Looking for some perspective --
I'm a freshman this year and considering law school. I'm rly interested but not 100% sure that it's what I want to do. That being said, as a pre law student I would need a 4.0 or close to it...From what I understand, it's only worth going to law school if you can get into a top one (plus getting aid).
Tbh I was excited about college as an environment where I wouldn't have to worry about getting perfect grades and could try classes I wasn't sure about, etc. Is it worth sticking to a safer path to get a super high GPA for the potential law admissions?
I guess it's just a matter of personal priorities but I rly wanted to hear from some people with experience.
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advice about pre law
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Stupidest reason child won't look at a college
Had to share this one. Mentioned to son that he might want to check out University of Minnesota for biomedical engineering because there seem to be a lot of biomed companies located in that area, and would probably be good in obtaining internships, coops.
Son replied that he would not look at Minnesota because he does not like the Vikings because they prevented the Saints from making the playoffs one year.
I was dumbfounded. Boys!
Not even going to bring up any New England school because he absolutely hates the Patriots!
This coming from my non sports loving son who refuses to even visit a school because "sports are too big there."
Again, BOYS!
At least Marquette is safe. We love the Packers!
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DIscussion closed
Thank you for your opinions.
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Need advice on next term.
I am a student here at SUNY Geneseo and am wrapping up my fall term.For the past few weeks I have been greatly considering staying an extra semester and just finishing out in may. This would not only help to save me a trip for coming up to attended commencement but also I could use that time to add a a few class to add a second major or minor. I also feel like this could help me stay in contact with other professor helping me with letters or even take some classes to make me more marketable to grad schools. I also really enjoy the therapist I see here and if I stayed I could keep getting some fantastic help. But staying would mean me taking on debt, which if I graduated now I would have none. If I stayed it would be a gov loan of 5k. I have tried to contact my advisor but I have gotten no response. So I'm a tad lost on the problem, my parents don't mind but want me to make the choice. I would love to stay and be with my friends, but if I did stay it would be my 6 years in college instead of 51/2. Plus I feel like a big driver for me to stay is the social aspect, but I am also fearful that there is nothing for me back home. I have been applying to internships and jobs since June and I have nothing to do when I go home. Would staying in college and keep looking for a job be better? Or should I just be done and head up in May?
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Music Industry/Business School Help needed for current senior
My son is a senior looking at music industry/business programs. His true love is for performing electric guitar in a rock/contemporary style andt he wants to study the industry and get experience there, more knowledgable and ready to succeed, and with employable skills. He has no experience playing jazz or classical guitar although he is willing to learn some jazz. He DOES want to study music, especially commercial styles and hopefully have chances to perform, although he can always do this off campus. Many "music" programs require auditions and require classical guitar or jazz, at a minimum.
He is looking at all of the usual programs: USC, NYU, Miami, Syracuse (both Setnor and Bandier), St. Rose, Mid. Tennessee, William Paterson, Monmouth, Belmont, New Haven, Albright, Rochester, UC Denver, Loyola New Orleans, Case Western, UMass Lowell, Milliken, U of Memphis, Delta State, Capitol. Some of these I've eliminated after reading commentary on this website, niche and student reviews.com
Credentials:
23 ACT, awaiting scores on retake
school doesn't rank or calculate GPA but would be about 3.5
no weighted, AP, classes offered at his school
did Five Week Summer Performance Program at Berklee
year long internship at regional performing arts center working both front and back of house, learning lights, soundboard, set up etc.
member of school sponsored band, produced a professionally recorded CD
Lots of experience playing in public
100 hours community service
great story of overcoming adversity, went from becoming a failing student and victim of bullying, making choice himself to leave to go to a boarding school across country, rediscovered music in a supportive environment where teachers helped him learn how to overcome mild learning disabilities.
Any thoughts on the best way programs and the best way to present him to get him admitted? Do you think any of the schools that want jazz guitar auditions would consider really impressive rock guitar solos? My son may call some of the schools and try to talk to guitar faculty to get a feel. If they are just looking for talented musicians for the industry programs, he fits the mold, just not in the way they usually measure it.
Can anyone speak to the difference between the Syracuse Setnor Music Industry program and Bandier? Since Bandier is for "non-musicians" would Setnor be more appropriate if he can get past the audition guidelines? However, it seems like Bandier has more industry contacts, more prestige, and some other special features that the music based program doesn't have.
