Vicious Cycle of College Application!

Parents Forum
1

<p>I just recieved a college list for my D from her CC and all the colleges she could have gone to have been put as dream colleges including
Major: Engineering
Ivies + SMC + NW + Duke + U of Chicago + GeorgeTown + JHU + UCB + UCLA</p>

<p>Providing the following as matches
CMU,Emory,NYU,Rice,USC,UCSD,Tufts, WU St. Louis, Bucknell, Lehigh</p>

<p>and Safeties as
Boston Univ, Case Western, Penn State, Univ of Rochester
and Universities I never heard of like
Drexel, Muhlenberg, Northeastern, RPI, SIT, Syracuse, Trinity, Uni of Maryland</p>

<p>and is asking us to pick 4 from each by end of summer.</p>

<p>Now won't this make the scene even bad for students next year.
This year was bad that doesn't mean students/CC loose all confidence and start to apply more cautiously. </p>

<p>Won't it cause more problem next year?
We always thought the following colleges as matches for our D
NW + Duke + U of Chicago + GeorgeTown + JHU + UCB + UCLA</p>

<p>and following as safeties
NYU,Rice,USC,UCSD,Tufts,Bucknell, Lehigh</p>

<p>What to do now? Apply to all the reaches that will make it
17 reaches
6 matches
3 safeties</p>

<p>26 Colleges.</p>

<p>Isn't it insane?</p>

2

<p>First choose one safety, apply to it as early as possible (nonrestrictive EA or rolling admission is best), and then consider all the rest of the colleges "reaches" and apply just to those that are most interesting. If you can make some nonrestrictive early action applications (as some of the colleges listed above allow), then you can get a read on chances when early round decisions are announced.</p>

3

<p>As your CC knows, the "Ivies" and UCB and UCLA are not matches for anyone -- but your daughter may well be admitted to one or more.</p>

4

<p>You must have an exceptional daughter.</p>

5

<p>Are Yale, Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard, Georgetown good for engineering?</p>

6

<p>Well, if she is planning to major in some form of engineering, cross the University of Chicago off the list. They don't offer it. I don't think that Georgetown is particularly known for it either. I don't know what "SMC" is.</p>

<p>Some of the places you say you haven't heard of are excellent schools, especially for tech types, notably the University of Rochester, RPI, and Northeastern (And probably others. I think of Syracuse for writing, but that doesn't mean that's all it excels in.) I don't know which Trinity you are referring to. I'm assuming that SIT is Stevens? Not a place I would gravitate to, but I believe it has a good rep in engineering. The U of MD seems to be a very competitive state school these days.</p>

7

<p>It's really weird that all of the Ivies are of interest, as they are so different in terms of college culture. I wonder if you're just impressed by the name Ivy, as your screen name suggests?
As for your match list of NU, Duke, UChicago, Georgetown, JHU, Berkeley and UCLA, I don't think they are really matches anyway, they are reaches for pretty much anyone.</p>

<p>But these experiences are all so different. What's her criteria, other than being enamored with the US News rankings?</p>

8

<p>Why would you apply to some of those schools for engineering?</p>

9

<p>SMC = Stanford MIT Caltech? (just a guess)</p>

<p>This list is just so prestige-laden - it doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason, esp for someone who has a particular interest in engineering.</p>

10

<p>redundant...sorry.</p>

<p>Well, first of all, if she wants to major in engineering you can take Chicago off the list. There is no engineering. And few, if any of the schools on your initial match list should ever be considered matches by anyone because of their selectivity. The way to whittle that "possible" list down is to look at more than the name of the school. Each of the 8 Ivy league schools have their own personality, and Duke, Northwestern and Chicago do as well...not to mention UCLA and UCB. Most initial lists prepared by college counselors include a broad range of schools that will be whittled down once the student begins visiting, both virtually and in person, and determining what about each school appeals or doesn't appeal to them.</p>

11

<p>Yale just started an engineering school, so if you want to go to Yale and want an easier in, apply Yale engineering.</p>

12

<p>If she's really interested in engineering, why isn't UIUC on the list?</p>

13

<p>Are you made of money? Applying to college is not cheap. </p>

<p>As well as time consuming.</p>

<p>Consider trimming the list to 10.</p>

<p>So you don't go insane.</p>

14

<p>It's my understanding that Harvard is trying to bolster its engineering programs these days also.</p>

<p>Anyway, what do you mean by "engineering"? Chemical? Civil? Aerospace? Software? Just to name a few. i would drop a lot of the schools on the list and add MIT and Harvey Mudd.</p>

15

<p>Well, judging by the OP's past threads, he/she is obsessed with getting their D into an Ivy-- any Ivy.</p>

<p>OP-- a couple of days ago there was thread floating around here with a link to an article about a boy who was the "perfect" Ivy applicant, and got rejected. Go look it up.</p>

16

<p>I know that Harvard is bolstering its engineering programs. But the list makes no sense to me--as well as to other posters. Brown or Georgetown but not MIT? hmmm. I'd fire that CC (I assume it's a private college counselor, not a school GC who won't be happy putting together 26 application dossiers for a single student).
As for being obsessed with an Ivy education, the screen-name says it all.</p>

17

<p>Well, yeah, Marite. That's why I pointed out first that the U of C doesn't do "engineering," whatever that means, and secondly that some real engineering schools ought to be added and places like Georgetown deleted.</p>

<p>In the OP's defense, I had the impression that he found this enormous, unfocused list from the CC rather...bemusing...also.</p>

18

<p>Tufts and Rice as safeties? <em>rolls her eyes and groans</em></p>

19

<p>You get one every year, we just finished with one and this will be the 2008-2009 project.</p>

20

<p>OP - You'll probably need to take a deep breath sometime between now and next May first. Now would be as good a time as any.</p>

<p>Congrats on having a really high achieving daughter. What is her opinion on all this?</p>