<p>I agree. Again, you are heading off to a stressful environment at the age of 17 or 18. You will have a new support system (or not a very good one), and you really do not know what that is going to be like until you actually experience it. The stress at some schools can cause kids to transfer out after freshman year, feel demoralized or fail. The school must be a good fit for the STUDENT, not the parent. Disregard the label of the school for a bit and really look at whether your child would thrive on a day-to-day basis. This is different for each child (and can sometimes be determined by the physical environment). Bright gifted students will be able to thrive in many environments; watch for the outside stressors that can be disappointing during the first year (are the professors' office hours good? Is the school known for being a party school? Is it a safe campus (surrounding city), are there healthy things to do with your down time? etc., will you be able to fly home for the holidas, etc) The thrill of being accepted to a "reach school" is fun, and is a reflection of your hard work and talent; however, remeber that you are a consumer in the college search, and you should shop carefully- decide where you will feel most comfortable and be able to pursue the major you are most interested in.</p>
<p>Well put islanddad---</p>
<p>My daughter chose Bucknell over Cornell, which was a courageous move to turn down an ivy. She never warmed to the Cornell atmosphere, even on admitted students day. I really hope that her instincts were right, and your post gave me a bit more confidence -thanks.</p>
<p>This may be backing things up a bit, but I have to plug Brown here. This was the only school I applied to (accepted ED), and I know for certain that I would not be happy anywhere else, no matter what U.S. News may have to say about my school's rank.</p>
<p>What should matter is the student's fit with the school, not just an arbitrary numberical ranking, and I guess this could seem like a pretty stupid decision to make for someone who is more concerned with prestige or bragging rights than the actual quality of their college experience.</p>
<p>There are many "bad decisions" in here that are</p>
<p>1) Made of no knowledge of the reasoning of the decision</p>
<p>2) made in hindsight, such as one saying "grandfather turned down Navy to go to school, drafted 4 years later"</p>
<p>3) Made in the assumption that one's major or fit is universal.</p>
<p>lol cmon now. Going to Brown is never ever a bad decision if it's your fit.</p>
<p>I have friends that turned down Brown for:</p>
<p>Columbia,
Vassar,
Wesleyan,
Swartmore,
Grinnell,
Bryn Mawr,
Oberlin,
Smith,
Haverford,
Reed,
Whitman,
Wellesley,
Carleton,
Mt. Holyoke,
Amherst,
Sarah Lawrence,
Skidmore,
UC-Santa Cruz,
UWisconsin,
UCLA,
UTexas,
UMichigan,
UNC-Chapel Hill,</p>
<p>and OTHERS...</p>
<p>They did this because of fit. They used their knowledge of themselves to chose schools. Many started the process with Brown at the top of their lists, but it fell over time because of research and personal preferences of each individual. IF Brown is less of a FIT than other schools an applicant has gotten into, WHY would one chose Brown?</p>
<p>Isleboy,</p>
<p>how do you know 1) that many students who turned down brown in the first place (as half who are accepted at Brown will actually enroll - so you should know 46 people TOTAL who were accepted to Brown), and 2) how/why do you know ALL of the schools they went to in the end?</p>
<p>My schools valedictorian got accepted into harvard, but decided to go to delaware with a full scholarship, only if I had the chance</p>
<p>The greatness of Brown is not my point! I do believe that it's the right idea to turn down any school (yes, even Brown) because of fit. My point is that I'm here for the school and not for the name. "Elite" as Brown may be, I have been looked down on for choosing the "easy Ivy", in the words of a classmate. My post was in response to an earlier one that suggested that turning down the HYPs for Brown ranked as a "stupid college decision made by smart kids"- a characterization that really can't be made strictly by name.</p>
<p>My schools saludictorian went to devry im not kidding</p>
<p>How do these four year old threads keep getting pulled up??</p>
<p>3 people in the top 10 of my class (out of around 500 students) applied to ONLY Ivies + our state school, NO in between. They were ALL rejected from every Ivy they applied and will be attending our state flagship this fall.</p>
<p>A guy 3 years ago was accepted at MIT, Harvard, and Stanford. He chose to go to Harvard. What was he thinking?</p>
<p>^ Nothing at all. I bet it was a Hahvahd-prestige impulse decision.</p>
<p>Some pretty funny variations of the word ‘salutatorian’ in this thread.</p>
<p>Anyway a girl from my kids’ hs chose Marywood College (University?) in Scranton, PA over Bryn Mawr. She played a sport, and I’m sure that (plus $) were the deal breakers, but still. Odd choice to begin with.</p>
<p>If someone prefers the “lesser” school, than I don’t think its a stupid college decision. It’s all about the “fit”, isn’t it?</p>
<p>The #3 in my daughter’s class applied early to Pitt. Got into the Honors College and that at point she thought they would give her a lot of money to attend. They did not. It’s a state school and let’s face it the jocks get the scholarships at a school like Pitt. She’s now going to a nearby state college. She probably could have received merit aid from better lacs like Franklin & Marshall, Muhlenberg, etc. The guidance office really did not help this girl at all.</p>
<p>My sister turned down Stevens full-ride for Rutgers full-ride with sat 2380 (without studying), 5s on all APs, and a perfect gpa. I don’t understand her, but hey, at least money isn’t as big of a deal for me now. Right?</p>
<p>
That girl was foolish to assume that she would get a non-guaranteed scholarship, but Pitt does offer academic merit scholarships.</p>
<p>[University</a> of Pittsburgh: Undergraduate Admissions & Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/universityschlrs.aspx]University”>Office of Admissions and Financial Aid | University of Pittsburgh)</p>
<p>^^^ U Pitt would be something like $27K in-state. Muhlenburg’s cost is $45K and you are capped at $20K merit so that’s basically the same price as Pitt. F&M is $48K. There’s not a whole lot of merit aid info and the average scholarship is around $11K. F&M does meet need so that MIGHT have helped your daughter’s friend.</p>