<p>Have to nitpick with #5. I don’t know if kids from high tech cities like Seattle and such have an edge in admittance, but citing Lakeside HS (exclusive private, $25K/yr, alumni include Bill Gates & Paul Allen) is ridiculous. They have ALWAYS had the edge being the home of top-notch kids with money to boot, high tech or not. That point would have been more credible had they used a public school as an example.</p>
<p>Lakeside is ridiculous. Should’ve compared it to publics. But that said, there are lots of great high schools in the area. One that particularly stands out is International.</p>
<p>I fit 7 and 9.</p>
<p>But I agree that #5 is baloney. Is there any evidence that students are being accepted from such places at higher rates than their peers? And if there is, how can we be sure that the higher acceptance rate is not merely because wealthy, well-educated, smart parents–as most in the tech sector are–have kids with the wherewithal, intelligence, and resources to get into the top schools? Citing Lakeside or Branson is ridiculous–these are elite private schools, and such schools generally do very well in college admissions. And Branson is in Marin, for heaven’s sakes–they couldn’t find a school in Silicon Valley to use as an example? I don’t think most people in Marin work in tech…</p>
<p>time to look at those ny schools…brrr!</p>
<p>My S, now a happy freshman at Northwestern, initially had no interest in applying to school outside of CA. Having been on the mock trial team for several years, he quickly rattled off about five points to bolster his position. </p>
<p>We just let that sit for awhile during spring of his junior year. while he soldiered on completing all the necessary exams to be competitive. We cajoled him into a family vacation centered around visiting some campuses in the Northeast and Midwest. We started showing him the stats for the level schools he was aiming for. He slowly began to warm to the idea of a few OOS apps, but only to highly selective privates, which was fine with us since his CA apps were across the spectrum. He knew of our concern over the state budget and funding for the UCs but we all decided he should apply anyway (one app is good for any number of the campuses, as long as you can pony up the app fee for each one) and decide later, when we’d all have more info.</p>
<p>His smart friend down the block (class of 2011) could not be nudged from his position of all CA apps. He was a double legacy to Stanford but ended up deferred/denied. He’s still got good choices (planned ChemE major) narrowed down to USC (half tuition scholarship) and Berkeley.</p>
<p>And so it goes … CA isn’t as golden as it used to be. I’m not a native so the historical perspective of that statement doesn’t bother me so much as living through the mess right now.</p>
<p>I agree with #1 and #4. Wholeheartedly.</p>
<p>A lot of southies want to go north though. I’m originally from the North, but I live in the south. I REALLY want to go back up North.</p>
<h1>2 - a ton of kids from around here (New England) are heading South - to NC, SC and VA. Not just for better weather, but lower priced schools with strong reputations. My daughter’s college in NC costs 30% less than my son’s college in PA, yet both have low faculty:student ratios and good class sizes, and beautiful facilities.</h1>
<p>My D is a freshman at a private college in NC. The states where her classmates are from? After NC (25%) comes Massachusetts, then NJ, MD, VA, PA and CT.</p>
<p>@LadyDianeski, congrats to your DS. 
UA was pretty much my dad’s idea from the get-go. Even after I made NAF and knew that my fate was pretty much sealed, I was dead-set against going anywhere near the South. I’ve never liked it. BUT. My dad dragged me to Tuscaloosa to visit UA for the March 7 Honors College Day, and I had a Blount interview as well, and… turns out I liked UA very much after all. 
Still not too keen on the weather, though. It’s a frizz-fest waiting to happen. And I like my winters properly cold, thank you very much. 
</p>
<p>All’s well that ends well. I’ve already declined all of my other acceptances and wait-list “offers.” I choose my dorm room (in Blount! Hurrah!) on April 12, I’m Bama Bound on May 31, and I’ve put my name on the list for one of the Freshman Learning Communities. I’ll have to hide my football tickets from my dad, hee…</p>
<p>You just never know where you’re going to end up. Really.</p>
<p>Oldest S is a HS Jr. and his short list for 2012 is 100% out of CA, mostly LAC, non-Ivies. We’ve seen some interesting schools in the South, although he’s also loving the PacNW–he wants weather after a lifetime in SoCal. I think you’ll see more CAs leaving–parent here talk about looking at UC and CSU prices and figure 5x. With the budget, maybe more like 5x with a 10-20% increase each subsequent year. Suddenly, with a little merit money, a LAC looks like a pretty good deal. And don’t forget that 5th year has the opportunity cost of lost annual income for a college grad as well. (I know, that may seem optimistic for recent college grads, but that’s another thread.)</p>
<p>I am guilty of 1, 3, 6, and 7! I guess I would also have a contribution to 10, since I got accepted to two Pennsylvania public honors colleges.</p>
<p>Number six is depressing… I’m on four different waitlists. I don’t even feel like college admissions process is over for me, because it gives me that small hope. But I probably shouldn’t feel that way. There is always transfer, I guess…</p>
<p>Dumb article. Just a bunch of random thoughts but people here and there, with usually zero in the way of evidence to back it up. </p>
<p>What makes a year harder than another is the sheer number of students that apply to colleges relative to the total number of seats, not how many apps each student sends.</p>
<p>The idea of aiming for ‘Ivy grad school’ makes no sense whatsoever. It entirely depends on what graduate school and one’s particular field of interest (if its not for professional school). In some fields, an ivy league school would be the last place one would apply.</p>
<p>LOL, daydream!!! Congratulations!!</p>
<p>DS will be in one of the freshman Learning Communities, too – History and Hollywood. Which one are you signed up for?</p>
<p>We’re doing the 5/31 Bama Bound. DS has already selected his room. Everything went wrong with the process that possibly could have, just about, but it’s OK. He’s in Riverside East, and his roommates sound pretty cool. (He doesn’t know them from Adam, but they’re connecting via Facebook.)</p>
<p>Roll Tide! :D</p>
<p>
Evolutionary Attitudes. 
It caught my eye immediately.</p>
<p>Coool! There were several that looked very intriguing… DS was interested in the Anime and Bollywood one, too, LOL. But the history one was aligned with his major, so he went with that.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t it be sweet if all the CC UA kids could meet each other sometime on campus?</p>
<p>3 sucks! as a UK citizen i was hoping i would be one of few going for US colleges, apparently not. although i am hoping to spend my last two years of school in the US, so i guess that will help</p>
<p>im a junior right now. scared as hell for next year haha</p>
<p>^ Ditto. Sigh.</p>
<p>Ditto ^^</p>
<p>I’m so scared to get my ED decisions back. Hopefully #2 holds up for our admissions cycle (HS class of 2012)</p>