<p>I simply don’t agree that showing that they share statistical profiles shows that the kids are applicants of the same caliber.</p>
<p>Even if they were, I don’t agree that the “overlap” shows where in the Harvard applicant pool the scholarship recipients fall. Your statements, if true, would only show that the Vandy scholarship recipients are likely to fall somewhere in the 25-50th percentile at Harvard. That doesn’t make them “top” students at Harvard. And it STILL doesn’t answer my original point about elitism, which is why I brought up the scholarship kids at Vandy in the first place. I never made any statement about where those kids would fall in the Harvard pool; I don’t have any data, and my anecdote suggests that they’re not all clustered at the top.</p>
<p>Wow, all I can say is that my earlier post about the fascinating illumination of “character” in this thread, is proceeding apace, with really dispiriting results.</p>
<p>I am losing respect for a lot of people I esteemed here (not that anyone needs to care what i care about, LOL). Nonetheless, for me it’s like watching a train wreck.</p>
<p>I need to convince myself to avert my eyes…</p>
<p>I’ve been casually reading this thread, not feeling like I have much to add…this question/issue comes up over and over (and in different flavors) throughout CC, and obviously, there’s no right answer that fits everyone. As we’re heading down the stretch, the merit $$ is looking awfully good. We’re among the “lucky” ones with an EFC that is laughable. Although technically, we have the luxury of being able to “afford” to send D to the full-freight private, we have always questioned whether the value was there…and given the choice, I’d rather be able to send her abroad for summer programs, help her pay for grad school, still have money left to send D#2 to school, etc. (Just like I could “afford” to drive a much nicer car than my trusty GM minivan—never thought it was worth it to pay 2x or 3x the same price for a car). Husband and I both graduated from no-name state U’s a billion years ago, and we did quite nicely. If we hadn’t lived in Pennsylvania (near Princeton) during D’s middle school/early hs years, I wonder how much “top colleges” would have even played into our thinking. To most family and friends, D has to explain what “Williams College” is, or why it’s cool that it’s one of her choices. In the end, however, she’ll probably go for the value (and pocket some of the bribe money that dad offered…) :)</p>
<p>(Edit : omit schol sat scores. Don’t want to work that hard. ;)) I never said top 10%, did I? And if so I know of no place to get that data and I doubt it’s really true as Harvard top 10% might be perfect scores for all I know. I think in the quote above I said upper parts. I may have said “top students, not bottom” students. but I don’t think I said top 10%.</p>
<p>But I’m happy with the admission about the “overlap” of Harvard quality students. That was really my point. But you got it wrong, not the scholarship kids. They are statistically in the top parts , not the bottom and Harvard bottom students ain’t getting a full-ride scholarship to Vandy.</p>
This is an eye-opener to me. I always thought that the “old boy network” was a factor in hiring in some places, that having a pedigreed educational resume was a plus. I guess I had no idea that there were these kinds of absolutes. As in, we <em>don’t</em> hire from there; end of story. A kind of “need not apply” closed door. How widespread is this phenomenon?</p>
<p>I thought about reading a few random posts here, but ran across a fair amount of inaccurate info (ie what a clinical neuropsychologist is, what school Animal House is based on, etc) that I gave up. Oh well… it looked like an entertaining read. Carry on.</p>
<p>garland, speak out please. Whose character are you disappointed in and why? I really have no idea . Most posters have been cordial and appropriate and I consider this one of the best threads to illiuminate the process we have had. I can recall nothing specifically which would even speak to a person’s character except postively. On either side. There has been great honesty. Forthrightness. Willingness to share. Obviously you feel differently because you have said this now more than once. Let us in, please.</p>
<p>BTW I have had the exact opposite sense. I have grown in respect of several posters I thought had far more closed minds on this issue than they have . I’ve really been pleased with the level of understanding by most. Especially when we were working on the “list”. LOL</p>
But who is doing that? I’m not seeing any of that here. Like StickerShock said
I’ve been reading the same thread as StickerShock, where we are talking about the relative experiences at HYPSM vs. a tier 1 university or the equivalent LAC.</p>
<p>Should anyone care, Animal House was based on a Dartmouth frat. See… spend you hard earned $$$ at Dartmouth, live in a frat that eventually loses its charter, and write a great movie. Well spent college dollars, eh?</p>
<p>Garland: What’s going on?
Last post I saw you lamenting that you were not learning much about colleges on this thread. What did you want to learn?</p>
<p>The character thing? I know I’m relatively new but isn’t this a pretty tame thread? I thought folks were having fun add some nice discussion, a fair number of smilie faces, —and we are closing in on 1000!</p>
<p>Nah. If no one else is truly seeing it as I am, I’ll keep it to myself. Must be my bad mood.</p>
<p>I am interested, though, in truly what useful stuff people are learning here, about college and admissions. I may just be missing what is obvious to everyone else.</p>
<p>Garland: Are you the CC thread auditor? Usefulness? If we get real picky the site would be be real short. Could even be shut down! C’mon, is it the fact that we have been over the same things at least 50 times? Can’t be that. Please add some more, you have got us all guessing now.</p>
My kid would choose Tulane, not an elite. Katrina intervened. He is at an elite now. But he would choose the “non-elite” if he could. Just like berurah’s D would not choose an elite. marite outlined some reasons in her post #890. There are so many, many more.</p>
<p>Huh, I know there are kids at USC who turned down Ivy’s and similar (Stanford, Caltech, MIT, etc) for full tuition merit here. I’m sure it’s somewhat similar at some other top-30 schools that offer full merit scholarships.</p>
<p>It’s not always financials driving the decision, either. “Fit” can be a giant factor.</p>
<p>jym, in college I lived with a bunch of guys whose frat lost its charter and who were all kicked out. But this wasn’t Dartmouth, this was Berkeley in the mid/late 70s, and the frat went bust because it was too liberal. First, they voted to admit women. So it was a co-ed frat. Second, they were all environmentalists, voted libertarian, grew pot and fought constantly with the Young Republicans next door. Didn’t sit well with their very conservative national organization. It would have made a fun movie but it didn’t get written because most of the members went to work for the Sierra Club and haven’t come out of the woods since.</p>
<p>Nope. I am not the CC thread auditor, Oldolddad–I asked because I keep hearing it said.</p>
<p>It was a simple question.</p>
<p>I was wondering what people said when they meant it was useful to them. I am wondering how. Because I am really not seeing what they are.</p>
<p>TArhunt has quit. Alum almost did. Several noobies, admittedly a little raw, have been lacerated. I’m sure they musta deserved it.</p>
<p>All over America, I can hear the sound of lists of SAT averages thumbed through to find the one point that will win whatever the esoteric argument du moment happens to be.</p>
<p>So, I really am interested in what the value is, cuz I am not se eing it.</p>