just go to your state school and do as many drugs as you possibly can. that way you have a built in defense when you flunk out/drop out/fuck up in some other way. in that at least your parents were only paying a few thousand dollars and not $35k or so. seriously, an undergrad degree doesn't mean too much anymore anyway. bachelor's is the new high school, graduate degree is the new bachelor's. you're not going to remember anything you learned anyway. well, as long as you actually do all those drugs.
You gotta be KIDDING moments
Originally posted by Graace:Then don't shoot for the top tier New England schools. >50% of the English majors there are going to try to land investment banking jobs when they graduate anyway. Go to Carleton or Pomona or Claremont, where your east coast background will help them round out their geographic diversity goals.
Most of the appeal of these schools for me is their ability to nourish intellectual growth, not the fact that they're going to make me monetarily successful in life. I mean, I'm probably going to end up with an English degree or something equally useless, but at least I'll (hopefully) have been challenged and my mind (hopefully) will have been stretched to get there.
yeah, why an emphasis on east coast schools? surely there are some left coast and fly-over schools that will give you the education and intellectual stimulation that you are seeking.
Pomona is a great school, but do you really think we have a choice? Most of us who have been raised in Bethesda have been bred and had our entire lives leading up to the point we go to college. Can't say as to why, but that's just the way it is. My best friend has been strapped in for Harvard since the day she left the womb. If I had a choice, I'd be at some random art school in New York where I'm nice and happy, or maybe here at the Corcoran, and that would be that. But I've been instructed/stressed by my parents to do otherwise. I already know what I want to do with my life, and where I want to live. As long as I cooperate through high school, get good grades, and get into an exceptional college, I'm free to do whatever the hell I want with myself. And that's fine by me. I mean, it's really the best compromise I am going to get.
Originally posted by Venerable Bede:There are plenty of good West Coast schools…but first of all, we've got the Ivys down here. Second of all, I'm not really sure what Grace wants to study, but I am looking for a school that is not only exceptional academically, but has some sort of partnership with a fashion design or arts school. I want to study art, but I'm not allowed to go to an art school undergrad. So far, the only schools that have that available to me are Brown, Duke, and Wash U.
yeah, why an emphasis on east coast schools? surely there are some left coast and fly-over schools that will give you the education and intellectual stimulation that you are seeking.
Originally posted by Venerable Bede:There are so so many west coast/left half of the country schools that I would love to go to. Any of the Claremont consortium, Reed, Macalaster, Carleton, a bunch of Canadian schools, etc. My parents have basically limited me to the east coast, with the farthest western possibility being someplace like Northwestern or U of C, or WashU in St Louis. They know I just wouldn't ever come home, and they do want to see me. Plus with the costs of college already being so high, they'd prefer not to have an expensive plane ticket to pay for every time they'd want to see me.
yeah, why an emphasis on east coast schools? surely there are some left coast and fly-over schools that will give you the education and intellectual stimulation that you are seeking.
Ever consider paying for school yourself and going wherever you want?
You say this is a good compromise but it doesn't sound like it to me. Work your ass off for 12 years just to go to some over-priced snooty school you never wanted to attend in the first place.
You say this is a good compromise but it doesn't sound like it to me. Work your ass off for 12 years just to go to some over-priced snooty school you never wanted to attend in the first place.
I don't have a choice. I also don't think it's the worst thing in the world. I've been lucky enough to be born into a family that can afford to pay for a snotty East Coast school for me, and to have the opportunity to excell in a great high school. I don't mind working hard in school - I enjoy it sometimes, I do. The only thing that sucks is the stress, and feeling that you're expected to do these great things all the time. I feel like a caged up little robot.
How would I afford to pay for my own college?
How would I afford to pay for my own college?
Originally posted by you be betty:
Originally posted by Venerable Bede:I have no idea what I want to study as of now. I have ideas and interests, and I have some ideas about what I MIGHT like to do with my life, but I really don't want to go to a school where I'll be locked into a choice. Most of the schools I'm looking at have a fairly flexible credit system, in terms of requirement distribution and the application of credits to different categories of study, etc. Right now, I'm just seeking an excellent overall liberal arts education.
