Girlie AGDee's College Search Thread

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by southbymidwest

Should hypoallergenic decide to go to UM, UM is extremely well regarded academically in other parts of the country. This coming from a Buckeye living in Fairfax County, near DC.

Here, too. University of Michigan is very impressive.

[Sciencewoman]

Ask any Michigan alum...they'll be glad to confirm how fabulously well-respected they are, everywhere in the world, except in that state just to the south.

[GammaGirl1908]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

Ask any Michigan alum...they'll be glad to confirm how fabulously well-respected they are, everywhere in the world, except in that state just to the south.

We sure are! Go Blue!

But seriously, if that is where she goes, it's a great place where everyone can find their niche. I could have gotten a great education at any one of so many excellent schools in this country -- and I attended other schools for grad school, so I've gotten a good slice of life at a couple of excellent colleges -- and I remain very, very glad I chose U of M.

It's no accident that we have such massive school pride -- it's because it's a place worthy of such pride!

Don't get me wrong, like any large institution it has its pros and cons for darn sure (just tonight, a young friend of mine who's gotten in there for grad school -- and who went to a very small undergrad school -- complained to me about them not having sent her some information she wanted. Me: "Errr ... you should get used to hunting down information on your own. There is very little handholding there. This is how it is, not a glitch."), and there are plenty of ways it might not be the right place for someone ... but if she feels at home there, she will have a blast.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by GammaGirl1908

We sure are! Go Blue!

But seriously, if that is where she goes, it's a great place where everyone can find their niche. I could have gotten a great education at any one of so many excellent schools in this country -- and I attended other schools for grad school, so I've gotten a good slice of life at a couple of excellent colleges -- and I remain very, very glad I chose U of M.

It's no accident that we have such massive school pride -- it's because it's a place worthy of such pride!

Don't get me wrong, like any large institution it has its pros and cons for darn sure (just tonight, a young friend of mine who's gotten in there for grad school -- and who went to a very small undergrad school -- complained to me about them not having sent her some information she wanted. Me: "Errr ... you should get used to hunting down information on your own. There is very little handholding there. This is how it is, not a glitch."), and there are plenty of ways it might not be the right place for someone ... but if she feels at home there, she will have a blast.

From the first time she stepped foot in Ann Arbor (to meet "Lemony Snicket" for a book signing at Borders), she loved it. She just wants to escape this state and I can't blame her for that. U of M would be the easiest for me, for sure. It's only 45 minutes away...lol. She knows she would be happy there. She loves the restaurants, coffee shops, stores, central campus, etc. She really just wants to leave the state.

[IndianaSigKap]

Originally Posted by AGDee

From the first time she stepped foot in Ann Arbor (to meet "Lemony Snicket" for a book signing at Borders), she loved it. She just wants to escape this state and I can't blame her for that. U of M would be the easiest for me, for sure. It's only 45 minutes away...lol. She knows she would be happy there. She loves the restaurants, coffee shops, stores, central campus, etc. She really just wants to leave the state.

One of my sisters felt the same way. She had grown up in Bloomington and her father worked for the university. She had a very unusual last name, so everyone on campus knew who her father was, and at times he was not all that popular on campus. She was determined to go out of state until she realized that neither her car nor any of her friends would be going with her and that she would have to fly to and from school which meant fewer trips home. :-) She ended up very happy at IU even though it was the "home" school.

[GammaGirl1908]

Originally Posted by AGDee

From the first time she stepped foot in Ann Arbor (to meet "Lemony Snicket" for a book signing at Borders), she loved it. She just wants to escape this state and I can't blame her for that. U of M would be the easiest for me, for sure. It's only 45 minutes away...lol. She knows she would be happy there. She loves the restaurants, coffee shops, stores, central campus, etc. She really just wants to leave the state.

I feel her -- I wanted to leave Michigan by the time I was done at UM, too, heh -- but you know what? The rest of the world still will be there 3-5 years from now. If the one and only thing wrong with UM is that it's not in Pittsburgh or Miami or DC or Seattle, she can sprint to any of those places with a puff of smoke behind her after college! (... and she'll have the strength of the largest alumni base in the world behind her when she goes.) I know it's hard to think that far ahead when you're 18, but it's so important to try to think long-term when making this decision.

