IB Diploma vs Elite US Boarding Schools

Prep School Admissions
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I see many instances of the reverse of what you are talking about.

First Gen college students who major in “Forensic Science” thinking they’ll become a medical examiner like they see on TV. Their parents are then gobsmacked to learn that becoming a medical examiner in their state requires an MD (i.e. the kid majored in philosophy or history while taking the premed requirements)… Or the kids majoring in Criminal Justice and the parents assume they’ll be fast-tracked to a legal career, kids studying Sports Management so they can become a “famous” agent representing NBA players, etc.

Agree that anyone can get up the learning curve on today’s labor market with enough time, will and research skills. But if you don’t know anyone who is an actual attorney, or has gone to med school, or works with major league athletes AFTER law school and several years as a grunt at a talent agency, it isn’t obvious what it takes to get to where you want to go.

Much easier for a college educated parent to do the legwork on “here’s what it takes”.

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I could not agree more where a lot of the actual value added is coming from, to the point I really try to bring as much of that into the dynamic here as I can. So many kids, or sometimes parents, come into forums like this with almost all very hard Reaches and then a few “Safeties” they don’t actually like. Helping kids/parents explore the vast middle ground between these extremes and build really robust lists of alternatives can lead to truly heart-warming results.

But . . . kids/parents have to be open to such help. And some of the saddest cases to me are when kids are theoretically open to such an approach, but they report their parents are not.

So I guess I am saying it can in fact make a difference to have parents who accept these realities, and who are willing to help their kid work within them.

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