<p>“Having a parent who is a professor at the college can be a hook.” - not in Stanford and Harvard, for sure. 2000% sure about it. </p>
<p>a HOOK is not a GUARANTEE of acceptance. It only means- all other factors being equal between 2 applicants- the HOOK may get them in
that is what you dont understand. </p>
<p>"
If a student wants diversity, why not Community College?"</p>
<p>If a parent wants admission strictly-by-the-test-scores, why not the many fine state schools that offer admissions based on test scores?</p>
<p>"parents in prison is certainly a hook. There are lots of priorities for foster children. Stable, 2 parent family is un-hook.</p>
<p>Athlete is a hook, even if it is a varsity team in HS.</p>
<p>Uneducated parents - hook. Parents with college degrees - un-hook.</p>
<p>Sexual orientation is a very popular hook, lately. "</p>
<p>Californiaa, can you explain how my whiter-than-white, straight kids from a stable, educated 2-parent household and no athletic prowess got into top 20 schools? (I recognize that the schools they are at are probably still “second-tier” for you, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it.) </p>
<p>" 2000% sure about it."
LOL! </p>
<p>If one is not actually in the room when the admissions officers decide who will or will not be accepted, then no one can be sure of anything.
Saying you are 2000% sure is ridiculous, as neither you nor anyone has anyway of knowing why the child of a professor did or did not get in. </p>
<p>Gently done, xiggi. Like it.
I’d say the only real hook with pull is recruited athlete with a likely letter. If a coach goes to bat for a kid, the usual processes can slow to work around that, though there are some checks. Otherwise, kids still get vetted.
And rather than see it as “overcome” hardship, maybe think of it (for super selectives) as “triumph despite hardships.” It’s not just making it through but how. And still, right match for that college.</p>
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<p>I wonder if your daughter’s classmates feel the same about the other kids in their class…</p>
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<p>Which means what? That individuals were always judged on merit in the former Soviet Union. If you believe that, I have a bridge that you might be interested in buying. </p>
<p>I think there were two kids from our hs who took online courses from Stanford last year. Now they are at Stanford and MIT, so I guess those schools have students who are “nothing special”. Not sure why @californiaaa would be willing to spend so much money to educate her daughter with them.</p>
<p>I actually do have some sympathy for @californiaaa’s viewpoint. I think perhaps holistic admissions has swung too far in the holistic department. But the things I mentioned earlier that my daughter would like to see in a school was just a sampling. I don’t think she would find it very interesting to go to school at the top college in a country where admissions are purely test-driven and where kids spend most of their spare time in cram schools instead of doing sports, music, art, etc. </p>
<p>@cobrat said:</p>
<p>"Regarding Why Stanford?</p>
<p>Because I love Taco Bell and Southwest architecture and the sublime environs of Palo Alto. :D</p>
<p>Why Princeton?</p>
<p>Because I love tigers, the color orange, love the preppy upper-class accents, and the eating clubs seem a great way to ensure I get enough to eat as a growing boy. :D"</p>
<p>Good one, @cobrat. I love it!</p>
<p>Have not read the thread (too long-- sorry) but in response to the title, its not the parents who have gone crazy- its the application process, the ridiculously high cost of many colleges and the ease of applying to many schools with the common app and universal app</p>
<p>It’s a combination of influences from the Puritan work ethic (you HAVE to do the best and work the hardest or you will go to Hell (well in this case, future is ruined)), and the fact that parents have no idea how much harder it is than it was in their or their parents time. Also, no idea how expensive.</p>
<p>@austinareadad - congratulations to your son. Rice is getting much harder to get into and they have hit 14% admit rate this year (most of the schools debated around here were at 10% or more just 10 years ago). The location of the school is such that a student interested in any major can get exposure to world class experience in that area (engineering, medicine, art, drama, music, opera, business - you name it).</p>
<p>@californiaa - Almost all colleges admit a certain percentage of staff members’ children. Most schools including Harvard and Stanford have a plan for faculty providing tuition reductions or waivers for their children based on the number of years worked at the school. OTOH, they also pay for a percentage of tuition if the child can’t get in or wants to attend another school elsewhere. There are many such kids who post here each year saying they got into their parents’ school where it is the cheapest option but they also got into other Ivies which are not as cheap but difference is affordable for their parents and request CC members to provide pointers in choosing a school to attend.</p>
<p>The question was whether parents had gone crazy. No, everything has gone crazy. College can cost about $250,000 and then what guarantee of a job? Students are supposed to “be in charge” but parents are paying and in fact students can’t be independent and must claim parents’ income whether or not the parent is willing or able to help. The high out of pocket cost and what college financial aid offices call “affordable” can be two entirely different things. Influx of global students vying for spots at universities paying top dollar ups the ante. Incredible pressure and competition on high school age kids are turning them into crazed, stressed, rats in a rat race, trying to position and package themselves for college through grades, scores and ballistic volunteerism. It is all insane, a freaky merry go round full of insecure kids posting their accomplishments and asking strangers to guess whether they’ll get accepted to top colleges. It is really sad! How can anything so bizarre result in a meaningful learning environment? </p>
<p>Thanks to @jym626 and @doro297 for helping to get this thread back on track</p>
<p>Who was it, maybe RD Laing who said, “Insanity is a sane reaction to an insane world.”</p>
<p>@cobrat… I know your post must be in jest, but Taco Bell in Palo Alto? I don’t remember ever seeing a Taco Bell nearby as I drove home from Stanford. Now I often stopped at La Costena to pick up burritos to take home. What I would give for a real, steamed, California, Mission style burrito. Reason enough to apply to Stanford. And “southwest” architecture? The campus never felt very southwestern to me. Spanish mission revival - yes. But southwestern? I guess I think of the 80s Southwestern decorating fad, which does not bring to mind Stanford’s beautiful campus at all.</p>
<p>Ok, sorry for the interruption. Back to all those crazy parents :)</p>
<p>:) </p>
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<p>The reference to Taco Bell was riffing off of many jokes some Stanford alum friends and others…including some folks here on this site made about the campus architecture and how it somehow resembled a large Taco Bell. </p>
<p>ta da!! there really IS a taco bell in PA.</p>
<p><a href=“Google Maps”>Google Maps;
<p>[ admittedly it is right on the border between PA and MT. View, but hey, who cares? 
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