Universities by Conference

So with Colorado joining the Pac-10 and Nebraska joining the Big 10, the Big 12 conference (once the Big 8) will become the Big 10 and the Big 10 (actually the Big 11 right now) will become the Big 12. Confused?

Last night, I had to admit to my dad that I am planning to apply to several schools in the Big 10, which would pit my school against his beloved Cornhuskers. Here are my current plans, by conference:

Big 10 - 5 schools
ACC - 2 schools
Pac-10 - 2 schools

Of the remaining Big 10, I am definitely not applying to 2, probably not applying to 1, and possibly applying to 3.

The other schools I haven't decided about yet:

Big 12 - 1
Pac-10 - 3
SEC - 2
ACC - 2
Big East - 1
Other (non-major) - 3

I think the only reasonable thing is for Stanford to admit me right away, so that my father can remain unconflicted and my sister and I could share an alma mater. I was going to emphasize my research interests and experience in my statement of purpose, but for Stanford, I clearly need to play up this peace in the family angle because adcoms are infamously impressed by this sort of logic. Or I could always write the kind of SOP that is generally effective and rely on my mom to call Stanford and explain why I should be admitted.

Note to tone-deaf reader who googled this entry: I am being sarcastic. Parental involvement in your grad school application process is a very bad idea. DO. NOT. DO. THIS. PERIOD. I appreciated this quote from an article on over-involved parents of grad school applicants:

"Derrick Bolton, dean of admissions at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, has become immune to parents who want to know what their children should study in high school, to get in to the right college, to get in to the right business school.

“People go to business school to learn to lead other people,” says Mr. Bolton, who views the application process as a proxy for the rest of life. “And if they’re not taking ownership of the application process, it makes you wonder — is this person going to take ownership in life, without someone pushing him or her?”

That is, if they can’t apply without Mommy, how will they hold a quarterly earnings conference call with hostile investors, or argue a case in front of a judge?"