There are plenty of good West Coast schools…but first of all, we've got the Ivys down here. Second of all, I'm not really sure what Grace wants to study, but I am looking for a school that is not only exceptional academically, but has some sort of partnership with a fashion design or arts school. I want to study art, but I'm not allowed to go to an art school undergrad. So far, the only schools that have that available to me are Brown, Duke, and Wash U.
And as much as I wanted to hate the Ivies when I visited and say that they aren't all they're cracked up to be. . . they are pretty freaking cool. The opportunities that are afforded to students at schools with that much money, that much clout, such a high caliber faculty, etc. blew me away.
Originally posted by you be betty:Grants and loans and scholarships……loads of people do it. And you're right it certainly isn't the worst thing in the world, as long as you don't mind feeling like a caged up little robot, to use your own words. Not trying to give you a hard time, I'm sure it's not easy.
I don't have a choice. I also don't think it's the worst thing in the world. I've been lucky enough to be born into a family that can afford to pay for a snotty East Coast school for me, and to have the opportunity to excell in a great high school. I don't mind working hard in school - I enjoy it sometimes, I do. The only thing that sucks is the stress, and feeling that you're expected to do these great things all the time. I feel like a caged up little robot.
How would I afford to pay for my own college?
Just don't say you don't have a choice….that's the one thing we all have.
Originally posted by Graace:i.e. Brown :)
a fairly flexible credit system, in terms of requirement distribution and the application of credits to different categories of study, etc. [/QB]
Originally posted by Chaz, Lover of all Beings:The thing is that my parents aren't the ones pushing me to apply to a snooty school. Its the environment that surrounds me thats pressuring everyone. However, I'm not going to apply to a school where I don't think I would be happy, regardless of the name. Harvard, arguably one of the most respected, snooty names in academia, rubbed me the wrong way when I visited. I couldn't see myself there, and no matter how many times people tell me that with a Harvard degree you're set for life (not true anyway), I won't apply there, even if I knew one hundred percent I would be admitted.
Ever consider paying for school yourself and going wherever you want?
You say this is a good compromise but it doesn't sound like it to me. Work your ass off for 12 years just to go to some over-priced snooty school you never wanted to attend in the first place.
I would love to be able to pay for college and take some of the load off of my parents' backs. They have another child to send too. However, I'm so so lucky to have a set of parents who have worked really hard to put away money for my education so that I won't have to spend my twenties and thirties paying off student loans like they did. I'm eternally grateful for that.
Originally posted by you be betty:Duh. I want to go there so I can take a neuroscience course just for curiosity's sake and not have to worry about acing the final.
Originally posted by Graace:i.e. Brown :) [/QB]
a fairly flexible credit system, in terms of requirement distribution and the application of credits to different categories of study, etc.
Even if notification is on the internet (of note, all the OC kids got letters in the mail, so they could dramatically carry them to their rooms/throw them away/stash them in a drawer), it wouldn't all be on the same day. Berkeley notifies the same day as Brown? Doubt it.
Every generation of kids thinks "it's harder now than it's ever been." Trust me, we all thought that in 1985.
And I also was looking at 20 or so schools that a lot of kids look at, with low acceptance rates relatively. You know what, I think I would have been happy anywhere I went. But you can't tell that to a 17 year old, I understand that…
But, that said, there are literally hundreds of amazing schools that will nourish your intellect and surround you with amazing people. Oberlin, Davison, Hobart, Dickinson, Skidmore, Reed, Union, Kenyon, Trinity, Colby…
Betty, you're obviously talking studio art rather than history or art or art theory? They've got studio art at I think every school my friends went to (Vassar, UNC, U of Fla, Colgate, Emory, Clemson).
Every generation of kids thinks "it's harder now than it's ever been." Trust me, we all thought that in 1985.
And I also was looking at 20 or so schools that a lot of kids look at, with low acceptance rates relatively. You know what, I think I would have been happy anywhere I went. But you can't tell that to a 17 year old, I understand that…
But, that said, there are literally hundreds of amazing schools that will nourish your intellect and surround you with amazing people. Oberlin, Davison, Hobart, Dickinson, Skidmore, Reed, Union, Kenyon, Trinity, Colby…
Betty, you're obviously talking studio art rather than history or art or art theory? They've got studio art at I think every school my friends went to (Vassar, UNC, U of Fla, Colgate, Emory, Clemson).
