<p>OBW, wereyou fired because you didn’t meet the expectations of the parents or students in this competitive, fast paced global society? Or maybe it was because after 30 years, one would have expected you to know that you cannot make such gross generalizations about “Parents” or “Kids” and command any respect. The large public school that you left can count themselves lucky if this is the attitude you had. OBW- we get it…we aren’t perfect!!! We admit it!!! We just try to do the best we can for our kids…are you happy now???</p>
<p>panda-
??? iawtc?? Thats “I agree with this comment”, yes?</p>
<p>haha, yes it does. Sorry if there was confusion :)</p>
<p>First of all, I sincerely hope that those of you out there on CC have had a chance to read the article I referred you to in Post #76. Whether you are a college-bound student or the parent of one, the author presents some wonderful information that is based on his years of experience in working with adolescents and their parents.</p>
<p>It’s very gratifying for me to see the amazing number of you who are following this thread (nearly 1900 so far…very large # in comparison to those who are viewing other CC threads at this time).</p>
<p>Of the 1900 “hits” on this thread, there are only a handful of people- the same few over and over again - who are vocal in their opposition to the points I am trying to make. Perhaps these vocal few are in denial, believing that parental pressure and “Ivy-Obsession” are not issues that warrant discussion. Perhaps my points hit too close to home for them, I don’t know. Anyway, it is my hope that the other 99% of you out there at least see some value and merit in what I have to say, whether you agree with it or not.</p>
<p>Again, if you have not already done so, take a few minutes to read the entire article referred to in Post #76.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Often these kinds of threads get read by a lot of people because of the amusement value. OBW, if you answer the questions I have asked you about your education and training, I will read your article. Deal? Where did you go to undergrad? Grad? What degree, certification, licensure do you have?</p>
<p>National…American…University!!</p>
<p>I think OBW is actually Marilee Jones!</p>
<p>lol I was thinking the same thing</p>
<p>Renix-
??? There is some on-line program by that name that was, according to its website, accredited about 25 or so ago, which may or may not fit with the time frames of our OP. Shall I assume you are joking, or do you have some info from our elusive OP? One also cant help but wonder if this issues is really one of projection (ie forced to apply to ivies by parents, and then rejected). However, the likelihood of it being a kid messing with us is still a high probabliity, but it (this thread) is the source of entertainment for many cc “lurkers”. As an aside, anyone can see that threads are often read by many many more people than post on them. A quick scan of the thread post/views ratio looks like it is often read by 200% more than post. So, this is nothing special or unusual.</p>
<p>geomom-
LOL!</p>
<p>Hey LOOK! You gan get a degree in Equine Management at National American U! <a href=“http://www.national.edu/Academic%20Programs/Equine.pdf[/url]”>http://www.national.edu/Academic%20Programs/Equine.pdf</a> I guess that teaches how to manage the big pile 'o horse manure we are wading through here! :D</p>
<p>If the information is so empirical, why do they rank? Why not just present the information and let the reader determine which school is best for them, rather than lead them to believe that HYP is perfectly suitable for everyone?</p>
<p>“If the information is so empirical, why do they rank?”</p>
<p>Because certain schools do better in the empirical categories. US News doesn’t brainwash - it does the opposite - it actually informs people who don’t know anything about the college about all different aspects of many universities. Not everyone comes to CC to get a second opinion on what colleges are good for them.</p>
<p>The information is all presented (unlike shady, pseudo-undergrad prestige rankings like the Gourman report). If the student is an idiot and thinks that just because Stanford and MIT have higher SATs and more alumni giving than Duke and Brown they are better for him/her, its the students fault, not US News’.</p>
<p>25% of the USNWR ranking comes from peer evaluations, which are not reliable indicators of quality. College presidents are not experts on all the programs at all the colleges and thus the rankings reflect long-held views, sometimes based in stereotypes. </p>
<p>Good discussion here: <a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost; (sorry if anyone has posted this before).</p>
<p>By the way, why so much hostility to the OP? There have been many fine discussions on CC about the many excellent schools in the U.S. Of course Ivys are not “the best education” around. What is “the best” depends on the student (who may want a smaller educational setting) and many other factors, including the research opportunities, which are not necessarily available at Ivys.</p>
<p>momforme - I was replying to writingabook, not OP.</p>
<p>I agree that Peer Evaluations is by far the worst component of US News, and really wish they would get rid of it. The rest of the ranking is good, in my information.</p>
<p>Also, note that the Ivies only make up half of the top 10 schools - MIT, Stanford, Duke, and Cal Tech are all in there. This is true of almost any ranking (Wall Street Journal, THES, when looking at things such as National Merit Scholars or average SAT scores). </p>
<p>Ivies might have been the hands-down best schools at some point in time, now there is competition.</p>
<p>Here’s my favorite college ranking site. Be sure to play with it a bit and you will understand what I enjoy about it. <a href=“http://www.rankyourcollege.com/ddmethod.html[/url]”>http://www.rankyourcollege.com/ddmethod.html</a> If not, ask and I shall explain.</p>
<p>BTW momfromme, post # 60 is a nice summary of why the annoyance level is so high here.</p>
<p>By the way…
That is not only TOTALLY wrong, even the “shaving cream ruins car finish” thread has over 2000 views and only half as many posts. I rest my case.</p>
<p>Thanks, folks. I did not read the entire thread (as you probably figured out…).</p>
<p>In response to Posts #87 and 88…no, I’m not Marilee Jones.</p>
<p>For those of you who do not know, Marilee is Dean of Admissions at MIT and co-author of an OUTSTANDING book entitled “Less Stress, More Success…
A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admission and Beyond.” Perhaps my favorite excerpt of the book is this story shared by Marilee:</p>
<p>"I recently received a phone call from a young faculty member who sought my advice about which school would provide his son with the best chance for an eventual admittance into MIT. He and his wife were having trouble choosing between two local schools, and they wanted to know which one had the better record of admission to MIT. This seemed like a rather typical phone call until he mentioned the names of the schools, which I recognized as primary schools. How old is your son? I asked. “Four.” This professor wanted to know which of the two preschools was more academic: “You know, to get him prepared faster for college.”</p>
<p>Marilee told the faculty caller to pick the school with the most loving staff and the best snacks!</p>
<p>Marilee goes on to ask, “What’s making grown people place this kind of pressure on themselves and their children?” “What’s making them act so frightened and almost desperate, completely overlooking the fact that their child is a child and not a minature adult?”</p>
<p>I encourage all on CC to read Marilee’s book. It is a wonderful resource for parents of college-bound students.</p>