[als463]

Originally Posted by GammaGirl1908

I feel her -- I wanted to leave Michigan by the time I was done at UM, too, heh -- but you know what? The rest of the world still will be there 3-5 years from now. If the one and only thing wrong with UM is that it's not in Pittsburgh or Miami or DC or Seattle, she can sprint to any of those places with a puff of smoke behind her after college! (... and she'll have the strength of the largest alumni base in the world behind her when she goes.) I know it's hard to think that far ahead when you're 18, but it's so important to try to think long-term when making this decision.

I know that Penn State touts the largest DUES PAYING Alumni Association in the nation! I think PSU passed U of M around 2009 or 2010. Penn State also has the largest student-run philanthropy in the world (THON). Too bad AGDee's daughter wasn't interested in becoming a Nittany Lion but, I wish her all the best!

As far as attending schools--I was set on Temple for the longest time (not sure why). I didn't want to attend my alma mater, at first, because I had family members who had worked for the school and growing up I was tired of hearing about how great PSU was. As I got older, I was able to appreciate everything Penn State had to offer. Attending a Big Ten university has definitely opened doors for me and I hope it will continue to do so in the future. Good luck to your daughter!

[AGDee]

Added bonus for hypoallergenic... Her second trimester grades just came in and she got all A's. She was really sweating Physics and AP Calc because she got A-s in those two last trimester. She's really more of a right brain person and has to work at hard at those two courses. However, she got As in them this trimester and bumped her class rank up one. She thought for sure she was going to get A-s and drop out of the top 10. She was sending me texts last week like "Is Dad going to be upset if I don't make top 10?" "Is Grandpa going to be upset if I don't make top 10?" "Are YOU going to be upset if I don't make top 10?" Of course the answer to all of them was NO, we are very proud of her and love her bunches whether she made top 10 or not. Anyway, she is solidly in the top 10. And this is the trimester that the school bases everything on, so she's happy today. Her counselor said she'd have those mid-year reports in ASAP.

[KSUViolet06]

Oh top 10. That was the bane of my senior year existence. I was SO upset when I ended up #9 (had been shooting for a top 5 spot.) I legitimately may have told my mom that "life was over."

[AGDee]

Well, she was like that at one point in time, when she had to decide whether to stay in band or try to be valedictorian. It was a very difficult decision for her, but if she stayed in band she couldn't fit all the AP classes into her schedule. One of the valedictorians dropped out of band but hypoallergenic decided that it was one of her passions and that was more important than being valedictorian. From that point on, she placed a lot less importance on class rank.

Additionally, she knows that some of the kids above her didn't exactly come by all of their grades honestly. Knowing that she earned what she did with her integrity intact was a big deal for her. I couldn't be more proud of *that*. But, I know she has put a ton of effort into Calculus and Physics and am really proud that she pulled off the A.

She said they started announcing the top 10 from the bottom. One of her friends from pre-school was #10. Hypoallergenic was #9 going into this trimester, so when they announced someone else as #9, she said she thought she didn't make it at all. But then, they announced her as #8 and she was really excited

[irishpipes]

They announce that? Seems like an invasion of privacy.

[NutBrnHair]

I just had lunch yesterday with a Chi Omega new member from WashU who owns a t-shirt that reads: "I Attend a Prestigious School No One's Ever Heard Of" (or something to that degree -- surely it doesn't end with a preposition!)

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

They announce that? Seems like an invasion of privacy.

They publish that in the newspaper! They get special honors at graduation. How is that more invasive than announcing a valedictorian and salutatorian? So many of them tie for ranks that they honor the top 10 instead of just the top two (there are 3 tied for rank 1-3, and 4 tied for rank 4-7), then hypo at # 8, one at #9 and one at #10.

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

They announce that? Seems like an invasion of privacy.

I offended one of my student teachers when I told him that the gigantic bulletin board that they had at his placement school (also his alma mater, so he was defensive about the school) was violating FERPA by posting the current GPAs of the top 100 students (down to 3 digits past the decimal).

However, most parents don't complain about accolades, so I don't think anyone is complaining much over the recognition of high grades. Personally, I like it because my daughter gets good grades, and I am also proud of her "Senior Scholar" status this year. Colleges send in Dean's Lists to have published in the hometown paper, too. It may not be as specific as the school GPA listing, but you can then tell who didn't get a 3.5 if they're from your town and not on the list.

If anyone started announcing the names of students who have bad grades, then I'm sure there would be a stink!

[AGDLynn]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

If anyone started announcing the names of students who have bad grades, then I'm sure there would be a stink!

I vote for this!! Then maybe they would do better...or at least maybe their parents would do their homework for them, lol.