Originally posted by Graace:It's usually more expensive to fly to Detroit than San Francisco from DC.
Plus with the costs of college already being so high, they'd prefer not to have an expensive plane ticket to pay for every time they'd want to see me.
Parents. I still don't get 'em.
Originally posted by Chaz, Lover of all Beings:Except, you missed my point. I WANT to go to Brown. I really, really do. I want to go wherever the hell I can study art and make my parents happy. I can tell you right now, I don't want to get involved in the whole student loan bit. I'm not talented enough to get a scholarship to an art school. And art schools are more expensive and probably the worst idea if I were going to go somewhere to defy my parents, because supplies are almost as expensive as the education itself.
Originally posted by you be betty:Grants and loans and scholarships……loads of people do it. And you're right it certainly isn't the worst thing in the world, as long as you don't mind feeling like a caged up little robot, to use your own words. Not trying to give you a hard time, I'm sure it's not easy.
I don't have a choice. I also don't think it's the worst thing in the world. I've been lucky enough to be born into a family that can afford to pay for a snotty East Coast school for me, and to have the opportunity to excell in a great high school. I don't mind working hard in school - I enjoy it sometimes, I do. The only thing that sucks is the stress, and feeling that you're expected to do these great things all the time. I feel like a caged up little robot.
How would I afford to pay for my own college?
Just don't say you don't have a choice….that's the one thing we all have.
I mind feeling like a caged up robot sure, but I've gotten kind of used to it. I've figured out what I can do on the weekends to make me happy, as long as I keep my grades up (hi, 9:30), I've found a nice release, and I've got about as much independence as I can get without living alone. I'd rather bite my lip for the next couple of years and just proceed to work my ass off, than really defy any parentals or piss anyone off. When it comes time to apply to college (and I've got another year), I'll make sure I'm somewhere that I can be happy and do my arts/academic thing. Right now, the only places I can do that are two of the top schools in the US, so I have to keep getting straight A's in order to ensure that I'm at Duke or Brown, or something of the sort. And I think I'll be just fine :)
thank you betty and grace for your thoughtful responses. . but again, you aren't making these decisions, you are being forced to make them by someone else (be it parents or friends). maybe its just the culture of d.c./east coast (i grew up in california and wanted nothing else but to get away from the west coast and my parents- course, i'm back in california, so much for that), but i just couldn't imagine giving or receiving such pressure to conform to other people's wishes.
again, that's probably half the reason most of us actively participate on this board- we are conforming non-conformists. geez, i can't remember the last time i used conform so much, next thing you know i'll start using the word grok and use it correctly.
again, that's probably half the reason most of us actively participate on this board- we are conforming non-conformists. geez, i can't remember the last time i used conform so much, next thing you know i'll start using the word grok and use it correctly.
That's not very rock n' roll at all…
See what happens when the kids listen to Death Cab instead of AC/DC?
See what happens when the kids listen to Death Cab instead of AC/DC?
Originally posted by you be betty:
I'd rather bite my lip for the next couple of years and just proceed to work my ass off, than really defy any parentals or piss anyone off.
Fair enough. Keep up the hard work.
Like I said, don't mean to give anyone a hard time.
And remember, your Uncle Chaz never cracked a book in high school and flunked out of college in 3 semesters. And I've got really nice house in a great neighborhood with great schools, great wife, great kids, nice career, nice toys…all without ever doing any school work at all!!!
Like I said, don't mean to give anyone a hard time.
And remember, your Uncle Chaz never cracked a book in high school and flunked out of college in 3 semesters. And I've got really nice house in a great neighborhood with great schools, great wife, great kids, nice career, nice toys…all without ever doing any school work at all!!!
For parents to pay for your college education is a gift, and you should be eternally grateful. Sounds like you both see that, which puts you ahead in the game (that would be the game of life). When I saw friends around me in their twenties and thirties dealing with student loans, I understood how great/helpful/generous it was that my Dad put me through. I don't think I realized it at the time (and it's hard to realize, especially at particular schools where you can be surrounded by kids with enormous wealth and privilege. Shit, I went to school with one of Rupert Murdoch's kids! Oy, that was very hard sometimes…).
Good luck to you both, but just in case, you can be happy a lot of places! ;)
Good luck to you both, but just in case, you can be happy a lot of places! ;)