I don't know if it is even worth applying to schools like NYU and USC unless the grades and ACT scores are a secondary consideration to the talent portion, essay, recommendations, big picture etc. Any thoughts?
I DO believe that a program that offers internships, that has its own record label, production company etc., and definitely a faculty with meaningful contacts are almost musts.
I know that people post on here that have been in this position and some that have made it into these programs (or not). Any advice would be appreciated! I may post this on the music forum, too, but I know that there have been some excellent posts from parents here on this subject.
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Why doesn't anybody tell you?!?!
Just like nobody tells you what it's really like having a baby, no one tells you that you will feel like a limb is missing when your first child goes to college. : ...( (Like my fancy emoticon? They showed it to us yesterday at the "Let Your Kid Go" speech, haha!)
Any words of wisdom appreciated.
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No More Shakespeare
From the Daily Pennsylvanian:
http://www.thedp.com/article/2016/12/shakespeare-portrait-removed
Students remove Shakespeare portrait in English dept., aiming for inclusivity
Penn English professor and Department Chair Jed Esty was surprised to find a large portrait of William Shakespeare waiting in his office. A group of students removed the iconic portrait from the walls of Fisher- Bennett Hall and delivered it to Esty’s office after an English Department town hall meeting discussing the election, which took place on Thursday December 1. They replaced it with a photo of Audre Lorde, a black female writer.
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post-ed, send email to schools that have transcripts and test scores but not app?
My D was admitted ed and has withdrawn her app from all the other schools. However, her high school has sent transcripts to all the schools to which she planned to apply and some of those schools also have her test scores.
One of her friends was deferred ED to a small LAC that had my D's info. My D wondered if she should have sent a note to the school to let them know she wasn't applying. Her thought process was the LAC might say "let's see if this other candidate from the same school applies and choose between the two during RD." This type of analysis would have been a lot of work in the days of paper applications but in the era of big data, it's pretty easy.
tia!
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Parents, I Need Your Opinions!
Hello, parents! Let's cut straight to the chase. (I hope this is the correct place to put it in.)
I'm more of a humanities person, and while I AM interested in nearly everything (I just think everything is cool), I don't really want to major in science or math. I've leaned more towards the humanities (writing, specifically) since the fourth grade, and it's something I've seriously thought about for my future job. I like doing things like NaNoWriMo, I've entered in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards twice now, and it's basically my whole life--for example, to procrastinate, I write. I also love history and studying how people lived, and I am OBSESSED with musicals and operas and plays and films and all of that, and if I had a singing bone in my body, then I would absolutely go that route. However, my parents have other ideas. They want me to have a good paying job, that is also stable, and science is the only way to go about it, and I understand that. My coursework for this semester (Calculus, Chemistry, AP Bio, Biotech, Psychology, Latin, Japanese, Creative Writing, and a light World History) has left me pulling my hair out, and I think I'm starting to dislike it now that they're pushing me into the science field and not even just talking with me about my interests. They just continually talk about science, science, science, and I get that they want me to have a good life, but what's a good life when you don't necessarily love your work? But then they say that nobody loves their work, it's just something to pay the bills. And it doesn't help that my twin sister is going into the medical field and is really itching to go to Harvard, 'cause it's easy to compare people when they come from the same family and are the same age.
I understand where they're coming from, I really do, but I feel like I'm starting to resent it. Remember when I said that bit about fourth grade? Well, before, I wanted to be a chemist like Marie Curie. And then a geologist when we had our big geology unit. And then a marine biologist when I read this fiction book. And so, my mom is always asking why I changed, why didn't I stay the science enthusiast that I was? What should I do? I thrive on honesty, so please tell me what you think as bluntly as you can.
Oh! Also, I'm in tenth grade, 16 (I have a late birthday) so I have some more time on my hands before college, and I am Taiwanese-American, if that helps... Should I use that time to get invested in science?
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We need to un-educate the educated: criticism of liberal schools
Interesting letter to the editor in a newspaper:
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/opinion/readers/2016/12/07/letter-we-need-un-educate-educated/95045310
Extracts:
"Can you imagine the absurdity of the dog therapy and the days of weeping at some of these schools? For therapy, take some of these kids behind the woodshed. A good spanking would do them a lot of good. How would you like to have to hire some of these babies?"
