<p>Some of the people here don’t understand what the concept of college is, its a place to mature academically, intellectually, and socially and oftentimes the ranking in the USNWR isn’t an indicator of how well a college will prepare students for the world by helping them to mature. It’s about fit, its about being at a place where you’re challenged but not overwhelmed, where you can compete for research oppurtunities with professors and for spots in programs like Phi Beta Kappa, etc. You don’t wanna be in a place where oppurtunities such as research are inaccessible because you’re overwhelmed, but you also don’t want to be a shoo-in for these positions. I’d rather go to USC or Boston College than go to Yale, but thats because those schools are better suited to allow me to grow as a student and as a person.</p>
<p>White Rabbit, you shouldn’t throw around insults like “ignorant” without doing your homework. Now, when someone offers quantifiable data, you are the one now that looks the fool. Take a look here</p>
<p>Dartmouth went from an average GPA of 2.2-3.4 in 40 years. Are the students THAT much better prepared now at Dartmouth than they were 40 or 50 years ago. No way
[Dartmouth</a> College GPA Trends](<a href=“http://gradeinflation.com/dartmouth.html]Dartmouth”>http://gradeinflation.com/dartmouth.html)</p>
<p>the University of Chicago- 2.5 to.26 in 30 years due to grade inflation.
[University</a> of Chicago GPA Trends](<a href=“http://gradeinflation.com/chicago.html]University”>http://gradeinflation.com/chicago.html)</p>
<p>Duke- 2.79 to 3.37 in 32 years
[Duke</a> University GPA Trends](<a href=“http://gradeinflation.com/duke.html]Duke”>http://gradeinflation.com/duke.html)</p>
<p>Nation wide agorgate
[Levine</a> and Cureton GPA Survey](<a href=“http://gradeinflation.com/nation2.html]Levine”>Levine and Cureton GPA Survey)</p>
<p>And don’t try to give me this BS about the students being better now than they were then because all of the empirical data shows that the quality of our high schools is decreasing. It got so bad that 10 years ago the college board had to “re-center” the SAT scores because scores were drifting down. Therefore if you want to compare SAT scores today to those in the 1980’s, you need to subtract ~100 points from your score to get an apples to apples. So, there, even the SAT’s have been inflated. The proof is there. You don’t have to believe me but that don’t make it so. in fact, Princeton has recognized this for a while and has taken steps to combat it.</p>
<p>So…you toss around “ignorant” but the irony is that you use the word as a function of your own ignorance.</p>
<p>uh I would disagree with that. OP</p>
<p>How about, going to a school where your friend(s) are going to? That’s the biggest mistake and stupid act of one person because what are you saying to yourself? “Oh I just like to tag along because my friend(s) is going.” what a Loser. Sorry, I just met too many people who are like that. Why go to a school because your friend is going? why not go for yourself.</p>
<p>It helps to start college with a friend, especially if you’re travelling across the country to go to college in a completely new environment. It provides emotional security and helps with homesickness. Obviously that shouldn’t be the reason you choose a college, but if your choice is a close one that would definitely be a factor to consider. </p>
<p>Back to the OPs point, I think I would do better as barely in the top fourth. That would be enough to motivate me- the competition and trying to stay on top, but also enough so that I could do well with grades and stand out to professors.</p>
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<p>So you’re basically saying good students go into math/sci and ‘less academic’ ones into humanities?</p>
<p>The biggest mistake you can make is going somewhere based on prestige alone. I did that, out of HS (think HYP prestige) and HATED it. I felt like I wouldn’t be a good fit, but told myself I couldn’t turn this school down. Well, a year later, I was turning it down (with a smile on my face).</p>
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<p>Oh, please. Speaking as a student, we are intelligent enough to make decisions for ourselves. We’re young adults, not 7-year-olds who need our parents to bicker that they love their kid more because they baked the bake-sale cookies from scratch unlike the other lousy parents who bought their stuff from the store.</p>
<p>Maybe WE decide that you know what, massive debt for a 22 year old doesn’t sound appealing. Maybe we decide that we want our parents to retire on time and live somewhere they enjoy and not worry about crippling debt. Maybe we decide that our younger siblings (who might not be fortunate enough to get money somewhere) should have a choice of schools, too. Maybe we decide based on any number of things that are none of your business. </p>
<p>Don’t make this into an issue of who loves their kid more, and who is a lousy parent. That’s dishonest. Where to go to college is a family decision, and it’s not your business.</p>
