<p>SBmom</p>
<p>Quote:</p>
<p>"So this is not just about rank, it is also about the fine points of environment matching with a kid’s learning style and personality. We were convinced that, for her, a LAC education was critical because of the intimacy offered. Our kid had always done well in discussion-based classes taught by teachers with whom she has felt very connected.</p>
<p>In terms of the peer group, there is no getting around this fact: at her current school my D was basically lucky to make it in thanks to her sports ability and having an acceptable GPA/SAT, whereas at the other two she was one of the kids being ‘bought’ with merit money, in the top ~15% of matriculants. This tells you a great deal about the relative strengths of the applicant pools. </p>
<p>Certainly there are going to be stimulating peers at Beloit, but we wanted her to have a sea of intellectual superiors and a higher ‘middle.’" </p>
<p>Having been there I can somewhat relate to your comments, but with three years view in hindsight I have developed a whole new perspective on things.</p>
<p>S went to a highly regarded all boys private prep school with graduating class of 82, 19 of which were NMSF. ALL his classes were small discussion based classes with some as small as 5-7 students. EAmom and I thought that the perfect environment would be one that matched his skill sets and learning style as well. His list of school was tailored to match…Yale, Amhert, Pomona, Dartmouth etc…</p>
<p>As I said in another post he was fortunate enough to have been offered a Morehead Scholarship at UNC…by far the biggest and most different learning environment of the group. What he found was unlimited opportunities to do whatever his heart or mind desired. We feared that he wouldn’t thrive in a less intimate environment but the opposite has really been the case. He’s had exposure to and developed relationships with top tenured professors, department chairs and since he is acting as TA for a department chair this semester, has had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with numerous world reknown speakers that come in to speak to his class on a regular basis.</p>
<p>If UNC and the Morehead wanted to “buy” my son, more power to them! He made the decison ON HIS OWN to turn down his dream school Yale for the Morehead and has NEVER regretted his decision. The Morehead application process is the most complete and in depth process I have ever seen. Before they make it to finalist weekend they know more about the kid than anyone other than family does and make the most of that information to select and reward those that are fortunate enough to be chosen. I think what really made his decicion for him was the fact that they looked at the whole person, not just the numbers (though his were stellar enough to get him into Yale SCEA) and they REALLY knew what made him tick and talked to him in depth about his passions, then cared enough to want to help facilitate him be whatever he wanted to be. If that is “being bought” so what? </p>
<p>Looking back, we had assumed what we thought would be best for him, in essence pidgeon-holing him. He has grown so much both intelectually and personally that today he says he couldn’t even see himself at Yale.</p>
<p>Be careful when putting things into neat little boxes because boxes are containers and containers prevent growth.</p>