Well, the OP can respond to phone calls however they please. And I don’t disagree at all the caller was rude. A lot of times it’s just a young new grad or possibly even a student making those calls. I can see why that comment would feel like a slap in the face.
But, I do think it is good to treat every school like a potential school and not to burn bridges. Sometimes health problems, loss of job, surprise financial issues, mental illness, surprise test scores, etc have people considering schools they may have thought not good enough for their progeny at one time. Kids try a school and transfer their 2nd year. Things happen. And you don’t need to look far on CC to find posts of people who weren’t accepted to their reach schools and also weren’t accept at mid range safety schools in part possibly in part because they didn’t show interest.
My first reaction yesterday was that it was a student calling and that the student got offended by the “just under Ivy” remark and went off…as a young person might do. I know I was a tad taken aback that the OP claims to have said it. But anyway, I hope the OP did answer a cell or a LAN line with caller ID…it would be interesting to hear whether or not it was the OP’s alma mater. If the OP did make that remark AND it was a student calling…I wouldn’t call the college to complain…at all.
“Just under Ivy” is just not a very adult thing to say LOL. The whole story sounds like a middle school spat. If the OP is the adult then the real advice is to not keep sharing your phone number. I can’t say I got a single call outside of the military guy (bless his heart). The only persistent cold callers were prep program sellers whose numbers were easy enough to block.
Did a quick online search. Is it a 415 number? Seems like a number of people got these calls - it is a telemarketer. So not affiliated with the school (maybe that was just a coincidence?)
Why is that not an adult thing to say? I probably was a bit tired of all the scam calls, but it is true… with a 4.78 weighted GPA, I sure as heck don’t want her going to the school I went to. 3 more ACT points and she should have the requirements that most Ivy’s look for… And she is being tutored now by an ACT tutor who said she expects my daughter will add 3 points.
Of course, I realize that grades are not everything. But even if she can’t get into an Ivy, she sure is close… and you CAN’T block callers in my area without paying a subscription or buying a device that blocks callers. Verizon does not let you block numbers for free where I live, except on cell lines.
Why not? I know A LOT of people who have/had similar GPAs and were quite successful going to “lesser” schools. Most have honors programs that attract high-caliber kids who don’t want to go to an Ivy for various reasons. They’re doing groundbreaking scientific research, pitching business plans at national competitions, performing professionally, and more.
My first thought was that the caller is the family member of a kid who’s applying to the same colleges. It’s easy enough to find out where people went to school. I’d be careful about what information I shared, and with whom.
You just stated the truth in your mind, and no doubt you’re tired of telemarketers. And honestly, who cares what they say to telemarketers? Next time have some fun and tell them your D is a Rhodes Scholar. I’ve given telemarketers all kinds of bull.
But just since you asked the question, what you said sounds a bit like this:
Joe: “Hey Bob, I have a friend who owns a Ford dealership that can hook you up for your next car”
Bob: “No thanks, I only drive Porsches.”
So personally I’d feel free to bust out the “near-Ivy” thing with telemarketers, but probably not with friends or anybody in person. Purely IMHO of course, everbody’s sensibilities are different.
I don’t want her going to my school as it will not challenge her. It was a big party school, and I would like to see her be further away from home than 45 miles, so she can learn to live more on her own.
Well, there are people who go to that school, wherever it is, who don’t think it is a joke so you should be careful how you speak of it. Heaven forbid your daughter turns out not to be ‘just below Ivy’ or that this joke school has the best department for her major or that they offer her a huge scholarship. I know you’ve posted in the past that one of your kids has a medical condition that might require her to stay closer to home. Don’t burn your bridges. It costs you nothing to say "No thank you. At this time she’s looking at _____ (LACs, schools in Massachusetts, a nursing school, a language school).
My college is also not that far away from me, was and is considered a big party school, and is not a joke at all. I’d have been proud to have my kids attend, but couldn’t afford it. And you want her to go farther from home, not further.
My younger son has started answering sales calls for fun. He says usually…”yes, hi. Do you have 5 minutes to talk about our Lord and savior?” I keep telling him it’s borderline blasphemous…but they hang up 100% of the time!
It is just a particular nit for me. Lesser v. fewer, further v. farther, to/too/two. We had a list of them going at work at one time and it was surprising how something could bother one person but not another.
Just google the number. There is a 95% chance you will figure it out with a 5 second google search.
If it’s the school, the school’s site will be the top link.
If it’s a telemarketer, odds are it’s been reported and will come up.
If it doesn’t, it’s almost certainly a private number and a prank or scam.
If the Original Poster had called the school instead of the other way around she might have rephrased what she said. I think it’s a bit much to expect people to have the perfect thing to say in response to unsolicited surprise phone calls. What she said doesn’t seem rude to me anyway.