<p>Like many other posters, I found this board a little too late-- AFTER D #2’s applications were done (and for musical theater/acting programs, which is one of this board’s absolutely most fantastic sources of info. Too bad my timing wasn’t better.)</p>
<p>I heard about the board in a funny way. One of D #2’s friends was applying ED to an Ivy and his mom told me that there was this discussion board on which kids posted their stats, their anxieties, and that in December they could track the US Postal Service delivery times of ED envelopes via postings (“Ok, the kids in NY and northern Jersey have theirs, so I should get mine tomorrow!”) This mom said it was like a car wreck, you didn’t want to look but you couldn’t help your self. So I looked, and became addicted.</p>
<p>I found Dave Berry’s old site (pre-CC) when my oldest was in middle school (now in college). He was also a moderator on PR. It’s been great to see how big, successful and helpful this site has become!</p>
<p>I also found this through a reference on the ‘other’ ‘mean’ board - where I lurked but did not post. This is so much more civil and the amount and quality of information is unsurpassed (if any knows of anything better, let us all know). </p>
<p>I found it after the fact for my oldest and I’m glad it worked that way for me. I think I would have been overwhelmed if I’d been reading it the first time around. Now I have one about to enter high school so for me it’s easier to temper the huge amount of information and sometimes mania that drives people with my own first hand experience. Even with my first one, most of what I learned about the college process came from parents of older children who’d been through the process. They direct you to the ‘big books’ on colleges, information about testing (answering questions like when and how much), financial aid process, etc. This forum provides us with a virtual community of experienced parents, something that we don’t all get to connect with locally for various reasons. </p>
<p>I also really enjoy the humor that comes through on so many of the posts.</p>
<p>This is incredibly dorky, but I did a google search on Blair Hornstine a couple of years ago trying to figure out where she ended up going to school (never did find out).</p>
<p>SBMom, CC converted from one software to another last Fall. Hence I think last year’s change-over and archiving is a one-time thing.</p>
<p>I found CC by Googling “National Merit” when I had a question. Asked my question, got an answer. In the brief interval, I saw a question that I could answer, saw a follow-up, replied, read some more questions…and the rest is history.</p>
<p>Whenever I hear the question: How did you find such an such? My bizarre mind immediately answers “turn left at Greenland” (obscure Beatles reference).</p>
<p>And for the record, googled something along the lines of “parents and college admissions” because I knew with number two that I needed help. Started at that other site; gratefully moved here when it got more populated and active.</p>
<p>I have moved this post here from it’s original and erroneous placement in the CC goals thread. In reality, I think I mentally combined the two threads.Sorry.</p>
<p>I would guess I am another testimonial for Google. Can’t remember the search. But I do know why I’ve stuck around. Numbers. Sheer numbers.</p>
<p>This board provides in my estimation the greatest concentration of parents of academically exceptional high school students. Anywhere. More importantly while other boards tend to become “brag” forums, this place will pop the most ballooned ego. And quickly. So we don’t do it. Those that do are quickly jettisoned.</p>
<p>When we post stats of our kids the board knows we are not putting down some other kid and it rarely turns into “my kid can outdo your kid”. In our lives , where else does this happen? At school events we all nod acknowledgment when someone mentions our child in a positive light, but most of us, even those in higher-quality schools, don’t have many parents we can discuss ANY of these issues with in as frank a manner as we can on this board. I am constantly bombarded by parents saying “Little Johnny could do as well as your kid if the little B#@#$$# would study”. Never, not one time, have I ever had a poster approach me in a similar fashion on this board.That is so “freeing”. </p>
<p>I mean folks , where else can we say things like “Harvard’s undergraduate education is not what D is looking for in a college”, and not get laughed at or thought a snob? Or truly wrestle with Vandy at zero, Yale at $43k? These are not common conversations down at the Fina station here in Two Egg and I doubt they are at a Boston area Starbucks, either. And even at the schools where this type of discourse is more common-the medium lends itself to a frankness that would not exist at a meeting of prep school parents.Too much baggage to carry around at school.</p>
<p>My child is a rather gifted child that by any objective measure is in the top 1% to 2% of college bound high school students. Here that makes her about par. Several students higher, several lower. That is why I stay. </p>
<p>I can’t say with 100% certainty, but I think I googled SAT scores and landed here. Like soozievt I have all but abandoned my other BB–although I do check in there almost every day–just don’t post there as often as I used to.