"We don't need to educate the uneducated, we need to un-educate the educated"
I'm not quite sure of the point of the letter: we should remain uneducated instead of attending liberal schools, perhaps? I cannot imagine writing something like that letter.
Others: your thoughts?
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How would you advise your daughter re: career?
It's been a while since I've posted on these forums (who knew that I would end up doing college instead of just posting about it? ;) ) but I've been thinking about a few career-related questions and decided I would like the advice of the resident CC sages :)
I'm a college junior and doing very well in my chemistry major. My adviser is strongly encouraging me to go to graduate school for biochemistry, molecular biology, or pharmacology (my main areas of interest, though those could change). I've had an interest in education for a long time and am thinking I would like to teach chemistry/biology at the college (either 4-year or community college) or secondary (private high school) level after grad school. But I'm open to lots of other possibilities.
At the same time, I've been in a serious relationship with a really great guy for about a year and a half. We're not engaged, and wouldn't be for at *least* another year, but nevertheless I've been thinking about how that might impact my career plans. Whether it's with this guy or someone else farther down the road, I would love to have (lots of?) kids and invest most of my time in my family. This doesn't seem to be a typical ambition in CC-land, but what the heck, I want it anyways.
In light of this, career flexibility is important to me. It would be great to be able to take a few years off and then jump back into the workplace, or to shift to part-time work relatively easily. Of course, I don't want to base all my career plans on a hypothetical family (what if the relationship doesn't work out? or the kids never come? etc.). And I know I have plenty of time-- don't worry, I'm in no rush :)
Do any of y'all have advice? I would appreciate thoughts from CC moms who've walked this tightrope and can reflect on what they've learned/wish they had done differently.
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Student Traveling Abroad Following Injury
D just fractured wrist over weekend. Arm is in a sling and will take 6-8 weeks to heal. Fortunately, it should heal on its own as long as she is careful and no cast is needed.
She leaves for Paris 1/6. She may need a little assistance with her bag upon arrival and will need an orthopedist in Paris. Any suggestions for how to manage the air travel and other tips?
Thank you.
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"We Had Enough"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/12/15/minnesota-players-boycotting-football-could-skip-bowl-game-to-protest-suspensions/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_el-minnesota1050p:homepage/story&utm_term=.9a0c63c6d795
Wow. So intersting. Wonder how this will play out.
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October 2016 PSATs
We live in Ny and my son got a 1480 on the PSATs. Based on last year's cutoff he should qualify as a semi finalist. We just got a report back from his School and it looks like the national average on the PSATs was significantly higher than last year's national average. Was the test much easier this year? I am wondering if the qualifying selection index is going to be a lot higher this year. Any thoughts?
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When you are not genuinely happy for someone else's kid :(
Well, a classmate of my daughter's got into his/her Ivy. Mine didn't even apply to this school but after an hour I find myself feeling very jealous. And mine didn't even have this school in sights.
This person is a fantastic kid! Not the highest stat kid, but a genuine leader in the community. Nice to everybody with fantastic social skills. I loved this kid when he/she was little (haven't seen him/her in a several years but I'm sure I'd still love this kid).
This kid wants to be president some day.
Why am I not happy for him/her? What can I do to not be this way?
Are these feelings normal?
Ugh.
Thanks for letting me vent. I'm not proud of myself here.
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Building a list of supportive schools for nice average kid
Heigh ho, parents forumites! I'm back, starting to build up a list for DNiece, a current high school junior.
San Diego CA area, public high school with decent reputation.
PSAT 1110, up about 100 points from 10th grade, no serious test prep/study yet. Academic only GPA 3.6 UW, 3.8 W for 9th-10th; overall GPA higher when performing arts/music courses included. College prep but not taking most rigorous coursework. Enrolled in English AP. Currently interested in becoming a veterinarian (she's worked at vet offices). Extracurriculars mostly in vocal music and theater; an eager, committed, but not standout participant.
DN is looking for a smaller school (<7k undergrad) relatively near to home (within a 2 hour plane ride), no cold weather, collaborative rather than competitive. Small classes with helpful professors. Students who tend to do things on campus, but it should also be easy to go off campus to a nearby city or town. She would like to be able to continue with a choral performance group, and possibly join a sorority. However, she's not a big partier. No particular interest in rah-rah or passionate politics.
Good support services (academic tutoring services and mental health support) are important. She may need access to a regular therapist, which should be possible in most college towns.
