<p>The story had a happy ending. Alumother's daughter went to and graduated from Princeton.</p>
<p>Her post there;</p>
<p>"Welcome everyone! I'm a mom of a 2009 graduate and a 2012 rising junior. Oh and also a '78 alum. I love the school and am happy to see you all here and will help answer questions where I can. "</p>
<p>The happy ending occurred when the daughter got into Berkeley with a scholarship. This was one of the most tiresome threads I've ever read on CC, and it did no favors to the current CC users or the reputation of CC as an elitist bastion to dredge up a thread where a parent is agonizing over a couple of Ivy waitlists after a Berkeley acceptance and a bunch of other posters are commiserating over this tragic event. Good grief. Fortunately I think CC has morphed over the intervening years, so that this sort of "woe is me" thread would not be so likely to appear today.</p>
<p>Thank you Mommaj for that necessary dose of reality. I can see that the mom was upset, and as a junior member I am perhaps offending people with a more nuanced sense of the history of that situation, but I am with you: I just can't get worked up about a tragedy of this magnitude. Now if you could just come slap around some of the folks in S's HS, I'd be really appreciative.</p>
<p>Good grief. Did someone really call up a 7 year old thread??</p>
<p>This thread was really a blast from the past. I'd sure like to get an update from some of those "old timers" who ceased posting on CC. We shared a lot of information and ups and downs. Come back, Shane. . . </p>
<p>Personally, I think MommaJ's a little hard on us. Most of the posts are simply sympathetic to Alum because of her daughter's disappointment and are actually complimentary toward Cal Berkeley.</p>
<p>Different times. Different dynamics. </p>
<p>You cannot judge a thread without the correct context.</p>
<p>You know, we were actually just sharing the news of the day.. not so much woe is me. It was a smaller group, no one was broadcasting what they were having for dinner on Facebook and CC was not as well or widely known. People cared (they still do, but they did then). Every single person in that old timer thread was someone who, for example, contacted me and Momrath on 26 December 2004... when the tsunami hit. I too wonder about Cheers, Marite, Berurah, Achat, Andi and others.. </p>
<p>I have a rising junior so I will make it a point to only post sensible and PC posts this time around in the evolved version on CC... or not.</p>
<p>Blast from the past....</p>
<p>
[quote]
It was a smaller group, no one was broadcasting what they were having for dinner on Facebook and CC was not as well or widely known.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Hmmm . . . CC was our pre-Facebook Facebook. That's an interesting observation.</p>
<p>wow, reading this old thread – makes me nostalgic for the kinder and gentler days of CC.</p>
<p>^Really. And alumother is the kindest and gentlest (and most insightful) of posters.</p>
<p>I remember reading alumother's post back in 2005. I agree that CC was a bit kinder and gentler back then. I also remember a number of posters who were really talented writers - this thread is a good example.</p>
<p>The existence of CC has made it possible for very well qualified students and their families to gain a realistic understanding of the admissions process at top colleges and to assess the odds more realistically.</p>
<p>As of 2007, I still found the process pretty mysterious. The CC anecdotal data base has grown since then, so that I now find the outcomes somewhat more predictable (though not perfectly so). </p>
<p>Pre-CC, realistic information about the admissions process was not readily available to people in areas where a small-ish number of students went to top colleges. In our area, the "database" of admissions outcomes was small, and statistical fluctuations were large relative to the total number of applicants. Predictability was non-existent. It is thanks to posts like alumother's that the CC knowledge base has increased. So the 2005 post--honest surprise, honest concern--was of great benefit to us.</p>
<p>Of course, Berkeley is an excellent school, and Berkeley + a Regents Scholarship would have been a great outcome in itself. On the other hand, for a dancer who qualified for the ABT New York Summer Intensive Program, I am reasonably sure that Princeton was the better match, so I am pleased that it worked out.</p>
<p>Hello all you cute people! First of all, getting told I was tiresome for something I said a long time ago is so awesome! Wow! Doesn't get any better! I had better start a blog so more people can yell at me and tell me I'm dreadful! Oh, wait, I did that! </p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>In all seriousness, CC back then was much smaller, and very cozy. The rules of conduct and the culture here were more fluid. This forum really comforted me, in so many ways, because in addition to working through my daughter's college process, I was about to go through a divorce. I told no one at the time. We were more private in those days.</p>
<p>My daughter loved Princeton. And yes, she danced there. My son graduates Princeton Class of 2012. He has loved it too. They are very different from each other. And both of them could have had great college experiences elsewhere. But as it was, everything collegiate worked out happily for my little family. </p>
<p>Here's my summary thread about Princeton. It is as honest and balanced as I could make it.</p>
<p>HYPS</a> - The Parents' Perspective - College Confidential</p>
<p>And if I have not convinced you that CC used to be different, go check in the Sinner's Alley thread in the Parent's Cafe. CC is still valuable. It was maybe a little goofier, more personal, way back when?</p>
<p>To momrath and QuantMech, and robrym, and xiggi, and TutuTaxi, and Jym, and jrpar, hello and I hope you all are doing well! To wjb, well, you sweet person. You just made my day. I still hang out in the Cafe, especially on the Dressing Young thread. After all, it's hard to find a brighter and more articulate crew anywhere else on the Internet.</p>
<p>I wish the best of luck to all the kids and parents waiting to hear about this year's admissions.</p>
<p>What a nice update!!!</p>
<p>Wow--really miss many of those folks--just reading the names, i could immediately recall so much about each.</p>
<p>Agreed. What a nice update and reminder of the olden days. Btw Alu, I am a "lurker" on your blog/ twitter. Wish I had your eye for clothes.</p>
<p>I also enjoy Alumother's blog, though also mostly as a lurker - I'm interested in clothes, but not interested enough to pay for them and I care too much for my comfort to ever be as fashionable as I'd like to be. </p>
<p>The original post brought back the day when my older son was rejected by Caltech, shortly after having been rejected by MIT. He was into his safety with a merit award so I knew rationally I shouldn't be sad, but here we had this kid who was brilliant (and that is not a boast) and it felt like a real slap in the face to see that these institutions didn't realize it. Like Alumother's kid, mine also ended up with great options (Harvard and Carnegie Mellon), but we didn't know that yet. Any way, I hope we all still have enough empathy to be supportive when we want to share our sadness for our kids, because of course for our kids we have to be strong and let them know that of course they still have great choices and all of that.</p>
<p>jym, mathmom, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you following the blog. I think those days of posting here, and of course reading so many talented posters and their writing, was one of the things that prompted me to start it up. (Curmudgeon, I'm looking at you. And rrosen.) Jym, your boys are doing great, no? And mathmom, I am back in the software world and thanking our UX lead all. the. time.</p>
<p>Alu,</p>
<p>I stand guilty cos it was me who referred to your post on another thread :( . Yes it was a kinder gentler CC back in the day and the level of support parents gave other parents and students was amazing. Just look at out Xiggi, who is all grown up.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for checking in on this thread. It is good to hear that your "lil red-haired girl" and your son are doing well. Yes, like mathmom, I lurk your blog ;)</p>