I didn’t lurk for long! I think I joined and began posting within a day or two of finding this place. I’ll have to check out the link to Dave Barry’s stuff. I wanted to be him for the longest time!!</p>
<p>I was just looking as you posted that. His name on this thread was spelled both Barry and Berry and I wasn’t sure which was the correct one. Never heard of the “Berry” one (the guy in the old links), but I’ll take your word for it TheDad, that he can be funny as well.</p>
<p>DrDrewsmom…Dave Berry is one of the principle owners of College Confidential and is a college counselor and published author. If you search the site, you will find a bio as well as a list of the college counseling services that he, along with Sally Rubenstone, and associates, offer. The message boards and other resources on this site such as Ask the Dean, are all free, however. And yes, Dave Berry can be funny. Whether he can give Dave Barry a run for the money, remains to be seen ;-).</p>
<p>Also, I am in the midst of possibly booking a trip out to Brundage Mountain in Idaho for next week, to stay in McCall. I cannot recall where you live in Idaho and if it is near there. I think I may be going. This is to be there for my D and her college team participating in the National Collegiate Ski championships. Are you close by?</p>
OK, Id like the poop and scoop on Blair Hornstine. Who is/was she and how/why is she sullied?</p>
<p>And soozievt, CC is a small world. I live about 200 miles north of McCall. If it werent the winter Id make the 4-hour drive to say hello. But if it werent the winter you wouldnt be in McCall. Its a nice town .Enjoy.</p>
<p>DrDrewsMom…oh that is too bad cause I would have met up with you. I can’t do any more driving, though. I am going to drive 3 1/2 hours to just get to the plane, then take two different planes and then drive 2 hours after that to get to McCall as it is! This only two days after a college trip with my other kid. I am thinking perhaps you live near Couer d’Alene. Funny cause on my plane ride home from a college trip a few days ago, a young man was sitting next to me who was from Couer D’Alene who was coming to Univ. of VT for his Medical School interview. He was a graduate of Montana State. Wonder if you even know him. I was thinking of you. Sorry we won’t connect on this trip.</p>
<p>Soozievt! I’d love to hook up with you!! I live near Boise…I’m assuming that’s where you’ll land? McCall is about 2 hours north of here.
I’ll email you about it…</p>
<p>TutuTaxi…are you in Idaho too? I just assumed by your location that you’re near Seattle.
BTW, I’d never heard of that Blair person either until coming to this forum and I still haven’t bothered to find out all the details.</p>
<p>Yikes, I am such an idiot! Above when I was writing too bad we won’t be meeting up, I was saying that to DrDrewsmom and never caught on that the person who said they lived 200 miles north of McCall that it was TutuTaxi all along. So, I was posting to DrDrewsMom and it was TutuTaxi who said it! </p>
<p>But DrDrewsMom and yes, this time it really IS you…I do land in Boise and plan to drive up to McCall. If you don’t want to drive to McCall, and I can’t blame ya, we could meet when I go to the airport in Boise on the way home and just have coffee (though I don’t drink coffee but ya know what I mean). On the way there, I can’t do that because as soon as I land, I have to get the car and drive the two hours to McCall and it will already be night time and the event my child is in is the very next morning. So, if you do not come to McCall, let’s see if we can meet at the airport in Boise or some such on my way through to go home on Sat, the 12th. Talk soon. I am going to Boston this weekend but will try to connect with you at some point. My trip will be from Tuesday through Saturday next week.
Susan</p>
<p>In an nutshell…and “nut” is an operative word here…Blair Hornstine was admitted to Harvard, then sued her local high school about a change in GPA calculations which meant she’d wind up either sharing or losing her valedictorian status–remember, she was already <em>admitted</em> to Harvard–and sued the school district. Okay, at this point we have a prima facie case of entitlement on steroids. </p>
<p>However, in the ensuing very ugly dispute–alleged death threats, alleged vandalism of home–it came to light that Ms. Hornstine plagiarized material in articles she had “written” for a local newspaper (one of her EC’s). </p>
<p>Faster than I can say prestidigitation, Harvard rescinded their offer of admissions.</p>
<p>Various tangents in this mess included “out of control kid” vs. “kid as victim of out of control father”…deponet knoweth not…insufficient data and some positing of anti-Semitism, which from my read I consider laughable…her name could have been Blair Cabot Lodge Biddle MacGillicudy and the uproar would have been the same.</p>
<p>Iirc, the silly tart wound up slinking off to Oxford.</p>