<p>Parents, of course, want to see their children get the very best education possible. But, some say the parents encourage there children to apply to “elite” colleges to serve their own ego’s. What do you think?</p>
<p>As Quincy Jones said to the masses of pop stars recording “We Are the World”, “leave your ego at the door”…</p>
<p>Old But Wise- I have to wonder why you are asking all these strange, open-ended questions.</p>
<p>I think the parents’ ego should absolutely be the driving force behind the college application process. Heck, we raised these kids with our sweat and blood and they OWE it to us to apply to schools that will allow us to brag at cocktail parties and make sure everyone knows our kid is smarter than everyone else’s kids. Fit doesn’t matter- you just need to go down the latest US News list (make sure you get the LATEST version in case something has changed) and do the top 8. In case a school has sneaked onto the list that not enough people have heard of, drop down a few to something with more name-appeal. Take a survey in your particular community to make sure everyone knows the difference between Penn and Penn State. If they think Penn is the school with Joe Paterno, then forget about the Penn application. Also, you better do a survey around U of Chicago, too. Your friends and co-workers might not realize how good it is. If your kid is better suited to a smaller school, like most highly ranked LACS, that’s just too bad. Not enough people are familiar with them, so skip Williams, Amherst, Swat et al and add on a few more universities.</p>
<p>Oh, I know that my father wants my to apply to Ivy’s in order to make him look good. He’s in a constant war with his coworker over whose daughter is more successful.</p>
<p>Quite often, I’d say it’s parents’ ego. Look how many football players, cheerleaders, beauty queens because the parents push it. If my daughter gets into an Ivy, it’s because she’s worked diligently, if very intelligent and proactive and earned that position. No credit to me other than a proud mom!</p>
<p>MomofWildChild: Unfortunately, there was a posting on this site some time ago if I remember it correctly where the parents said they’d pay for Cornell (Ivy), but not Amherst for an overseas undergrad admitted to both. They had never heard of Amherst and considered the Ivy League the ultimate.</p>
<p>momofwildchild: Go back to the opening post of this thread…Please explain what is so STRANGE about this question.</p>
<p>Thanks for your feedback.</p>
<p>LesOs: RE: Post #4 It’s happening all over.</p>
<p>Yep, mowc, I refuse to spend any of my hard earned money on anything but a top 10 school. I deserve “the oohs and ahhs” of the little people.</p>
<p>Of course, parent’s ego plays a part. We do have egos. Why pretend otherwise?</p>
<p>momofwildchild: I know that you are being sarcastic in your response in post #3, but be careful. I’m sure that there are some out there who agree with you 100%, and follow your advice!</p>
<p>OBW: Your attempts at starting discussions just leave me feeling like you are looking to start battles for the fun of it. I,for one, am here to get/give info. not be baited into arguing. I know I could just ignore your posts but I thought I’d give you the benefit of the doubt and let you know your attempts are irritating me and I assume others. Maybe a different tactit? Thats all I will say.</p>
<p>Everyone: Um, while I see your point in saying that ego counts, I don’t think it should rule where we (the one’s getting the education) should go. I mean, yeah, everyone want to say “Heck yeah I’m going to Harvard”, but parents should not need (or even want, I hope) to say “I know you would do better at this school, but it’s me that matters not you, so you should go to an ivy league”…You’re not the one getting the education that will hopefully dictate our future. So, to answer the original question, I think there’s no problem with applying to Ivy Leagues, but it should be the kid’s decision in the end, not the parents.</p>
<p>Someone should tell that to my parents…</p>
<p>Just the opposite for us. When S started looking at schools, everyone asked if he was going to attend H’s alma mater. It’s not an elite school but a big state u. H always told S to go wherever he wanted. Strangely, H liked another state u we visited better than his own for S but by that timeS had decided Dad’s state u was the one for him. We tried to dissuade him thinking that maybe he was choosing the school because it was H’s school but nothing could change his mind and he has been happy there.</p>
<p>Sax: In response to post #12. My point is to generate lively discussion, not to irritate or start battles.</p>
<p>If you look at the responses to this thread, I don’t see any “battles”. What I do see are a variety of responses:</p>
<p>(1) Some from parents who believe it is ok to interject their ego into their children’s college search. I respect that.</p>
<p>(2) Some parents who don’t believe that a parent’s ego has no place in and serves no purpose in the college search. I respect that.</p>
<p>(3) Some students who are apparently not happy with the fact that their parents egos are a part of the college search. I respect that.</p>
<p>If you can point out where the “battle” is, please let me know.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>