OT: Connecticut College

[August_West]

We'll see. At this point it's hard to know if it's the school itself or the idea of it. She is at this point dead set on an urban campus but that can change. As long as she's happy, although I would not be mad at Berkeley or UCSB or something instate.

You could never be mad at those schools. I would've gone to Berkeley if I could've gotten in . It is part and parcel why (at least in my parents POV ;-) I became a CA resident and went to live with my Uncle. (ssssh being a 1980's deadhead had nothing to do with it) .... I'm just saying even though you are a west coast guy now, and that's cool, There are advantages to NYC (which I know you know) that just aren't replicated anywhere else for the right kind of person. But also as a Dad to a 21 year old girl with another girl on the way (it's still weird to type that) , she'd have to show me that that's "her thing" . I wouldn't push it either. But if you believe its her thing, you will make it happen, and you won't regret it.

 

[pepband99]

I disagree. Big state universities are as popular as ever for people from all walks. As @husky429 noted, a lot of kids in these parts seem to be attracted to UMD. Our oldest definitely was and one of my best friends has a daughter who is a freshman there now and loves it. I also know a bunch at Penn State and Pitt who also love them. In our town the southern state schools are also drawing a lot of kids now, especially Clemson, UGA, USC.

The thing you will find out is that many of the private universities are very generous with merit aid, which they use to woo the kids most desirable to them based on a variety of factors (frequently geographical diversity is one of them). That often makes them very price-competitive with, if not less expensive than, the big state schools, which are usually not as generous with merit aid for out of state kids. And many of the private schools do a good job of selling, and providing, customer service; whereas many of the state schools, in my experience, are more self-serve.

Spot on with the out-of-state public vs private. Out of state students are the meal ticket for the publics - they won't give it up easily.

 

[CL82]

LOL. I went to NYU (for one of my multi school round the country 17 year to degree college choices which includes 2 different UConn campuses, and Cal State Northridge haha) If she is wired that way you stand no chance in this. Just enjoy that it is a great school and if you have a kid who can handle NYC at 18 you have no worries. I would never hesitate to send a kid there who wants it (if they want it badly) It uniquely prepares one for life.

What years were you at NYU?

 

[August_West]

What years were you at NYU?

89-91

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

You could never be mad at those schools. I would've gone to Berkeley if I could've gotten in . It is part and parcel why (at least in my parents POV ;-) I became a CA resident and went to live with my Uncle. (ssssh being a 1980's deadhead had nothing to do with it) .... I'm just saying even though you are a west coast guy now, and that's cool, There are advantages to NYC (which I know you know) that just aren't replicated anywhere else for the right kind of person. But also as a Dad to a 21 year old girl with another girl on the way (it's still weird to type that) , she'd have to show me that that's "her thing" . I wouldn't push it either. But if you believe its her thing, you will make it happen, and you won't regret it.

First of all I'll never consider myself a "west coast guy," no matter how long I'm out here. But I hear you. If we go to visit and she does her due diligence and decides it's the place for her and she gets in then I'll be happy for her. But I also want her to get a better sense of what she's really after in a college experience. As somebody else mentioned, it is a delicate dance in terms of trying to give them ideas without being too heavy-handed.

 

[upstater]

My brother went to NYU in the 1990s. He also had nearly a full scholarship to Syracuse. We talked recently about the fact that he went to NYU and went into debt rather than go to Syracuse. He mentioned all the friends, contacts, jobs, from living in NYC, which lead directly to his career. Wouldn't have happened at Syracuse. NYU has a huge advantage with NYC.

 

[Huskyhoops25]

With my youngest, I certainly thought she would continue the UConn tradition but I should’ve known better when we toured Williams, Smith, Amherst and Mount Holyoke. To quote a Dirty Dancing line, “Baby’s starting at Mount Holyoke in the fall.” Like it’s been said several times before, the kid is gonna pick who they want, no matter how influential we may think we are, subtly or overtly.

 

[8893]

With my youngest, I certainly thought she would continue the UConn tradition but I should’ve known better when we toured Williams, Smith, Amherst and Mount Holyoke. To quote a Dirty Dancing line, “Baby’s starting at Mount Holyoke in the fall.” Like it’s been said several times before, the kid is gonna pick who they want, no matter how influential we may think we are, subtly or overtly.

Did they teach you the old saying about Smith and Holyoke yet?

 

[Chuck]

My brother went to NYU in the 1990s. He also had nearly a full scholarship to Syracuse. We talked recently about the fact that he went to NYU and went into debt rather than go to Syracuse. He mentioned all the friends, contacts, jobs, from living in NYC, which lead directly to his career. Wouldn't have happened at Syracuse. NYU has a huge advantage with NYC.

