<p>Here’s the post setting out the use,jonri.</p>
<p>
Is it still “silly”? If so, I can’t help you.</p>
<p>Dstark:</p>
<p>My guess is that he had a compelling life story that he was able to tell well. As readers of his two biographies have found.</p>
<p>
Alu, I agree. Oh, do I agree. Podunk wouldn’t have worked for D. But Rhodes ain’t Podunk. And neither is Denison. Or Reed. Or Oxy. Or Centre. Or Tulane. Or UMiami. </p>
<p>Now get the folks on your side of the aisle to accept the premise. LOL. You and I have never been that far apart. Remember, I picked Yale for D for the same reasons y’all picked Princeton. I value what Yale brings to the table that Rhodes doesn’t or else I wouldn’t have picked Yale. I can see both sides . I may be one of a handful that can on this thread. Katwkittens, does and some others. I think JHS’s post about a matter of degree needs to sink into some folks all or nothing minds.</p>
<p>Marite, I deleted my post because Jonri went offline.</p>
<p>My guess is your guess.</p>
<p><a href=“Indeed,%20if%20you%20look%20at%20the%20top%20kids%20in%20math%20over%20the%20span%20of%20a%20lot%20of%20years,%20as%20far%20as%20I%20know,%20only%20one%20kid%20has%20accepted%20a%20merit%20scholarship.%20That%20was%20the%20girl%20from%20Park%20Tudor%20in%20Indianapolis%20who%20took%20merit%20money%20at%20Duke.”>quote</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Duke and Caltech have given merit scholarships to a number of IMO medalists, USAMO winners, and Intel winners. Duke has attracted many of its top Putnam students with their Angier B Duke full tuition merit scholarships. A number of extraordinary math students have accepted Caltech’s Axline merit scholarships, which provide a full ride.</p>
<p>Cur:</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I’m on your side. And I remember telling ER to choose Vandy.</p>
<p>marite, it is so frustrating to recognize that H or Yale for ER was a legitimate choice but to have half the board thinking the option ER took wasn’t legitimate for him…ticks me off. I respect his decision, understand his decision, it just wasn’t my decision. I think if I was ER’s dad I’d have picked Yale for him , too (if I could have sold a kidney. I don’t know their $) and here’s the kicker…for the $40K difference my kid might have , too. I’ll never know for sure. Yale didn’t offer her that. Our’s was 2 and 1/2 times that. LOL. Even if Yale had just come in at our EFC would have been nice.</p>
<p>Just an addendum to my earlier post about Harvard finances.<br>
From the Harvard Admission website:</p>
<p>Half [of the students on financial aid] receive need-based Harvard Scholarship aid, totaling over $86 million.</p>
<p>
This is the thing I don’t understand. WHY is it important that ANYONE think ER’s choice is “legitimate” besides ER? This was a personal choice. What others think of it is essentially irrelevant. If ER is happy and harbors no regrets (which is my distinct impression), then he has made the RIGHT CHOICE…for HIM. </p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>Cur:</p>
<p>I believe ER has siblings, and $40k was/is a lot of debt for either him or his family to incur.
I happen to know some absolutely terrific profs at Vandy. Now it would not have worked for my S (lack of snow and strong math department) but there are plenty of very high-achieving students for whom Vandy is a great fit–as are many other schools.</p>
<p>This is the thing I don’t understand. WHY is it important that ANYONE think ER’s choice is “legitimate” besides ER? It dang sure doesn’t concern ER any , does it? LOl. Nor does it concern several others who made the same choice. </p>
<p>b. It doesn’t have anything to do with ER anymore than it has anything to do with other similarly situated kids. Vandy/Yale was just easy to work with as both are known. I’m afraid the disrespect showed to the decision to turn down Yale (or any decision to turn down any HYPS Type school) will be passed along to this crop of parents and students who will be making these decisions in the next few weeks. Hence the thread. To tell folks, and let others tell folks, their experience pos and neg with taking the big bucks and turning down the top ranked school.</p>
<p>Go back and read my first couple of posts where I explain the reasons for the thread and the two posters who asked me to start a thread rather than take it to a p.m. . By the number of responses I have received in p.m.'s there are lots of folks who are appreciative of our efforts on the thread. However ragged our efforts have been. It’s been worth it. </p>
<p>Tell personal stories of our kids experiences after making the decision to go with the $. The what’s next? Somehow people didn’t get that and kept challenging the legitimacy of the decisions these families had made. All I planned to do was to give the folks in need of advice a roadmap to possibly avoid some pitfalls, some things that have concerned families. Some things that have thrilled families.</p>
<p>
cur~</p>
<p>Disagreement does not equal disrespect. I can disagree with a decsion and still respect not only the right of the other person to MAKE his own decision, but the decision itself. </p>
<p>I think that a good number of people here are looking for validation for their very difficult choices. I have never needed such validation as the ONLY people I am considering are 1.) my children (their needs and desires) and 2.) us, their parents (our ability to finance/support said choices). Anything else is irrelevant to me, as it should be to everyone else.</p>