Not looking for need-based or merit aid, though of course it's always nice. No cost restrictions. Yes, vet school is expensive, but fit for undergrad trumps that.
She is one of the sweetest people that I know, a conscientious student, but not (yet!) an assertive personality.
I've taken her to visit Chapman and Redlands. She liked both, especially Redlands. Redlands looks like a safety to me. Chapman it's hard to tell because their stats are driven up by the competition for Dodge; I'm thinking that for a liberal arts major she's a low match.
Where else would you suggest that she visit? I have on my list for her to consider (and for me to research more--already aware that some of these don't fit all criteria like having a greek system):
Safety?
University of the Pacific
St. Mary's College of California
Match?
Loyola Marymount (Los Angeles)
University of Puget Sound
University of San Diego (will definitely visit)
Reach?
Lewis and Clark
Santa Clara University
Random possibilities (relatively nearby other visits, so check 'em out just because)
Occidental (reach, possibly too academic for her)
Mills (if Scripps appeals, see below--but suspect she will not like Oakland location)
Pitzer (D2 attends, so easy for DN to do a visit)
Scripps (while at Pitzer, see if single sex appeals; reach otherwise)
University of San Francisco (suspect she will not like urban location)
We're also looking at possible fits among the Cal States, maybe also at Merced or Riverside. I do think she'll do better at a private school.
As always, insight, suggestions, and errors in my assumptions are much desired. One caveat: I do not have in-depth insight into details of how students at her high school fare in admissions, and it's not easy for me to get that kind of information.
OK, have at it!
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The Wild Rumpus Ends! Puget Sound Wins!
Within a couple of hours of my child Sasha’s setting foot on its stunning campus in Tacoma, Washington, Sasha’s first choice for college was the University of Puget Sound. The UPS students we met were bright, engaged, diverse, and just plain nice. The college’s academic offerings appeared to be robust. The music offerings were outstanding. The campus was lush, green and peaceful, yet conveniently located between two nice commercial areas in a surprisingly interesting medium-sized city, with Seattle only a short drive away. The surrounding region was almost intoxicatingly beautiful. We visited several other wonderful colleges, but all of our family’s subsequent college-comparison discussions focused on where Sasha should go if UPS said “no.” Happily for us, after Sasha applied “early decision,” UPS said “yes” (as did the three colleges to which Sasha applied “early action”).
In the next few posts, I’ll describe UPS in more detail and then talk about some of the alternatives Sasha considered. My hope is that at least a few people perusing College Confidential in the future will find Sasha’s and my observations useful in deciding which colleges to visit, etc. Every kid is unique, but I suspect that quite a few families look for similar schools every year and would have similar reactions to ours. These posts are basically revised versions of notes that I wrote to myself over the past year. As I revised them, I was surprised by how much I learned through the process and how much my views on different subjects changed over time.
When we started the college application process in earnest during Sasha’s junior year, Sasha decided to search for a small liberal arts college located in a major city. Sasha is an urban kid who rides public transportation and likes to explore different neighborhoods. Sasha is fairly studious, musically talented and a good but not spectacular high school athlete. When our quest began, Sasha was especially interested in Occidental and Macalester. By the end, those colleges had fallen down Sasha’s list, behind not only UPS (which gave Sasha a huge merit scholarship) but also Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin (which also gave Sasha a huge merit scholarship and probably was Sasha’s second choice), Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin (a real hidden gem that also gave Sasha a huge merit scholarship), and Willamette University in Salem, Oregon (which also gave Sasha a huge merit scholarship and might well have surpassed Beloit and become Sasha’s second choice if we had visited it).
This week seems like a good one for me to post these observations. Our family is ecstatic at how the college admissions process has turned out. Other families we know are feeling pretty dejected right now, as many kids got deferred or rejected from their first choice colleges. If any of those families asked for my advice, it would be that they should keep in mind the fact that there are actually a lot more terrific options out there than most people discuss. Many applicants are making the college admissions process far more stressful than it needs to be. If Sasha had done what most of the kids in our community do—and applied early only to the most selective college that conceivably might say “yes”—then our family also would probably be gearing up for another two weeks of essay writing and form completing, to be followed by three-an-a-half months of anxious waiting. But Sasha concluded a while ago that “more selective” did not necessarily mean “better,” at least for Sasha.
