Parental issues re: Uni vs. LAC

JHS
Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:32:22 +0000

I know some very smart kids from Philadelphia who go to the University of Delaware. It may not be perfect for you, but it’s not likely to be the seventh circle of hell, either.
There may perfectly well be some LACs out there that are not a good value proposition compared to UDel for $10,000. So you can start by admitting that. Also, why don’t you play along with your parents on the “better than UDel” standard? Make a list of qualities that you think are important – all of them, not just the ones that favor Beloit – and how you intend to measure them. Then do it. Make certain to include some ringers that will measure out as being inferior to UDel. Then take the list to your parents and say, “Here are the ___ colleges that are superior to UDelaware that I am going to apply to. I won’t be applying to these, because they’re not better than UDelaware.” Make certain some are in the Northeast and the USNWR Top 25.
But, as advised above, save the fight for when you actually have to decide. Make them visit. Enlist the help of the admissions staff.
Give your parents credit for having come a decent part of the way to meet you already. I’m not going to give an unqualified endorsement of what they told you, but it’s several giant steps away from the Asian-parent cliche. There’s a fair amount of running room in the top 25 LACs, more if you could push it to 30 or 35.