The "real world" is SO different from the rarified world of CC!

Parent Cafe
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<p>The senior class of 179 at our public HS this year has members going to Brown, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, U Penn, Cornell (2), Williams, Emory, Johns Hopkins, Ithaca (2), Elon, Hamilton, Tufts, Bowdoin (3), Bates (2), Smith, Colby, Sarah Lawrence, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Stonehill (2), Kenyon, Villanova, Northeastern, RPI, Clark, Bryant, Providence, Miami, U Conn and a lot of other places I can’t recall. (They don’t publish a list until next year, so it’s all word of mouth. :slight_smile: )I only know of 2 kids going to the local CC, although there may be more. So far I haven’t heard of anyone going to the state U, although there must be some.</p>

<p>So it doesn’t look that much different from CC, to me. I should add that our state does not have an outstanding flagship university.</p>

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<p>Wow Consolation, that’s pretty impressive. I just added up the published info from our school and out of 141 graduates, we have a total of 89 with published college plans. Of those, 27 are going to a four-year in-state public, 13 to a four-year private, 10 to an out-of-state four-year public, 32 to community college, 6 military, 1 ‘other’. I’m actually a little dismayed to see it on paper…</p>

<p>And of the 13 going to a four-year private, there are a couple going to St. Lawrence University, one to Gettysburg, one to Wesleyan. The rest are ‘smaller’ schools, including a few in-state privates (but no Dartmouth).</p>

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<p>CC not real world to me. About 40% of sons class did not go to 4 year college. Almost 30% went to trade schools for auto mechanics, machinists, welders, plumbers, electricians, LPNs, etc. Many were aiming for internships in those fields.</p>

<p>Out of a class of about 500 they put 4 I know of into Ivy and a good chunk went to small LACS, mostly in the Washington, Oregon, or Minnesota. Most of the class went to the state U’s and a scattering to out of state publics.</p>

<p>Not a real surprise as the community is very blue collar with a large industrial base in oil refineries and other factories. One night my son would be at a very wealthy friend’s house and the next over at another friend’s trailer house. Frankly I think this was a good thing.</p>

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<p>I also did some research on this myself. I found this article:</p>

<p>[Community</a> College Enrollment Jumps - News](<a href=“http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/11/30/News/Community.College.Enrollment.Jumps-3125256.shtml]Community”>http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/11/30/News/Community.College.Enrollment.Jumps-3125256.shtml)</p>

<p>This year is the third consecutive year for breaking enrollment records in community colleges, and the first time in 21 years that enrollment increased in all of Connecticut’s 12 community colleges.</p>

<p>The growth of these schools can be attributed to multiple factors, least of which is the growing interest in higher education, said Mary Anne Cox, the assistant chancellor for the Connecticut Community College System.</p>

<p>“The demands of the economy of the thirty-first century require increased skills for entry-level jobs, global competition for the job market, and generally better opportunities and improved quality of life,” she said.</p>

<p>Cox also attributes increasing community college populations to families looking for more affordable education.</p>

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<p>My son’s school is a small public school in a relatively affluent New Jersey suburb, about 15 miles west of Manhattan. It’s been fairly consistently named as one of the top 10 public high schools in New Jersey, in the list that New Jersey magazine puts out annually. However, out of slightly more than 100 kids in his class, “only” 4 are going to Ivy League schools – one to Penn, one to Columbia, one to Cornell, and one to Brown. This was the first class in several years in which nobody was admitted to Harvard or Yale, although one student was waitlisted at each. (Neither ended up getting in.) However, based on what my son has told me, I’d say that about a third of the kids in the class are going to universities or liberal arts colleges that are well known, and/or highly ranked in USNWR; a total of 10 kids are going to schools ranked in USNWR’s top 15 universities or LAC’s.</p>

<p>In addition to one each at Penn, Columbia, Cornell, and Brown, one is going to the University of Chicago (that’s my son), one to Johns Hopkins (out of three who were admitted), one to Williams, one to Wellesley, one to Haverford, and one to Wesleyan. Other schools I know about where people are going include one to McGill, one to the University of Toronto, one to UCLA, one to UNC Chapel Hill, one to Brandeis, one to Boston College, one to Rochester, one to UC-Irvine, a couple to Syracuse, one to Tulane, one to Stevens Institute of Technology, one to Clark, three to Colgate, one to Oberlin, one to the United States Naval Academy, one to Colby, one to Bucknell, one to Kenyon, one to Boston University, one to Pittsburgh, one to Grove City, one to the University of New Hampshire, and one to the Rhode Island School of Design. And a number are going to Rutgers; I’m not sure how many. In terms of more local schools, I believe Montclair State is the choice for quite a few. I think the schools I’ve listed pretty much cover all the kids my son was friends with; if he’s told me about others, I don’t remember. So I don’t know about community colleges. I believe that out of the entire class, only two kids have no college plans at all. (Both had a history of drug problems.)</p>

<p>Donna0</p>

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<p>I’d like to than y’all for making it clear that my household doesn’t live in “the real world.” We spent a decade and a half convincing each D that she didn’t have to limit her choices to Teaching or Nursing or Housewife, and should she choose to attend college it had to be either State U or the local CC. In my defense, I have to say it makes me C-R-A-Z-Y when the local HS Sal chooses to attend Suffolk University simply because s/he was never encouraged to reach higher. (Apologies to all you Suffolk University grads, but you know what I mean.)</p>

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<p>Our school district is located on the fringe of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area. It is described as a “rural/suburban” school district, although the majority of adults are college-educated and commute to jobs in Albany, many with NYS government. There are only a half-dozen or so active farms left in our town. </p>

<p>Close to half of the kids my daughter will be graduating with in a couple of weeks will be attending community college. This is a rising trend in our area. In 2006 42% went to cc, in 2007 45% went the cc route. Of the remainder about 25% go to a 2 or 4-year SUNY, 10% go to an OOS public or lower tier private college, and 8% go to work or join the military. </p>

<p>Only the top 11 or 12 kids go to a school that would be recognized by most CCers. The top students this year went to Cornell (2), University of Rochester (2), RPI (2), Boston College, Tufts, Lafayette and Wellesley. </p>

<p>I’m not entirely sure what to make of the high percentage heading off to CC and the lack of interest in the many quality LACs located in the northeast. Our community is not wealthy, but the average income for the majority of households where two parents are working exceeds $100,000. Yet the children of many of these parents choose to room together in Troy or Albany and attend the local cc. I suspect the quality of the college counseling these kids get has something to do with it. </p>

<p>Anyway, from the perspective of my part of the universe CC is not of this world.</p>

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<p>jude_36, I should add that this year’s class is off the charts in regards to college acceptances at our school. Places that kids were accepted and turned down include Princeton, MIT, Pomona, Chicago, Carleton, U of Rochester, Carnegie Mellon, et al. And I forgot: one kid is going to Wesleyan and another is going to the Culinary Institute of America (I think that’s pretty impressive! :slight_smile: )</p>