Quote:
Originally posted by AlphaChiGirl
...apply to U of A. You sound like you really like it, and it's four years of YOUR life, YOUR education, and although your parents may be paying, they're not doing the work, living the life, etc. Things will work out for the best.
U of A sounds like a great school for you! I came from an "academically competitive" high school too  , so I understand the pressure to get into a "good school"--especially during Early Decision/Action time. Actually, for my class, it wasn't about going to the "best" school, it was about who could go the farthest to school. So, I understand why you don't want to go to a school where it's like a pressure cooker. I also understand the whole "school spirit thing". I was Spirit Coordinator my Senior Year, so having a school that rallied around its football team (I'm from Florida) was a HUGE deal for me. Luckily, I found what I consider the "best of both worlds"--a good school that's not overly competitive where the student body is spirited. I think you've found your match with U of A! 
Have you ever mentioned to your parents that in most cases, where you went to school has very little bearing when you apply for your first job? No one "in the know" thinks U of A is a school for slouches, and it's possible you could get a "better" job out of U of A...there are tens of thousands of alumnae! (How small is your "safety"?)
Best of luck...and I'm upset for you...hang in there!
|
Hi AlphaChiGirl!! Thanks so much for your post...you are so sweet!!
I go to an academic magnet school, so the pressure's really great here. A common thing you'll hear in the hallways here: "I'm so sad. I ONLY got a 1490! My GPA (4.6) doesn't matter! What am I gonna do? I'm too stupid now for Harvard."
Gosh, I would die for a 1490. I would also die for a 4.6 GPA. Were there times for you too when you really thought about how you should have gone to another HS? Lately, and last year, I've thought about how I should have gone to this private school where I had been given a full-ride scholarship. They really nurture their students there, and many of them do very well. I'm just so sick of my high school sometimes. Haha ... probably no one will believe this, but I"m also a tour guide for my high school (yikes). My school probably wouldn't be too happy to hear this, but I do warn prospectives gently that they should be prepared to work hard in this competitive rat race. I do love being a tour guide though.
Spirit at my school is pretty much non-existent. People, sadly enough, are usually too tired or too jaded to give an ass about the school. When people from other schools are like, "Wow, you go to that school?!" We're like "It sucks. Be happy that you aren't a student here." (LOL, I'm sure our school's administration is proud of us students! haha)
I, too, think I have found a wonderful match with the U of A!! But, the problem is deifntely the parents. I don't know what to do. If they are so reluctant as to even let me apply (actually as of now they haven't even said OK to that), how am I gonna convince them that I want to GO?!!! In the lucky case that I get into my top schools, visit them and the U of A (if I get accepted), and decide I love the U of A better, my parents would be shocked and downright MAD. They'd be like "What the hell are you doing? You're damaging your future!!! Are you crazy?"
Yep, that happened with high school too. Basically, I was, in a way, forced to go to my present HS after getting accepted.
The last paragraph that you wrote is what I'm trying to drill into my parents' heads (rather unsuccessfully, sadly)!! I keep on telling them, "Mom and Dad...the truth is, it doesn't matter as much as to WHERE you go to school, it's a matter of how well you do in that school and what you do THERE." They're like, "Yeah right. YOu mean to tell me that those who go to Harvard will be shoved aside in favor of someone from like San Jose State?" I said, "Well...if that person from Harvard got a 2.0 and the SJSU guy got a 3.8 who would you hire?" They laughed wickedly, and were like, "Duh, Harvard." Sigh. They don't get that my GPA would be adversely affected if I were to go to a school that I hate. They care so much about GPA and so they should heed to that fact. But they don't!
Oh, the safety that I have right now, only has about 10,000 undergrads. Whereas the U of A I'm sure has undergrad numbers in the high 20,000s right, Shopgirl? You're definitely right about the alum connections there AlphaChiGirl!!
Thanks for being so supportive everybody!!
Threaded Mode