Syracuse does have one more basketball national championship than NYU though. Counting both schools' "Helms Athletic Foundation and Premo-Porretta Power Poll" championships, it's 3-2 Syracuse. It'll probably stay that way for a looong time, unless both schools make serious changes to their programs.

 

[uconnfan68]

My brother went to NYU in the 1990s. He also had nearly a full scholarship to Syracuse. We talked recently about the fact that he went to NYU and went into debt rather than go to Syracuse. He mentioned all the friends, contacts, jobs, from living in NYC, which lead directly to his career. Wouldn't have happened at Syracuse. NYU has a huge advantage with NYC.

Academic scholarship? How does one get those at big schools?

 

[TRest]

With my youngest, I certainly thought she would continue the UConn tradition but I should’ve known better when we toured Williams, Smith, Amherst and Mount Holyoke. To quote a Dirty Dancing line, “Baby’s starting at Mount Holyoke in the fall.” Like it’s been said several times before, the kid is gonna pick who they want, no matter how influential we may think we are, subtly or overtly.

One of mine ended up there. Loved the campus, would work there after graduating if they let her.

 

[upstater]

Academic scholarship? How does one get those at big schools?

He didn't at NYU. But it was mostly academic at Syracuse. Above and beyond need. It was almost 100%. I had a similar deal at a good school but turned it down like an idiot.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

The kid is in the last stages of decoding where she will go to college…

She’s basically going to choose from a pair of current Big East schools, (thankfully, she’s tossed Providence), a former Big East school and Connecticut College/Holy Cross/union as small school picks.

I didn’t go to Conn College when she visited, so have no insight into the place. I am a little concerned that a kid who goes to a high school with 4,500 kids is going to be out of place at a college of 1800 kids.

Anyone familiar with the place?

A very good friend of mine is always telling me how much her granddaughter loves going to Connecticut College. She’s a freshman and plays on the girls lacrosse team.

 

[Huskyhoops25]

Did they teach you the old saying about Smith and Holyoke yet?

Bring it.

 

[8893]

Bring it.

Legend has it that the Harvard boys used to say “Smith to bed, Holyoke to wed.”

 

[twiceahusky]

I'm probably not supposed to be pro-testing because I'm a school teacher... but I really think it's ridiculous that they don't require them. I think the same for grad programs that drop the GRE.

The big argument I always hear is that the tests are biased. 1) I've never seen a kid do badly on the SAT that was clearly smart, 2) I HAVE seen kids with really tough backgrounds that didn't do very well in school punch above their weight class in the admissions process and change their life. The risk is the rich kids getting tutors to do better on the test and such. I agree but I think the risk isn't as great as with rec letters, extracurriculars and grades.

IMO recommendation letters and extracurriculars are a hell of a lot more biased than the tests are. I've taught hundreds of really smart kids who juat didn't have the time to do extracurriculars. Or kids that aren't going to get great recommendations because they're shy and have eccentric hobbies or something. Grades are also inflated to hell at rich white kid schools.

Grades don't mean anything anymore. Anyone can get credit for extracurriculars if you spend an hour after school once a semester. Sign me up for the only objective measure of student performance we have left.

Well said husky429. I’m also a public high school teacher, and I can’t overstate the strong correlation between SAT scores, performance on AP exams, performance on high school tests, and (quantitative) intelligence. SATs shouldn’t be the only measure, but certainly they are one measure that should be considered.

And I agree with you that they are one of the most unbiased measures out there. Class rank - depends which school, classes, and how much grade grubbing. Essays - who was paid to write them and edit them? Extra-curriculars follow wealth … better off summering in Europe than working at Dunkin, paying bills and watching your younger siblings.

I see a lot of kids who dominate as upperclassmen when the material is hard & interesting enough to challenge them. Some lacked parenting or motivation as underclassmen … but everyone knows they are among the toughest minds in the room. A great way to give these kids a fair shot is comparing SAT scores.

So many in education vilify SATs. I hate that.

 

[mauconnfan]

Congrats on her choice. Excellent campus and area she’ll love it and you and your wife will enjoy the visits.

 

[Fishy]

Congrats. As I said earlier my daughter is a Sophomore there and has really done well, and I have no complaints so far. I can hook her up with your daughter if she has any questions, the dorms, class registration, clubs, or anything else. You also might want to join the Conn College Parents and Families Facebook group, it is a good resource, and it is fun to see the super uber-helicopter parents freak out when their kid complains about the type of fish in the sushi-bowls.

Thank you! I will definitely take you up on that.

Look….I will make it a point to freak out about the fish in the sushi. Watch for it.

 

[uconnfan68]

He didn't at NYU. But it was mostly academic at Syracuse. Above and beyond need. It was almost 100%. I had a similar deal at a good school but turned it down like an idiot.

