@NEPatsGirl, we did a science tour at Skidmore and I was particularly impressed with the Bio and Chem stuff. Cool school – my son very nearly applied.
@rayrick, mind if I ask where he ended up going?
Even West Point graduates now serving in the Army cringe when hearing hero talk or TY for your service but honestly I think civilians ARE trying to acknowledge the sacrifices and don’t know much about the army so it’s a standby for them. I tell my husband just smile and say thank you. Let them have that pleasure.
@NEPatsGirl, that’s still tbd. In terms of Skidmore, I think the school that really knocked it off his application list was U. of Puget Sound. It’s got a similar funky vibe, but is just a bit stronger in the things he cares about most: computer science, and classical music. Plus, it’s easier to get in than Skidmore, and they offer merit money. So when he was discussing his final list with his college counselor he sort of had an epiphany that he couldn’t really imagine a scenario where he would pick Skidmore over UPS, and since he was feeling pretty confidant about his chances of getting in to UPS, Skidmore got axed at the very end. He loved his visit there though, and I feel confidant he would have thrived there. Unquestionably his favorite school of the ones to which he didn’t end up applying (and he only applied to 5).
And I totally agree about Saratoga Springs, by the way. Right up there with Walla Walla, WA for the nicest college towns we visited.
DS goes to Univ of Alabama. Totally puzzled because they know nothing other than football. So I take the opportunity to explain about the scholarships for high stats kids and all the great programs especially if I know they have kids. My DS is 6’4" and about 240 lbs. Next question is always, so he plays football? They totally miss the point!!
“People from the Northeast don’t seem to have any trouble telling you they tried it and it sucked.”
so if you ask someone how they liked the cake and they hated it they tell you it sucked? They don’t lie and say they did not try it. They don’t lie and say it was fine. They answer truthfully. Sounds about right.
DD attending Colorado College. Have only ever received one of 3 comments:
A. “At least she can smoke weed legally.”
B. “That must be a big party school.”
B. “Why didn’t she just go to ______ (the local CC).”
X_X
DD is at UChicago, we live in NH (happy primary day). I get:
A. “Awfully cold there” (and it isn’t cold in NH?!?);
B “I’ve never heard of that”, and my favorite, the single-syllable “Oh”.
But when lived in Mississippi and told people I was going to MIT, I got “where in Mississippi is that”, or “Is that in Missouri/Michigan/Minnesota”, or “Why in the world are you going way up north?” Almost never did I get “Oh that’s a good school”.
It’s just what people are used to in their community.
@Crusoemom MIT? Where is the Mississippi Institute of Technology? lol
@lost account…you’re missing the key point. In casual social chit chat (as opposed to academic research), the goal isn’t to expose the truth at any cost. As Pizzagirl mentioned, there’s no reason to slam the cheesecake , slam your neighbor’s kid’sollege. If ur wife isnt particularly attractive , what j would it serve for casual aquaintec es to continually point it out to you?
@moooop, I’ve lived in the Northeast all my life and I don’t know anyone who would say the cheesecake “sucked”. They might say, "I prefer the cheesecake at ___ " or “It wasn’t really my favorite”, but no one I know would be as rude as your hypothetical cheesecake eater. We Northeasterners may be more forthright than Midwesterners (although I haven’t spent enough time in the Midwest to make that assessment) but we aren’t the critical jerks you seem to want to make us out to be.
Likewise, I don’t know anyone who would slam someone else’s college choice. They might say something like “I don’t know ____ College”, or they might smilingly put down the school if it was their own school’s rival with a “Just kidding, great school!” at the end, but I’ve never heard anyone seriously denigrate a kid’s school choice, even if they were privately thinking it was not a choice they’d allow their own kid to make. Please note that the unpleasant reactions to Notre Dame and U Nebraska in post #288 were unlikely to have come from residents of the NE.
Editing to add…
That is not to say we don’t have any rude, clueless people in the NE. Unfortunately rude, clueless people exist everywhere, but they’re certainly not the norm in the NE any more than they are in any other part of the country.
There are jerks everywhere, I’m sure. I’ve only had a negative reaction to one friend’s kid’s choice of college and you can bet your booty I kept it to myself. And I’m from the (allegedly) rudest city in the country.
My son is at University of Chicago, too. We get: 1) It’s so cold! 2) It’s so dangerous! and 3) He must be smart.
moooop, no I’m not missing the point at all!
Crusoemom, When you said MIT, didn’t you often get “oh, You much be smart?”
lostaccount, only occasionally did people know MIT’s reputation, and then I would get “Oh you must be smart”. However, this was 30 years ago, when MIT really only had the rep of being a good engineering school.
It’s rep has improved since then.
Just needed to pop in…I certainly didn’t want to start anything with my post (#288)! Just for the record, all the folks that have told me that they hate ND were Midwesterners:-). There are a lot of die-hard fans in the Chicago area…and an equal amount of folks (I suspect) that are sick of hearing about the Fighting Irish. Lots of alumni and none are shy about their affiliation.
OMG. Got this the other day from a young lady in her late twenties who works in one of our offices:
Where does your son go to school?
West Point.
Where is that?
New York.
West Point College?
No, It’s the United States Military Academy.
There’s a military academy?
Yes for training officers for the Army.
Is it like a college?
It is a college. He will earn an engineering degree and then he will serve as an officer in the Army.
It doesn’t sound like college. Are you sure?
Maybe not. He likes to fool me.
(God help us.)
West Point College?
Yes. Yes, that’s the one.
These are all great… esp enjoyed @ChoatieMom . BTW, congrats to so many of you.
@fitz37 - Congrats on CC. I was just on campus there yesterday. I hope she takes advantage of the outdoors/adventurous opportunities. Seriously, many, many college students smoke marijuana, and at least she doesn’t have to worry about getting arrested for it if she does. Stupid laws abound.
I’m from the Hudson Valley, so I definitely know about West Point 
We are in CO now (so of course also know about the Air Force Academy). When we told people that DS had been accepted to Northeastern in Boston, few had heard of it. There was a lot of confusion about Northwestern in Chicago (admittedly a harder admit), and sometime I’d just smile and nod because it was easier.