There's a subtle semantic difference here, perhaps better illustrated in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, where the proud immigrant mother refers to her daughter as

There's a subtle semantic difference here, perhaps better illustrated in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, where the proud immigrant mother refers to her daughter as a "college drop-off" as though she could "pick up" her studies again at any moment [1]. [1] http://books.google.com/books?id=2mgnEzzaJrIC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=amy+tan+college+drop-off&source=bl&ots=CWSVhDwLLM&sig=2KpTmEgkHwyE7Bx0q1f5CLda_rs&hl=en&ei=DrTXTPyQLsX_lgfB2Pj8CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=2mgnEzzaJrIC&pg=PA37&#3...