<p>Congrats to everyone in this thread. You just got mentioned in the New York Times.</p>
<p>College</a> Admissions Advice - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com</p>
<p>It is a gem of a thread and such a breath of fresh air from the "which college is more prestigious" threads and "which colleges are over or under ranked!" My husband keeps asking me what I'm reading that is making me laugh out loud....</p>
<p>^^Correct. Everyone likes it because people in general and teenagers in particular giving foolish reasons for their actions is something every parent can identify with.</p>
<p>Thank you so much, New York Times! As the OP, I am proud that I sparked such a lively thread, but all of your contributions have made it what it is. Keep them coming!</p>
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<p>What schools have the best forward walking tour guides, school colors and mascots and friendly but not too aggressive squirrels? With no roads cutting through campus and no metal scrap yard on the way? Hopefully with absolute transparency but no history inflected architecture or swim test.</p>
<p>Have you seen this thread's counterpart on the College Admissions forum? :D
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/474179-whats-dumbest-reason-you-applied-didnt-apply-school.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/474179-whats-dumbest-reason-you-applied-didnt-apply-school.html</a></p>
<p>Did anyone read the first comment under the article, that barbara lady needs a dose of CC reality.</p>
<p>agreed that the comments in th NYT dont get the thread or this forum.</p>
<p>From a college fair D and I attended last night:</p>
<p>"The admissions rep.'s forehead was sweating, and he was shifty-eyed. I couldn't tell whether he had difficulty making eye contact or was staring at my chest."</p>
<p>"The rep. couldn't pronounce FAFSA to save her life. She also said "wif" for "with" and "aks" for "ask". Why did they choose her to represent their elite school? I mean, there are other people out there who can properly pronounce words."</p>
<p>"I can't go to that school because they kept saying how civic-minded they were."</p>
<p>And when we reviewed what few options then remained on her list, regarding one of the only keepers she said: "I can't go to that school. I just can't. They just recruited a runner who tripped me twice in the same race."</p>
<p>My guess is that the OP on the NYT thread hasn't gone through the college selection process with a kid yet.</p>
<p>I am sure you are right CD. Kind of like those logn ago abandoned "I will never..." comments most of us made about how we would raise our future children. "I will never give my kid a pacifier." "I will never nurse in public." etc. </p>
<p>GFG the shfty eyed sweaty comment made me lol, interrupting my class of students who are doing SSR :D</p>
<p>the oh-so-earnest and critical comments on the times piece have me laughing out loud (literally)
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I fail to understand how any parent can call their child’s reason “stupid.”
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<p>If I started listing some of the truly "stupid" reasons listed here (starting with myson's) I'm not sure I would know where to start.</p>
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The parents may not agree with the thought process, but that’s the time for them to keep their mouths shut and support their kids. How dare they undermine the most important decision their kids will have had to make up to that point in time by creating an adversarial relationship and shaking their confidences.
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<p>I bet most of us did keep out mouths shut (if we could shut said mouths before the laughter escaped). G*d forbid I shake my kid's confidence by laughing at something truly funny! It is SOOO important that we all take ourselves seriously all the time.</p>
<p>I just figure that those posting at the NYT did not read the thread.:D</p>
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<p>I agree. I laughed as I read the pompous replies on the NYT site too. Get a sense of humor for goodness sake. Any parent who is helping to shepherd their child on numerous college tours during their exploration of college options most certainly understands the importance of the process. Pity the parents who don't laugh with their children over life's silliness.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But the worst part of these parent comments is they are imposing their own judgments on their children. If they really wanted them to succeed, they would support the decision their child wanted to make regarding choice of university. The parents may not agree with the thought process, but thats the time for them to keep their mouths shut and support their kids. How dare they undermine the most important decision their kids will have had to make up to that point in time by creating an adversarial relationship and shaking their confidences.
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<p>Nowhere in any of the posts in this thread did a parent impose their own judgment in response to a seemingly silly reason for rejecting a school. I don't recall reading any post that created an adversarial relationship because of the large squirrels, strange mascots, odd colors, over-dressed or under-dressed tour guides, or any other of the humorous reasons for rejection that have been mentioned. This lady needs to take it down a notch! I keep coming back to this thread just to read the next reason for rejection!</p>
<p>My favorite color is blue. It was really ironic that my final 5's main colors were blue. Maybe something subconsciously was going on in my mind, but I swear it was not intentional!! lol</p>
<p>I have loved this thread it gave me something to laugh at.</p>
<p>"I can't go to that school because they kept saying how civic-minded they were."</p>
<p>What's wrong with driving a Honda?</p>
<p>I've always known that NYT readers are arrogant and ignorant, but I'd forgotten how humorless and self-important they are.</p>
<p>So please don't feel offended by their stupid cruelties. Consider the source.</p>
<p>yeah., well.....except that I am a NYT reader!
Please love me anyway.</p>
<p>Drove through Stanford with D after visiting Santa Clara U. First, she noted that the architecture looked like Taco Bell compared to Santa Clara. She was totally turned off because the department she was interested in was located next to the electrical substation.
"Everyday I would spend walking from my Taco Bell dorm past the substation to my department." When we finally reached the impressive front entrance of campus with the Date Palms lining the entry and huge fountain, she noted that the "nice" area was probably only for liberal arts students. LOL, when a year later she went to Vanderbilt campus and saw the same substation next to her department. (Her department of choice is EE). Those substations saved H and me lots of $$$!</p>