<p>Are you really trying to say that some knowledgeable parent on this site, in the next few weeks, is going to say, “Well, we REALLY can’t afford Yale, but since so-and-so on CC will look with disdain on the other schools on our list, we’ll put ourselves in financial jeopardy to do the Yale thang.” I can’t see this happening.</p>
<p>As I said back on page 60, this debate is not all that helpful minus the specifics of ONE kid’s circumstances. It is only when you can plug in the particular criteria that this discussion becomes meaningful.</p>
<p>Also, it is interesting to me that you, despite your D’s personal decision, don’t agree with ER’s. That’s what I’m talking about. For each situation, this is a very, very personal choice with very specific things at stake. But at least if you don’t agree with ER’s choice, you respect his right to make it, correct? I’d give most of the people here more credit…I think each of them will strive to make the BEST possible decision for THEIR families in the coming weeks, crowd approval notwithstanding.</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>I didn’t agree with her’s either but I respect it. That’s the point b.</p>
<p>Many have shown no respect at all. There was one flyby who said “You’d be an idiot to turn down a free ride”. That didn’t seem too respectful to me. </p>
<p>I got a lot of advice I accepted from this site. That changed my views, and through me, D’s plans. I even mentioned today that D ended up applying to need only schools based on rec’s I received here and from the CC counselors (and of course our own distillation of that). </p>
<p>I wouldn’t have been here asking for advice if I hadn’t intended to listen, verify, then possibly use it. Why else would someone be here seeking advice? Unless like you said they were only here seeking validation for their own beliefs. That would be a sad commentary on CC posters. Why would they come if they had their mind made up not to listen? Doesn’t make sense. But then again , I don’t need validation either.</p>
<p>I’m sorry you don’t like the thread , many do. I have heard from many who have posted on this thread talking about how the issues raised here are things they hadn’t thought of. I’m glad they were able to find helpful advice. That’s why we are here , right?</p>
<p>Hear hear Cur!!</p>
<p>If people feel secure in their personal choices, I don’t know why they are so defensive.</p>
<p>Makes me think some people are NOT so secure in the personal choices. At least that is how I read this board-speak!</p>
<p>Of course some people don’t feel secure about their or their children’s choices. The pressure to go towards prestige and brand in our culture is HUGE. I even feel it in VT, where it is much less bad, I think, than in some other areas. My son is going to pick based on academic and social fit (we are fortunate that finances are not a factor), and I agree with him, but societal pressure to go for the “prestige” (as defined by our surrounding culture) does give me occasional lurching feelings of doubt and insecurity.</p>
<p>I will respond to Calmom’s post of several pages ago. This relates only to LAW DEGREES. I am very “over” the concept of the prestige of an undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>The issue was whether a law degree from a prestigious school will “matter” after the first job. I say it has for me. It has opened doors. Yes, I had to achieve success in my career and be able to interview to secure the subsequent jobs. However, employers are getting hundreds and thousands of resumes for every job posting (thanks in part to electronic job boards). The University of Chicago School of Law on my resume gets me into the short pile. I have been told this over and over again. It probably helped the LEAST for my first job, but has helped as recently as last year when I got my latest corporate (in-house) job. And, no, Calmom, I don’t work for insurance companies. I have been General Counsel and Asst. GC for a number of major corporations. I have worked with talented lawyers from a variety of law schools, but in the current hiring environment, the degree from a prestigious school WILL open some doors. That was my only point.</p>
<p>"Of course some people don’t feel secure about their or their children’s choices. "</p>
<p>I also get the sense that some cc posters feel morally superior because they made the decision to send their kid to a non- “elite” school. They need to constantly remind others of that. ;)</p>
<p>The Evil Robot cc legend has been circulating for years. It was a personal financial choice by a single kid and his family, nothing more.</p>
<p>momofwildchild - I think that an explanation of law school grading would help here. My understanding is that they grade on the curve, so some of the super star admits at Georgetown, U Chicago, Yale are going to be getting C’s, D’s, even flunking out. Isn’t that built into the law school system?<br>
I wonder if going to a top law school is only smart is you are very strong in the set of skills needed.
my DS went to a LOCAL law school. he was able to intern for a federal judge, be a summer intern at a firm, be recruited by the firm.<br>
In 5 years when students from your school and lower ranked ones send out resumes, are students from your school who were ranked near the bottom interviewed over top students from lower ranked law schools?</p>