Asking because of what we went through 20+ years ago with my daughter. She had a sterling academic resume, with an 800 verbal, 670 math sats. She was offered next to nothing from 2 of 3 schools she applied to. I didn’t understand what they were looking for. Still don’t.

 

[boba]

Well said husky429. I’m also a public high school teacher, and I can’t overstate the strong correlation between SAT scores, performance on AP exams, performance on high school tests, and (quantitative) intelligence. SATs shouldn’t be the only measure, but certainly they are one measure that should be considered.

And I agree with you that they are one of the most unbiased measures out there. Class rank - depends which school, classes, and how much grade grubbing. Essays - who was paid to write them and edit them? Extra-curriculars follow wealth … better off summering in Europe than working at Dunkin, paying bills and watching your younger siblings.

I see a lot of kids who dominate as upperclassmen when the material is hard & interesting enough to challenge them. Some lacked parenting or motivation as underclassmen … but everyone knows they are among the toughest minds in the room. A great way to give these kids a fair shot is comparing SAT scores.

So many in education vilify SATs. I hate that.

On the other side of the issue. GRE and MCAT scores tell me very little about future performance of graduate students. Indeed the ones with the high scores often turn out to be the ones that are the weakest or simply not that good. I only did UG a couple of years and didn't see any correlation between their SAT or performance in college (but I was TA'ing Junior and Senior level courses. I look at the whole person and what they did with what they had. I sooner have a kid with 3.0 GPA and mediocre SAT who made sure his siblings were cared for and safe then another Berkeley grad (that we just put into Hahvahd Medical). That Berkeley grad did the minimum he could do (it was good enough) but cares about himself more than the community. He'll make a fine Hahvahd doctoh, which is to say patient mortality will not be optimum.
Tests demonstrate you can take a test.
Edit to add: I have a high school intern this summer, son of a friend. Kid is frighteningly smart - multivariate calculus in 11th grade - wants to do 3D reconstruction incorporating spatial genomics. Now both parents have PhD's so he was given a great deal, but he is also working as hard than any one else in the lab. His brother was wait-listed by Berkeley, because it's Berkeley. I'm pointing this one to Harvey Mudd as I haven't had any luck getting anyone in there yet.

 

[Umami Zen]

I was not….but I will be.

I definitely will.

BTW. We're not talking fine cuisine.. We're talking blue jean/shorts vibe where you can enjoy your company/daughter and have your own bottle of wine/adult beverage.. And just catch up with what's going on with her life.. Lobster rolls and a wine of your choice.. Not fancy..

 

[Fishy]

BTW. We're not talking fine cuisine.. We're talking blue jean/shorts vibe where you can enjoy your company/daughter and have your own bottle of wine/adult beverage.. And just catch up with what's going on with her life.. Lobster rolls and a wine of your choice.. Not fancy..

So, basically perfect.

 

[husky429]

Tests demonstrate you can take a test.

My overall point was that while standardized tests are not a good measure of a student's ability to do well in college, the other things we look at are also deeply flawed. Just as flawed--probably more.

And they certainly tell you more than that a kid "can take a test"--the skills being tested are rather important. I rarely see a kid have a score on the SAT that I couldn't have predicted from classwork. It is, quite literally, the closest thing to an objective measure of a kid's intelligence we have.

The articles from MIT on why they reinstituted mandatory testing for admission should be a good read for you.

If we're going to have a bunch of flawed measures to try to figure out which kids to admit, we should be using as many as possible to get a more complete picture.

 

[HooperScooper]

Asking because of what we went through 20+ years ago with my daughter. She had a sterling academic resume, with an 800 verbal, 670 math sats. She was offered next to nothing from 2 of 3 schools she applied to. I didn’t understand what they were looking for. Still don’t.

Don't try to understand it. After going through the process with 2 kids and seeing where their friends got into and where they didn't, I'm convinced it's a total crapshoot applying to schools. That's why I always suggest just applying to as many schools as you think fit your criteria. You just don't know these days.

 

[8893]

If you're not already familiar with Abbotts Lobster in the Rough/Noank.. Pretty cool/casual vibe.. BYOB.. Outdoor dining.. Picnic tables.. On the water view.. Might want to check it out.. Close to CC

I was not….but I will be.

I definitely will.

BTW. We're not talking fine cuisine.. We're talking blue jean/shorts vibe where you can enjoy your company/daughter and have your own bottle of wine/adult beverage.. And just catch up with what's going on with her life.. Lobster rolls and a wine of your choice.. Not fancy..

So, basically perfect.

Abbott’s is great, except for the fact that their basic lobster roll is on a hamburger bun instead of a hot dog bun. You have to pay up to get the larger one on a hot dog bun.

And Ford’s is better, but smaller and the crowds are worse.

Toddlers aplenty working at both.