<p>I am sickened by some older people and their comments. With my own grandmother, she went to Rice University. She actually dropped out and had a baby and got married (in that order) and later returned to a small LAC that ranks lower than any school I applied to. Yet, she tells me that when SHE went to college, the SATs were so much harder that my score is very low compared to hers. She insists people can make over 800’s on the tests today and they watered them down. My mother jumped in and told her that back in Grandma’s day, even algebra was not on the SAT, now precal is on it, and that test scores do not go over 800. Later, I messed up my application to Rice University and did not get in. My grandmother jumps in with how it was even harder to get in in her day but she got in. My grandmother is from a small state with one of the lowest PSAT score cut off in the nation. She also lived several states from Rice. I live near Rice, which makes it harder for me to get in just from that. She was from a state that is seriously under represented.</p>
<p>Now, I got in to UT Austin. I thought that was a big deal. Of course now, every other person I know over 40 insists they got in to it too and it was not a big deal. AND, I did apply to a couple more selective schools that I have not yet heard back from. I have already been told that I will be unable to handle the weather in the north. And that I will not likely get in because it is too hard to get in there. These are all people over 40 making these comments. I have relatives that live in the north and I asked if I could come visit so I could see some of these schools, but they said no,“you don’t want to go to those schools, they are too competitive, and it is too cold up here.” </p>
<p>I see now why my parents keep their distance from these people. I just keep being nice. Sometimes, I wish I had the courage to tell them how rude they are, or how dumb they look, or something! I am not good at come backs, so I am not even sure what I would say if I had the guts to say it.</p>
<p>I put this under college search and selection because these comments are all in reference to …college and picking schools and such.</p>
<p>Wow taking shots at your grandmother and clarifying she dropped out of college because she got pregnant…but your not rude just the over 40 folks. Maybe they know what they are talking about based on your post. </p>
<p>In life in general, it is best to simply ignore some people and go about your business, whether they are family members or not. You are in such case. Decide what you like, goo to college, and enjoy yourself. Responding to these folks are not worth your energy. And, finally, find people who would support you, whomever they might be - they are out there; and for sure, blow off the people who do not. </p>
<p>Getting into good colleges in our parents’ (baby boomer) generation and older was a joke compared to today. Back then, people just went to college wherever they were, and went with the flow of things. Nobody cared what their SATs were. Any student in that day who had a modern CCer’s interest of getting into a good school would get into an Ivy. </p>
<p>As a 50something, I would not want to be applying to schools today! I think you guys have it much harder than we did and anyone that can’t validate this for you is not being truthful or supportive. Listen to the advice of @awcntdb - it’s spot on. Good luck!</p>
<p>@BassGuitar…you may be wrong with the joke and Ivy part - it’s all relative and, yes, we did care about our SATs…</p>
<p>It is true that the SAT was rescaled compared to the 1960s, and perfect scores were rarer, but no, it was not more difficult to get in anywhere in those days. It is now more competitive than it has ever been. If you ask virtually anyone who went to an elite school in the last 50 years who has been intimately involved in the college application process today whether or not they would make it into the same elite school, the answer is virtually almost always “No!”</p>
<p>I never took a shot at my grandmother for dropping out of college. SHE takes constant shots at me, even though, she never did all she claims. Yes, she got in to Rice, but she got in when it was easy to get in. And even today, it would be easier to get in to Rice from a state like Wyoming than from Texas. But I don’t even answer when she rips in to me. Tiger…you should try actually reading my post. </p>
<p>Everything I do, my grandmother compares me to herself, but always twists it to she is smarter, better, and so on. And that, gee, I just cannot be as smart as her. And she did not drop out because she got pregnant. She dropped out because she flunked out. Then she got pregnant, and then she got married. But I do not throw these facts in to her face when she is telling me I am just not as smart or as good as her. And that she got in back when it was even harder to get in, and so on.</p>
<p>Undecided: adults are ALL going to have opinions about where you are going to school. Let them talk. Nod and say “that’s nice”, “sure”, etc You can add “You’re right, just like you, I didn’t get into Harvard”. Oh, and you can remind them that the admission system (top 10%) for UT Austin is only about 10 years old and the cap at Top 7% only goes back to 2012, so if they’re adults, they never had to face the same criteria you did. Then go back to nodding, or just say you understand and you have homework to do, then leave. The ability to leave a conversation that leads nowhere but hurts you is going to be a very useful skill. :)</p>
<p>@undecided2014 please do not choose to respond to the only negative poster…carefully read all the posters that agree with and support you and take your strength from those.</p>
<p>Undecided2014. I think you’re doing very well by just letting your grand mother run her mouth. You’re a much better person than I am. I would simply :
Tell her I have to go to the bathroom and walk off.