<p>This message might sound harsh. I intend it to. I choose to attend a less competitive school with a scholarship, and it insults me that as an outsider observer you would assume that my parents don’t love me enough. Please don’t make such nasty assumptions about parents love for their children. I hope I am speaking for students who made the decision to go to expensive schools and ones who didn’t (both options are valid personal decisions) in saying that is insulting and completely inappropriate.</p>
<p>I agree and disagree – I know I’m somewhere in the top quartile at my current college and I’ve stretched A LOT. I’ve grown a lot as an individual, but that was mostly through my major (Women’s Studies) and having classes that make me think about issues that I hadn’t thought about before. I’ve completely changed gears since coming to college.</p>
<p>With that said, I’m still (kind of sort of maybe?) transferring colleges. There are many other reasons, but being bored to tears academically hasn’t helped matters much :/</p>
<p>I completely disagree. I’m in the top 5% or so of my college. However, I have no doubt that I will be able to stretch my mind and “expand its horizons.” First of all, it highly depends on what programs your school offers. Even if you are in the top 10-50 percentage of students at your school, you can still get just as much learning done. Ask anyone in an honors college at any large state university. I guarantee you that most are learning plenty much, and are not “wasting their minds.” More than anything, I’m sure that it has to do more with a person’s ability/willingness to search for what they want. If you want to be intellectually stimulated, you have to seek out all the opportunities available to make this become so. Maybe I’m naive, but I refuse to believe that this is not true. It’s not about being “intimidated” of reaching for higher goals. And its not just about money, believe it or not</p>
<p>“Regarding the money issue…what I have seen are lots of parents with upside-down priorities. They make their poor kid commute to a community college but what were they doing for the prior 18 years? They overspent on a house, vacations, cars, clothes, entertainment, and so on. They lived above their means. I feel sorry for their kids. They have lousy parents. What should be more important than your kid? Nothing. Even then, what’s wrong with taking out a parent PLUS loan? It’s your child’s future for crying out loud. Parents who love their children will find a way…”</p>
<p>Bull. First of all, my parents do not live above their means at all. They started from nothing and have built up everything with their hard work and effort. Does this mean that they should spend every penny on sending me to a school that would make them bankrupt? Heck no. Yes, my parents would rather me go to my state u (a piece of crap, if you ask me, which I’m thankfully not going to). But they still love me, even though they choose not to give me their entire life savings. I’m fine with that!! The only people who agree with your above statement are the kids whose parents are willing to go bankrupt for their kids (incredibly stupid) or those who have far too much already. Have YOU ever taken out a parent PLUS loan? Have YOU ever had to pay it ALL back yourself? If not, you don’t get to say ANYTHING with such authority</p>
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Totally. But I think you’re being very hyperbolic by implying that not going to the “best” (whatever that means) school you can get into = a wasted mind. A wasted mind is someone who doesn’t even go to college (or graduate high school…or go to high school…) because of difficult finical or family situations, embarrassingly bad public schools, drug addiction, etc. Going to State U instead of Harvard is not wasting your mind. People who want to learn can learn at any school. Heck, there are (smart!) people who “somehow” manage to get good educations at community colleges, if needs be.</p>
<p>And yes, choosing to go to a school SPECIFICALLY because you know you can get by without being challenged there is a bad thing, because that would suggest that you won’t take advantages of what that school has to offer. But that’s an attitude thing, not a school thing…someone can go to Harvard and not work very hard or learn much and scrape by with just-passing grades, just as they could go to Crappy Local U and not work very or learn much and get by with perhaps somewhat better grades. But a motivated person who went to Crappy Local U for whatever reason could find a way to stretch their minds…if not in class, than through independent study, working with profs, etc.</p>
<p>Even crappy state U’s challenge students who wish to be challenged.</p>
<p>Going to any college solely based on prestige.</p>
<p>The biggest mistake you can make is…</p>
