We had neighbors for several years who were loyal Notre Dame alumni. During football (or maybe basketball?) season, they would hang a Notre Dame banner in front of their house. But this is Maryland. Notre Dame is not on our radar screen. The usual reaction was “What’s that weird flag?”
It seems that New Jersey’s largest export is 18 year old students. Are there any figures on how many NJ ex-pats eventually return to NJ after graduation?
Ucbalumnus- nice flag! The girl who was accepted to TOSU went in " undecided" as per the advice of an admissions counselor she met with. Had she put down the health field she wanted, he told her that she would likely be rejected. The problem now is that she really wants this particular health field and was accepted directly to at least 3 other programs, with merit and in the honors program. She started the prerequisites at OS this past semester ( as a freshman) and had to drop chemistry. She won’t transfer ( everybody loves OS) and is now trying to figure out how to make this major work for her. Not sure if they will allow her to go at a slower pace (?) and stay a 5th year ( mother does not want to pay for a 5th year). The guidance counselor told her that she likely would not get in- he was surprised she did. And here lies one of the problems with " reach" schools ( not the Ivies etc which are reaches for almost all): you need to be able to keep up with the work in your intended major. It would be a shame if she can’t get the degree she wants from OS - she gave up several guaranteed admissions at other schools that were either safeties or matches.
Trust me, back in the 70’s and early 80’s, NO one had heard of Penn. It was not uncommon for even people in Philly to think “Penn State” when they heard “Penn”.
Penn was not all that well known or so highly selective back then. SAT scores of 1250-1300 were enough to get you in and acceptance rates were around 50%. I remember seeing, in 1979, t-shirts with “Harvard” (crossed out), “Yale” (crossed out), “Princeton” (crossed out), “What the H_ll, Penn” The Final Four appearance did a lot to raise Penn’s image and recognition.
UCB, we really could have used that for the tailgate party at the Notre Dame v USC game this year! DH is a Trojan man. Wait that doesn’t sound right lol. It was hilarious when we attended the game because we were surrounded by these really big ND fans (both in stature and exuberance) that had obviously been celebrating (drinking) all day - it was a night game.
Everytime Notre Dame scored they’d high five us and all poor DH could do was die a little inside, haha I felt bad but it was kinda funny. He was a good sport because he knows how much I love my Irish.
As a consolation prize, after the game we went down to the field and watched the Trojan band perform for about half an hour and I made a video of him watching his beloved Trojan band. He was super stoked - But Go Irish!
In terms of the general public, @SlackerMomMD, you’re correct but my grandfather (from a small town in Louisiana) went to the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1930s and then returned home after graduation to run the family business. I think it was something that a certain demographic (German Jewish immigrants who had succeeded economically) “did.” My grandfather (who has passed away) also attended the cotillion ball that’s the basis of Alfred Uhry’s “Last Night of Ballyhoo” so I think his experience speaks more to the habits of one socio-economic/religious pond and not general likelihood of knowing about colleges that are 1000+ miles away from one’s home.
Lol, @bclintonk
If you are a Bostonian the pronunciation of Harvard and Haverford is indistinguishable.
Oh, there’s maybe a quarter of an extra syllable in the second. Maybe.
Still no clue where D will attend, but since I’m excited she was accepted to Temple with the full tuition scholarship, I’ll often mention it when people ask. “Isn’t that the Bill Cosby school?” with a tone like he is going to jump out from behind a building and accost her.
^^^
I think it’s been pretty well-established that his MO is to invite her to his house for dinner and accost her there. She’ll be fine if she stays on the Temple campus. Congrats to you and your D!
Also, if you want to see how far gender equality was come, mention the engineering focused colleges your daughter is applying to. All well meaning, but seriously, how is the idea of wanting a MRS degree still a thing??
“Boy will she be a distraction.”
“I know she’s smart, but does she realize how much work that will be?”
“She’s too pretty to worry about improving her odds.”
“But they won’t have any fun classes for her to take.”
Ouch
Palm715 - A (female) friend of mine attended dental school 35 years ago and got so tired of being asked if she was going there to marry a dentist ( actually she did, but…)
It’s really disappointing to hear that people still make similar remarks.
Congrats to your D btw.
^^^ At least in the last ~20 years there have been equal opportunities to make appalling statements; my brother went to Harvard Law and used to joke that he went there only to find a wife.
Legally Blond
I took Ohio history in 7th grade, too (once upon a time) and went to Miami University when it was much harder to get into than OSU, but that seems to have really changed. Miami was named for the Indian tribe and when I was there, the team was the Redskins (I think) and the student center was known as the Reservation or Res for short. Both are thankfully long gone. The team is now the Red Hawks.
We live in Indiana and our son in a junior at the University of Texas, Austin (studying mechanical engineering). My husband and I met in Texas (aren’t from there) but knew from our colleagues who had attended UT how strong it is. People in Indiana think we are insane to pay for out of state tuition. We get “Why?” or “Wow - that’s really far away!” but most often “Why not Purdue?” Yes, he got into Purdue, yes he was offered money there, and yes, he is definitely in the right place at UT. (Received the same amount of money from UT as well.) UT is tied with Purdue in the engineering rankings and surprise! UT is actually strong in almost every area - unlike Purdue. Living so far away from home has forced him to grow up a lot and, can one seriously compare Austin, Texas to West Lafayette, Indiana? (I should mention that we are a family of liberals.) Although UT is not well known in Indiana, it certainly is in many, many other places in the country and around the world. I have even gotten used to wearing burnt orange…
I’ve just consistently gotten, wow. I usually try to avoid the discussion when asked where he goes to school and I say in New York. They almost always guess NYU as a start. No other guesses, interestingly. When I then tell them that he is at Columbia, I get either the wow awesome response or suppressed restrained affirmation. It hasn’t been mistaken for any other place.
My Stanford kid will bend over backwards not to mention it. I’m glad she’s humble, but the proud mom in me knows how hard she worked to get in. And how lucky she was. I guess the luck part keeps her humble…it could have just as easily been another great student/athlete who got the nod…
@Barbalot - as I understand it (husband went to Miami) the tribe had no problem with the school team being the redskins- but they would like their land back…