<p>Slackermom, it sounds like the couple is well suited to each other! </p>
<p>Sounds like the bride was pretty insecure and needed a tangible reminder that she was worth as least as much as a gem.
:(</p>
<p>“even if the mate with good education might have attained it by parents donating big to the top tier school. Where is the achievement in either case?”</p>
<p>The number of development cases involving unqualified applicants admitted to good schools is incredibly small – we’re talking about a tiny handful of students out of hundreds of thousands. But even if you got in through some kind of unearned advantage, you still have to pass all your courses and graduate. Those years of work and the learning they bring have value and meaning that no one can take away.</p>
<p>Slackermom, as you point out, people can be obnoxious and superficial about genuine accomplishments just as they can be about decorations. It doesn’t take away from the achievement of the doctors; it just reveals the character of the braggart.</p>
<p>I spoke with D2’s independent counsel last week. He got close to 10 development cases in this year. IvyWise (Cohen) probably gets more.
There are always easy classes.
I just interviewed a young woman who graduated from a well known all girl school. She got in with 3.1 GPA and 24 ACT. Her grandmother was on the board. She still graduated from college with around 3.0 GPA.</p>
<p>We are getting off topic here, so this will be my last post comparing diamond with education. I think I have made my point. </p>
<p>In my area, college is significantly more difficult than high school.
A 3.00 GPA in high school would not be equivalent to the same effort & understanding as a 3.00 GPA in college.
I do admit perhaps some areas that is not the case.</p>
<p>@missypie, I went to several of the websites recommended on the first or second page. Wow! Beautiful options there. I liked the vintage rings. I’m sure your son and his girlfriend can find something there. I guess, one can say gems on those rings were mined under terrible conditions (if they were) but purchasing the older rings don’t perpetuate current conditions directly. It’s a good discussion for them to have.</p>
<p>Another story (I have tons): One friend has a beautiful engagement ring. It’s not fancy or anything but it’s very nice. She said the stones were some she and her husband found while on an archaeological dig. They had them polished and then set in a ring for her. That avoided the whole blood diamond/diamond industry thing for them and the stones held meaning for them. I suspect some variation on this would work for your son and his girlfriend.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m willing to bet that the independent college counselor I know gets maybe 1 development case in every 10 years, if that. (Of course, “development case” covers a very broad range, depending on the schools in question. The likelihood of giving $250K to Stanford or Yale is not likely to raise an eyebrow. The likelihood of giving $250K to Knox College is probably a very different matter.) You are dealing with a population that is one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the world. Not to mention legacy combined with development…IvyWise is dealing with a freak population. People who are willing and able to spend tens of thousands on a college counselor are very rare, compared to the population of families with kids applying to college. </p>
<p>The case with the young woman from a woman’s college doesn’t prove your point, to me. The young woman managed to graduate with a very respectable GPA from an apparently good school. That is an achievement. Maybe she had an LD. Maybe she finally saw the light and started to work harder. </p>
<p>And I might add, why in hell are you asking college graduate job applicants about their high school GPAs and ACT/SAT? That is just bizarre. What difference does it make how she got in? Legacy, development, recruited athlete, URM, private school grad with the kind of special admissions treatment they get routinely as part of the price their parents pay, celebrity kid, celebrity parent…once they get there they have to perform. Are you able to go over their transcript and identify supposedly “easy” classes? No way. (Unless, of course, you are one of those people who assume that any STEM class is difficult and any humanities or social science class is easy.)</p>
<p>If she volunteered the information, maybe she meant to show that she has proven to be able to push herself. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While I am much more inclined to agree with Hanna on the diamond vs educational achievements, I think the above is a YMMV deal.</p>
<p>There were plenty of folks from academically rigorous high schools like mine who found getting a 3.3+ GPA in respectable/elite undergrad or grad school* to be far easier than pulling a 3.0 or lower HS GPA. Yours truly is one of them. :)</p>
<ul>
<li>Not much of a surprise here considering a B in many grad schools == C- in undergrad.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>“I think I have made my point.”</p>
<p>Indeed you have.</p>
<p>I love art. I love history. And yes, I love jewelry. Step back for a moment…Jewelry designs vary so much by region, date in time and trends of the time. I have some jewelry from the 1920s (not much…don’t get excited), I wear Banana Republic obviously not “real”, and a few pieces from the 1800s. They are all different…they are all beautiful in their way and can be a story about the time and the people who wore it.</p>
<p>
I am a very experienced interviewer. For certain jobs, I feel it is important to know test scores. She volunteered her high school GPA. She was also a friend’s daughter, so I was doing them a favor.</p>
<p>Not exactly on topic, but: I mesaged a question about jewelry to @Gourmetmom , and she was so knowledgeable and generous in sharing her knowledge, I just wanted to thank her publicly. That’s it, carry on! </p>
<p>Two couples I know:</p>
<p>Husband: HS but taking part time college while working full time, has debt, lower economic childhood
Wife: masters degree, no debt, upper economic background full time employees
She told him no marriage until debt is paid and a Tiffany diamond engagement ring and diamond wedding band bought. She is happy to help pay bills so he can continue in school. He happily agreed, paid the debt, bought the ring and they are living happily so far.</p>
<p>Other couple:
Husband: college degree, high income job, no debt, middle economic background
Wife: masters, no debt, middle economic background
He was not interested in looking at rings for her so she bought a small multistone band. Now some years later they always have money for his EC ($$$$$$) but are always broke when it comes to her EC ($). Looking back, his attitude about her ring was a red flag.</p>
<p>I wonder how many kids even know there ACT/SAT score and high school GPA years later. My son is a college sophomore and had a high school GPA over 4.0 & a 34 ACT and I doubt he remembers that because its’ not important to him anymore.</p>
<p>I remember my class rank but I don’t remember GPA or exact SAT score. I remember D1’s and D2’s SAT scores, but I don’t remember their GPAs. Our school did not rank grads.</p>