<p>…allowing everyone on this site to make your decisions for you.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong;–you will receive a lot of great (and sometimes not so great) advice on here. But in the end, the decision of where to go to college, what you (and your parents can afford), what to major in, whether to take an extra difficult class, to retake an SAT test, to go overseas to study, to join a fraternity or sorority, or to go into a certain career is YOUR CHOICE. This is only as it should be, since in the end, ONLY YOU will suffer the advantages or disadvantages of those choices.</p>
<p>Therefore, you should listen to the advice people give on here, but then judge it against your own views and opinions, and determine how appropriate it is for you. Keep in mind that what works for the majority may be the completely wrong thing for you personally. For example, dropping out of Harvard seems like a pretty stupid decision if done by most people, but it worked out just fine for Bill Gates. Going to Cal State Long Beach instead of USC to study film seems like a strange choice, but it worked out fine for Steven Spielberg. </p>
<p>The second biggest mistake you can make is…
…letting your parents tell you which school you should apply to without being allowed to give any input of your own in the decision. This is a sure recipe for ending up at a school that you hate–and for later hating your parents for the choices relative to your college and your career that you were never allowed to make at a young age.</p>
<p>The biggest mistake is not seeing the whole picture. It has to be a good intellectual experience, but also a time of social growth, and career preparation on some level. I understand your point, collegehelp, but your advice isn’t that practical. With the rejection rates at the “top” schools, many people cannot get into a school in which they would be in the bottom half. The top schools do not have a monopoly on intellectual stimulation. Other schools teach the same things and have professors as inspiring and the odd gem who is more so. Your public library and bookstores contain the same books, and that neighbor down your street just might want to discuss them. It’s more about you than the school.</p>
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<p>That’s basically what I meant :D</p>
<p>Biggest Mistakes:
Number 4: Picking a school that forces you to incur a lot of debt.
Number 3. Choosing a school that either doesn’t have your major or is weak in your selections of possible majors.</p>
<p>Number 2: Not knowing yourself: If you can thrive at a big school great. If not or if you need more personal attention, going to large school can be a killer.</p>
<p>Number 1…drum roll… NOT having a REAL Safety school.</p>
<p>Well said Taxguy! I’d just reverse the order of things, but otherwise completely agree with your list.</p>
<p>Family values can be a greater hindrance to success in life than natural ability. The mentality that discounts academic achievement and education is passed on through families. It isn’t exactly genetic but it might as well be genetic.</p>
<p>The families that “can’t afford” the best college for their kids, despite all the financial aid available, are probably the same families that couldn’t afford books, museum memberships, visits to historical sites, plays, musicals, orchestral concerts, educational toys, and so on. So, their kids have no clue about the value of going to a good college because they have been immersed in the blue-collar value system all their lives. How do you break the cycle?</p>
<p>I have known many kids who showed promise early but then faded.</p>
<p>Kids should be surrounded all their lives with an environment that encourages achievement, and that imparts a fascination and curiosity about the world around them. </p>
<p>"What happens to a dream deferred?</p>
<p>Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?</p>
<p>Or fester like a sore–
and then run?</p>
<p>Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?</p>
<p>Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load</p>
<p>Or does it just explode?"
-Langston Hughes</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^^
This post is elitist on so many levels. Did it ever occur to you that someone can actually be successful AND blue collar? Or that someone can be “cultured” and be a failure or be ostensibly successful but internally miserable. What does being “diversified” and “cultured” have to do with success? For that matter, knowing about arts and orchestras are generally feminine things. What if a blue collar guy likes cars and grows up to make 100K managing or owning his garage? What if you were raised a farmer and wanted to graduate high school and go work on the farm? You are an avid Kool Aid drinker and you don’t even realize your sanctimoniousness do you?</p>
<p>i agree to an extent , and this is funny =]</p>
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<p>Practical parents relegate their children to lives of mediocrity and monotony. They know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.</p>