When we looked at the stats for the colleges Sasha liked the most, we saw that they accepted a very wide range of applicants, including students with far lower grades and test scores than Sasha had as well as students with far higher grades and test scores (i.e., grades and test scores that potentially would qualify an applicant for admission to some of the country’s most selective colleges). A lot of high school seniors who are enduring miserable Decembers may have much happier Aprils if they expand their horizons a bit, and look for colleges that attract plenty of smart kids but also attract plenty of kids with only average credentials. Some of those colleges may actually be better fits.
I’ll give fairly detailed descriptions of UPS as well as Occidental, Macalester, Beloit, Lawrence and Willamette. Then I’ll comment in less detail about Wooster, Kalamazoo, Knox and Earlham (all of interest to Sasha, but of less interest than UPS, Beloit, Lawrence and Willamette); Reed and Lewis & Clark (intriguing because they are in Portland but not on Sasha’s list in the end), Grinnell, Kenyon, Oberlin, and Whitman (eliminated from contention early in the process, primarily because of their small-town locations), Skidmore, Vassar, Wesleyan, Connecticut College, Bard, Bates, Swarthmore and Haverford (eliminated even earlier in the process because Sasha did not want to attend college on the East Coast, where Sasha has lived since birth), Pitzer and the Claremont Colleges (eliminated for a variety of reasons), and the University of Michigan Residential College (eliminated because, though it has many great features, the “liberal arts college within a Big Ten university” isn’t really a liberal arts college). The last comment is not a criticism of huge research universities—they’re great for many people, just not Sasha.
Incidentally, “Sasha” is not my child’s real name. As I wrote this post, the sound of “Sasha” resonated with me more than “Ashanti,” “Ming,” “Pat,” “Peyton,” “Skyler” and all the other gender-neutral names that came to mind.
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Just smile and nod...smile and nod
It's that time of year. Well-meaning family and friends blurt-out unimformed reactions to our college news. What masters of self-control we must be to keep from laughing in their faces or kicking them in the shin.
Some comments we've heard about Son attending Wake Forest:
"OMG! You do know that's run by Baptists, right?"
"Too bad he has to go someplace so small."
On the ROTC scholarship:
"Why doesn't he want to go to college?"
What have you encountered? Share it here. We'll laugh and comisserate together.
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Moved: What kind of computer is your DS/DD buying?
This discussion has been moved.
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Academic Suspension. Please give any advice to make my appeal better!
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to appeal my academic suspension from CNU. The suspension did not come to me as a surprise however, it did deeply upset me. I would like to urge you allow me to return to Christopher Newport University next semester.
At CNU honesty is very important thus this letter will stay true to heart. Last semester was one of the most difficult transitions I have ever made in my life, as a result my grades were affected by it, but I would like to explain to you the circumstances I was going through. The beginning of the semester was fun and exciting, I was up to the challenge and eager to succeed. However, after the first few weeks of college I became very sleep deprived. I would find myself falling asleep at 5 a.m. and a lot of times even later. This sleep deprivation obviously effected my attendance in class and my ability to work. Then the poor work and grades had me feeling lost, I was so confused to whether or not college was right for me, and thus I became depressed. My depression had a great toll on my behavior. For long periods of time I would stay alone in my dark room; friend often texted me if I was fine but unfortunately, I respond with “Yeah, just busy.” I made attempts to go to class but my anxiety would keep distracting me from the lesson at hand. Also, my grandmother passed away a few months ago, my family has been recovering for our loss but her death only made my depression worse, she will always stay close to my heart. To simply put my situation, I was emotionally overwhelmed and felt lost.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but if I were to redo the semester, I would have used my resources wisely. I should have taken advantage of the people willing to talk to me and help me through my depression. I took my good friends that I made at the CNU community for granted, they for sure would have been able to help me get through this. Please note that I am only to blame and I accept that, I just know that if you give me the opportunity to return immediately that I can succeed!
I adore CNU, such a phenomenal community of students and educators that is placed on an equally beautiful campus. If I am reinstated, I give you my word that I will work much better on my schoolwork, use my resources better, and be a better part of the CNU community. My low GPA is not a reflection of who I am. I honestly am a great learner who has grand ambitions in life. I just had a poor semester that I take full responsibility for. Thank you greatly for considering my appeal and I truly hope that you will allow me to return next semester.
Sincerely,
XXX
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