<p>Having skimmed the past few pages, I am very happy to see all these acceptances. Congratulations to all of you!!! Keep 'em coming :)</p>
<p>I wish you all the best on Thursday :D</p>
<p>Waitlisted at Colby (lol, what the…? That was one of my safeties) and denied at Pomona. Can’t wait for Thursday to get over. :S</p>
<p>Fellow Desis,</p>
<p>Congratulations to those of you that got accepted in your dream school. For those of you who did not get accepted/waitlisted best of luck. </p>
<p>@Tizil, you need to get an award for participation+contribution+advice, best of luck.</p>
<p>PS: Did anybody get in Davidson with substantial aid?</p>
<p>WOAH!! Everyone’s indeed on a roll! Welcome to everyone new, and CONGRATULATIONS to you all for the wonderful acceptances! 
I’ve been rejected from Wellesley and Vassar so far, not holding out much hope anywhere else :’(</p>
<p>Time for some fun</p>
<p>By the way for all who have UChicago on their list, the saying about this place is " where fun goes to do". Don’t know how true it is though.</p>
<p>Spotted in a comment left by ELLEMBEE on the New Yorker article, “Chicago, Where Fun Comes to Die” Sarcasm at its finest.</p>
<p>should read some more funny ones here…
[Urban</a> Dictionary: university of chicago](<a href=“http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=university%20of%20chicago]Urban”>Urban Dictionary: university of chicago)</p>
<p>Three more things that got missed out in the college 'Gyaan",</p>
<p>The roommate equation - Will not know till you actually live with one. And big factor in how you start your day everyday and how it affects your psyche. Big Lottery.</p>
<p>Procrastination - the biggest deal breaker in the whole process of academics, especially when you are covering 10-16 Chapters in 32 Lectures. The pace is fast and the amount of study material is huge.</p>
<p>Food- when you are sick for the first time and crave for ‘Dal-chawal’, I as a mom can tell you the feeling of helplessness and then you thank God that children are in a place where all food is at hand for delivery.</p>
<p>
Still think you are very brave to send your 18 year old to NY 
hope she is doing well. No other family around there?
And yes, urban dictionary is funny…check out other universities too…v funny.</p>
<p>^^ you are soo right! Why would anyone want to go to a rotten place like Chicago when one has the option to go to a place full of kids with similar traits and a well rounded student body? There is nothing more attractive than the stately haciendas along El Camino Real. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Thank you fall2016parent.</p>
<p>She is surviving, so far so good. But I always heard from others that Freshman year is tough, nobody defined it for me though. My D was ready when we sent her, she has this huge independence and maturity as part of her personality but I will say had we known what I know now, she would have had a much less stress, and got things rolling much earlier and faster. But like they say ‘you learn to cross the bridge when you come to it’. You can be all prepared but you have to innovate because the bridge is different each time. I think that is what growing up is all about.</p>
<p>Life skill learning is phenomenal. For eg went to UPenn for UPMUN and on her return missed the bus. Sat in the hotel lobby, redid the ticket booking, and shared with us only after reaching back in the dorm. Said ‘ma did not want to panic you’. On her way back home on winter break, travelling all by herself, with a changeover in Dubai, lost her Boarding Pass at NY airport and managed to get a new one issued. Came home and then told us the ‘story’. The day of travel was her birthday and she went from 17 year old we sent to college in August to 18 year old coming home for winter break.</p>
<p>So many wonderful tit bits, makes one feel good about their decisions. Yes, college is tough, the academics are tough, the classmates are super competitive, the ‘Stern Curve’ is a killer but the whole package is awesome, some great friends and Professors and advisors and Counsellors and eminent Speakers, the opportunities, the environment, the balancing act, all in all, definitely worth every penny.</p>
<p>But thanks for asking. And I want to be able to share all this because it would have been great if they were spelled out for me. Everybody talks in general terms though-the challenge of first year in college 7000 miles away from home. So I am happy I am able to translate it and share for what it actually is.</p>
<p>anialways - I totally agree. I hope the kids here are taking note but I think it will be like “crossing the bridge when they get to it”.
