<p>Great minds think alike. I’ve been mulling over the same truths myself.</p>
<p>A few more:</p>
<ol>
<li>Your kid is over-programmed; my kid has soloed with Alvin Ailey, got a perfect score on the National Latin exam, and passed up a spot on the Olympic snowboarding team so he could build latrines in Haiti.</li>
<li>Only losers refinance their homes to pay for college. The winners get merit aid at Emery and Duke so their parents can retire some day.</li>
<li>Why pay $80 to get AP credit for a course which is obviously inferior to the same material taught at Local U. for $2500?</li>
<li> AP’s are a joke and are for kids who are too dense to find a mentor and self-study the same material like my kid did.</li>
<li>I feel sorry for you and your unwashed ilk who have never heard of Rhodes, Reed, and Rice. Your kid must be a slacker to want to go to State U so he can be high for four years surrounded by football jocks, instead of going to one of the R’s where he can be high for four years surrounded by intellectuals who know who Kant was.</li>
</ol>
<p>The only reason to go to a northeast prep school, especially to board, is to get into an Ivy League school. Therefore, one’s selection of a prep school should be totally based on what percentage of the graduates go to Ivy League schools. If you should fail to be admitted to an Ivy League institution, your parents should call the college counselor and the headmaster and demand their money back.</p>
<p>Ha,ha! I’m remembering the second college visit D and I did at the beginning of this insanity, and the great impression lunch made - we need to modify that statement</p>
<p>42 (modified). The only way to determine if you should apply to a school is to have lunch in the dining hall and assess what the students are eating and what is available. Discard any schools that are either strictly vegan or strictly carnivorous - either way you will die, starvation or coronary artery disease at age 30. Keep only schools that have civilized fast food choices - particularly Subway and Chik-Fil-A. Never go north of Philadelphia - there is no Chik-Fil-A. Or south of Philadelphia, because they don’t eat ethnic food - just that “bland” Cajun stuff and soul food and barbeque.</p>
<p>Repeating audiophile’s #19 for those of us over 50 with shorter memories:</p>
<p>“Students should major in whatever esoteric subject that interests them (the more obscure the better) and worry about a job after they graduate”</p>
<p>to which I’d like to add…</p>
<p>19A You had better find a “passion” for that esoteric subject in middle school (maybe that’s too late?) so you will have time to research it, publish it, and win international awards in it by junior year in order to prepare your Ivy application; if not, you’re just another serial joiner/slacker who’ll end up at State U</p>
<p>Twenty hours of athletic participation per week in high school means nothing to the college admissions gods. Thirty minutes of chess club or debate team per week would easily trump that.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Numerous CC parents are undercover agents who have infiltrated Admissions Committees at Top 20 schools and know exactly what it takes to get in at each school and what they are particularly looking for in next year’s entering class.</p></li>
<li><p>Parents who really care about their child’s college education take a leave of absence from their “day jobs” during the second half of the child’s high school junior year and first half of senior year to research schools, guide their offspring through the application process and chauffeur them to campus visits.</p></li>
<li><p>What you wear to an Ivy League Interview may well be a decisive factor in admissions.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>A thesaurus is the best tool in crafting your application essay. Words of three or more syllables , preferably adjectives, will give you a definite edge .</li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry I missed the start of this thread , I’ve lost the numbering. ;)</p>
<p>(Next Number) A student who admits to being pre-anything is : [* a grade grubbing anti-intellectual whore only worthy of our scorn and derision.*]</p>
<p>(Next Next Number) A student who admits to wanting to make great grades in high school or college or even caring or being aware what their grades or class rank are is [* a grade grubbing anti-intellectual whore only worthy of our scorn and derision.*]</p>
<p>(Next Next Next Number) If you have to study, sweat, try, plan, care, give a hoot, seek help, your accomplishments mean nothing compared to those to whom it came without effort or conscious thought because you are a : [* a grade grubbing anti-intellectual whore only worthy of our scorn and derision.*]</p>
<ol>
<li> There is no point in engaging in any actvity in high school if it will not enhance your application to a top college or be a “hook” for admissions.</li>
</ol>
<p>48B. Anything a high school student does on his or her own, with no adult witnesses, doesn’t count, because it’s hard to fit on a college application. Every activity needs to be logged, monitored, photographed, coached, and verified.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Since admission to HYPSM is a crapshoot, anyone’s chances are as good as anyone else’s, so you might as well apply.</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone who posts a “What are my chances of getting into HYPSM?” will get at least one reply strongly encouraging them to go for their “dream” because they can get in.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>The only fate worse than death is having to go to your state university (unless it’s Berkeley, Virginia or Michigan). However, if you are in the honors program, that is the equivalent of going to Harvard or Yale.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li> Lake Wobegone actually exists: at CC all the children are above average. (Not to mention that the parents are all strong and good looking.)</li>
</ol>