Give her a blank look.
Give a smart a$$ reply: “So if I tell you I can roller skate backward, you’ll probably tell me you know how to roller skate upside down. When will it end grandma?” Then comes the fake tears. lol</p>
<p>But seriously, don’t let yourself get aggravated by people like that. Some young ones act that way too. They feel that they have to top you, be better than you…at everything. All you can do is laugh it off.</p>
<p>This may be what the grandma was referred to. As someone else noted, it was also revamped in the 1960’s. </p>
<p>From College Board: In April 1995, the College Board recentered the score scales for all tests in the SAT Program to reflect the contemporary test-taking population. Recentering reestablished the average score for a study group of 1990 seniors at about 500—the midpoint of the 200-to-800 scale—allowing students, schools, and colleges to more easily interpret their scores in relation to those of a similar group of college-bound seniors.</p>
<p>In 1996, the Educational Testing Service simplified the SAT. The overall effect was to raise the average combined score. On the high end, a verbal score of 730 on the old scale is now awarded a perfect 800 and a math score of 780 on the old scale is now scored as 800. What that means is that a test that would have garnered a 1510 on the old test can now be awarded a perfect 1600. The chart shows you how to convert SAT scores earned from 1996, and after, back to the old scale.
Since I normalize the scores based on the best combined SAT score, making the test easier didn’t alter the rankings of any of the high schools. Their raw scores all rose, but their relative positions remained unchanged</p>
<p>This is one situation where you may simply have to bite your tongue and remind yourself that your grandmother’s comments are indicative of her own insecurities, not your accomplishments. If things get really tough you can ask your mom or dad to have a talk with her. In the meantime you can blow off steam here </p>
<p>It is tough to take this type of talk from a family member, but try not to let it upset you. You need to be strong enough to have confidence in your opinions and abilities regardless of what other people say.</p>
<p>For what it is worth, I know two Stanford grads who are in their 60’s, and neither would have a chance of being admitted to Stanford today. Both would be rejected at the first reading.</p>
<p>Part of the reason those Stanford grads of the 60’s might not make it today is Stanford’s rise in popularity and prestige and the massively increased number of applicants it now gets. </p>
<p>Likely it is best to let most of it go over your head, especially with people not close to you. you can also ignore Grandma or you can choose to try to have a ‘real’ discussion really more about your hurt feelings than the facts of the matter, maybe. And I agree that you in turn shouldn’t be so judgey of her as you clearly are by your post.</p>
<p>If you think she is actually interested in expanding her knowledge, you can get a copy of The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College. It is a hugely entertaining read for those interested in college admissions. But more importantly, at the very beginning it addresses the reasons that college admissions are currently so competitive and supplies plenty of data to contract and compare with the past. Even though this book isn’t that old (pub 2003), admissions are still more difficult than when it was written. For instance, Brown was 14% admit rate when my daughter applied a bit after then and now it is 9%.</p>
<p>Our high school tells students to be careful about telling even relatives (obviously not parents) about what schools you are applying to. If you list, say, five colleges you are thinking about or applying to, chances are most people have only heard of Stanford or Rice or Harvard or Univ of Michigan (or perhaps schools that one hears about in the media a lot due to sports) and that is the ONLY one they will remember or comment on, and then if a person does not get in, it psychologically leads to disappointment (or a projection of disappointment) by those family friends or relatives.</p>
<p>^^ That was the rule and is the rule in our family - we tell no one where our kids are applying / have applied and only tell the decision of the one school they choose to attend. Eliminates all stupid conversation. And, we also do not announce SAT scores or anything to anyone. With my one kid, a Princeton admin officer said the same thing, “Just keep your scores and schools to yourself, and let the process play out for you, not others.”</p>
<p>I think I remember some of your past posts – you are WAY too buffeted by and sensitive to other people’s comments. Good for you on the UT Austin admission. Just don’t react, work with just your parents on your final decision, and stop careening around based on comments other people make. Too much drama…</p>
You can add “You’re right, just like you, I didn’t get into Harvard”. Oh, and you can remind them that the admission system (top 10%) for UT Austin is only about 10 years old and the cap at Top 7% only goes back to 2012, so if they’re adults, they never had to face the same criteria you did. Then go back to nodding, or just say you understand and you have homework to do, then leave. The ability to leave a conversation that leads nowhere but hurts you is going to be a very useful skill. :)</p>