Saying no to Stanford?

rickle1
Mon, 29 Apr 2019 14:16:13 +0000

Good luck to your daughter in her final decision. Ultimately, she should do what is best for her and that is a very personal decision. This will fall on deaf ears, especially to her at this moment, but who cares what her friends, classmates, teachers, etc. think? Nothing to defend. It’s her choice, her life. It’s not like they’re going to contribute something to her journey.

All that said, I would try to help her make the most rational decision possible. She is clearly a very gifted and talented student. She has earned admission to Stanford so she can view that a few ways including:

1. I won the prize. That was a thrill. Now I'm going to go somewhere else because I don't really care about the content of the prize or using the prize. Or,

2. I won the prize. Amazing. And this prize is going to help me for the rest of my life. Can't wait to get started even though I'm a little afraid, and it's going to be hard, and what if I fail, and what if....

I won’t comment on the STEM - MBA point as I’m sure she can do quite well anywhere. The AP credit scenario is a different story. Most of the elite schools, including Stanford (I’m sure but don’t know for a fact) do not accept a lot of AP credit (Perhaps some 5’s in specific classes) because they want you to get, in this case, a Stanford education, not your HS AP education supplemented with Stanford courses. This is a different philosophy (and may not apply to your daughter). In many cases at the large state Us, kids use their AP credits to place out of core classes and be eligible to graduate early or in 4 yrs with a 2nd degree. A Stanford (or any elite school) education is not something one wants to rush through and graduate ASAP. The total learning experience is vibrant and is better digested over the full four years in order to gain full exposure to the world class resources involved.

These are two very different animals. Help her get to the real issues. What’s really important to her? What is she afraid of? Is that a real concern or will it fade away once she’s planted?

Hard to imagine one would be equally satisfied at both schools.