Chubbycheeks - Chicago is actually a great city…and there is enough indian food there…and a mecca for other cuisines as well. It is the cold weather really that would set me off.</p>
<p>@anialways…Geez…I feel for you. I used to live in NY…would have loved to help if I was there. …I can totally relate…I went through some of those experiences as a graduate student and it was still tough for me. I will try to pm you…</p>
<p>Nope, No family around. Though do have a few great friends from our school and college days and some wonderful folks from office.</p>
<p>
Maybe it depends on person to person. I, for one do not miss daal-chawal, rajma or paranthas. My sister on the other hand, can’t stand Belgian salads and fries and stuff :p</p>
<p>Tizil</p>
<p>My D is a pure non-veg, can handle and enjoys any World food, that is not an issue. But what I was trying to tell you is a situation when one is sick and craving for some light, hot and fresh home-made meal/soup and somebody to serve you in bed. The luxury of home which one remembers during those times.</p>
<p>By the way at home she totally detested ‘Daal-Chawal’. Yup people change and so do the ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’.</p>
<p>fallparent
'I have also heard of students who will get into Computer Science at CMU or Berkeley but then can’t handle the pressure and work load. As someone said, the good students from the US are really really good…(forget the part that Indian education is harder…) '</p>
<p>Oh yes, absolutely agree with you on that.</p>
<p>They are very Good, they are Smart, very Independent early on, and they are athletic and have great dietary habits. So they do have stamina to outlast the ‘skinny’ Indians, the attitude to outlast the ‘overprotective’ Indians , also have lesser restrictions and more acceptance at home regarding their lifestyles choices, in terms of an earlier exposure and access to Alcohol and driving a car and being in and handling relationships, so they step into college with an advantage of a different category. Most of them have also held some kind of jobs and earning their own pocket money since High School and so are very self-sufficient and money-wise. Also they are very involved in their community and bring that perspective along too.</p>
<p>Before applying to the UC’s, I requested information on Gap-year admissions, and was told that these are extremely rare since admitting gap-year students is against the UC policies (got their reply a day after submitting my app). I therefore, did not bother sending any TOEFL scores, but was pleasantly surprised when I got an acceptance. What is bothering me is the fact that my acceptance might have been a mistake. </p>
<p>Should I call UCLA to confirm my acceptance?</p>
<p>Congratulations to you. </p>
<p>Now, Come on steer your attitude in positive direction. I am absolutely sure you have the accurate decision in your hand. I highly doubt, in fact believe it impossible to be otherwise. </p>
<p>Go to the website and confirm with your credentials one more time and take out a printout and celebrate.</p>
<p>And even more cool thing to do would be to send your enrollment confirmation and be done away with all confusion, if this is what you want.</p>
<p>I believe you are misinformed of the UC policies on the subject.
My roommate is a gap year student who is thriving at Berkeley. I also have a couple of seniors that come to mind, who had taken a year off after high school.
Your acceptance is thoroughly deserved which I want to congratulate you on and I wish you well for wherever you end up going.</p>
<p>@anialways Thanks for the moral boost, I am probably just fretting for no reason.</p>
<p>@YeahImThatGuy Thanks for the clarification. Wish you well as well.</p>
<p>
Hmm…there are quite a few faltering teenagers here …not to scare anyone, but a lot of kids go crazy here as well. You know, the freedom of alcohol and fraternities. It is of concern to a lot of parents here. Recently a Berkeley Freshman died, he was intoxicated and trying to scale down a pipe or something. Alcohol (and yes drugs) is a major major factor here (and right from high school). And some get it, and some don’t. (The legal drinking age is 21 here, and I think there are legal consequences for underage drinking…)</p>
<p>
Yes, this I agree. Most seniors at high school drive to school themselves. Of course, this brings the other ill effects of teen driving accidents…but if everyone is doing it, they want to do it. And I think it is important to realize that some have the act together but a lot don’t (in some ways, peer pressure is worse here). High school is really tough on american teens…but some get out of it better than others. In some ways, the indian high school is sheltered but many need that. As for the parents here, we hope that our upbringing will give them the ability to make the right choices :)</p>
<p>Oh and as for relationships, what can I say (shaking my head). Again some learn from it, some are totally not ready for it (I still see those posts…“I want to go to that school…because my boyfriend will be there”…) And then there are the extreme cases of runaways/suicides due to failed relationships…(Sorry I sound a little bitter…but when I hear these news stories, I think Indian high schools are better in a lot of ways).</p>