liberal arts colleges: “employers know the school” Maybe it’s because I’m from the West where the public schools reign supreme, but from my experience, most employers are not that far removed from the average person. I worked for engineers at UCI, a high level research university, and until a coworker told them about Harvey Mudd, they hadn’t heard of it. These are engineers who work an hour and a half away from the school, and they hadn’t heard of Harvey Mudd. What makes people think that the average employer is going to be familiar with Bates, Carleton, or Reed, when most people are only familiar with a few major research universities and some sports schools?</p>
<p>Oh, no list of insufferable terms should be complete without this gem:</p>
<p>Intellectualism </p>
<p>If it makes no sense at first, go check the pre-2010 Chicago forum, which just beat Duke’s and USC’s by a (small) nose for the most annoyingly obnoxious residents.</p>
<p>Those terms are just shorthand for longer descriptions. I don’t see any logic in hostility toward them. I see this site as a forum to share information better manage educational opportunities. I don’t see it as a competition, and I truly am saddened at any hint of bullying as sometimes seems to crop up. I’d look past terminology to understand what people are trying to say. As parent’s, our job is to support your children’s development and eventual success in being responsible, well-adjusted, contributing adults. If we spend our energy bickering or bashing each other instead, we’ve failed.</p>