on common app: include (parent) has a JD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our college counselor pushed us to put in my family's higher education and career on the common app. DH is a surgeon and I am an engineer. She had no issue with DS mentioning anything related to my husband or my career in the job declaration, nor did she seem bothered that DS mentioned our career in the "identity"-type essays either, only because our paths there was a bit circuitous. FWIW, DS doesn't want to be a doctor but does lean towards biomedical engineering.

We are still wondering if this is a good idea strategically, and letting DS decide on this.

I hope you and DH get admitted to all the schools DS applies too!

Not sure what this is supposed to mean by your snark. I was trying to be helpful with offering different counselor advices on how to approach this kind of question. I think kids shouldn't hide, but I don't think they need to go out of their way to showcase it either. If it's something that truly influences their career path or identity, either in positive or negative ways, then I guess mention it.

Yep, your JD could help if they look through it or it could signal "privilege" depending on what law school JD was earned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s a level of naïveté in this thread. Every single bit of information you disclose is available to be used by the admissions officer. If you think that this is just harmless extra information at a top 20 school, you need to talk to former admissions officers.

Higher level degrees and high profile schools put additional attention to the quality of the application, the quality of the writing and the overall applicant profile. It is a higher bar.

So is it a bad thing to know that kid might be interested in law because they saw a parent in it? Or hate law because they saw a parent in it?

I mean, most of us become interested in something because we are "near" it or exposed to it. If my parents are a certain religion, it introduces me to that religion and therefore I get a real sense of maybe what it involves. Same thing with taste preference. If I grew up eating a lot of pastas, I'd probably have an opinion about it.

I guess I don't see why it's bad to have high quality of writing either? When did we view anything high quality as bad? So now we are supposed to pretend we can't write and have uneducated parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s a level of naïveté in this thread. Every single bit of information you disclose is available to be used by the admissions officer. If you think that this is just harmless extra information at a top 20 school, you need to talk to former admissions officers.

Higher level degrees and high profile schools put additional attention to the quality of the application, the quality of the writing and the overall applicant profile. It is a higher bar.

So is it a bad thing to know that kid might be interested in law because they saw a parent in it? Or hate law because they saw a parent in it?

I mean, most of us become interested in something because we are "near" it or exposed to it. If my parents are a certain religion, it introduces me to that religion and therefore I get a real sense of maybe what it involves. Same thing with taste preference. If I grew up eating a lot of pastas, I'd probably have an opinion about it.

I guess I don't see why it's bad to have high quality of writing either? When did we view anything high quality as bad? So now we are supposed to pretend we can't write and have uneducated parents?

I think the point is that an application is reviewed in context. And a parents degrees and occupation provide that context.

An applicant whose parents only list a BA/BS (perhaps at a regional public uni) and no occupation, or a more mid or lower-level job might have a lower "bar" than dual Ivy JD parents, even if one is a SAHM.

Higher threshold /bar for JD parents? Not a big deal, but just know that going in. If you have dual JDs, you should actually be reviewing your kid's common app bc the threshold is higher for that kid.

[Anonymous]

you can't leave degrees off. unless you want to lie/commit fraud.

you can leave your profession off

[Anonymous]

Found a good reddit thread on a related topic:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1fto1x7/not_disclosing_parents_colleges/

"OP has a good "strategic" question - what information could be reasonably omitted to improve chances of admission. This happens lots of times for strong applicants. They might have been in 13 activities, so 3 of them aren't going to make the cut for the CommonApp list. They might have 7 awards, so a couple get dropped. Maybe their grandparents helped them with SAT prep - that isn't going to make it anywhere on the application. Extending this line of thought to the specific college attended by a parent is very natural."

"Usually AOs looking for an extra degree of excellence for such an applicant. If the kid has parents from Podunk U, they view them as the "underdog" and root for them"

"I agree. I would assume children of Stanford grads come from a privileged background, with a lot of resources for ECs and SAT-prep. I might discount high SAT score a bit."

"OP - I had the exact same thought for my kid who applies next year. Having parents with HYPSM degrees will be viewed as an advantage in the eyes of AOs, setting expectations even higher. And there is that whole weirdness about yield protection at non-legacy schools. College admissions is a game so here we are playing it.

I mean, the same folks in this thread who are chastising you, well they don't list their parents' info on their current resumes when applying to jobs. Exception: those looking for nepotism hires. And they certainly didn't go out of their way to list every advantage they may have encountered on their journey (ever see anyone list "received 100 hours of SAT prep tutoring" or "parents drove me to school every day until they bought me a car the day I turned 16 so I wouldn't have to lose time on a bus ride" on a college app? Is that dishonest for not listing those?).

Plus you've got a few folks in this thread riding on laurels of in-state admission to public colleges. With the exception of STEM majors at Cal, UCLA & UT Austin, in-state admission to publics is very different than admission to elite privates, being far more formulaic on GPA/SAT (OOS to those publics mostly just upping the threshold on GPA/SAT)

For the record, colleges in California will not be allowed to even ask for parents' colleges starting next fall. Doesn't mean you couldn't include it in an essay or Extra Info section, but they can't ask."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you can't leave degrees off. unless you want to lie/commit fraud.

you can leave your profession off

+1

You can't leave off JD. Not an option.

I would go further, I don't think most should want to hide that. Do not underestimate the importance of likelihood of yield as well as likelihood of continuing college through graduation, both due to money and due to educational expectations/values.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Found a good reddit thread on a related topic:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1fto1x7/not_disclosing_parents_colleges/

"OP has a good "strategic" question - what information could be reasonably omitted to improve chances of admission. This happens lots of times for strong applicants. They might have been in 13 activities, so 3 of them aren't going to make the cut for the CommonApp list. They might have 7 awards, so a couple get dropped. Maybe their grandparents helped them with SAT prep - that isn't going to make it anywhere on the application. Extending this line of thought to the specific college attended by a parent is very natural."

"Usually AOs looking for an extra degree of excellence for such an applicant. If the kid has parents from Podunk U, they view them as the "underdog" and root for them"

"I agree. I would assume children of Stanford grads come from a privileged background, with a lot of resources for ECs and SAT-prep. I might discount high SAT score a bit."

"OP - I had the exact same thought for my kid who applies next year. Having parents with HYPSM degrees will be viewed as an advantage in the eyes of AOs, setting expectations even higher. And there is that whole weirdness about yield protection at non-legacy schools. College admissions is a game so here we are playing it.

I mean, the same folks in this thread who are chastising you, well they don't list their parents' info on their current resumes when applying to jobs. Exception: those looking for nepotism hires. And they certainly didn't go out of their way to list every advantage they may have encountered on their journey (ever see anyone list "received 100 hours of SAT prep tutoring" or "parents drove me to school every day until they bought me a car the day I turned 16 so I wouldn't have to lose time on a bus ride" on a college app? Is that dishonest for not listing those?).

Plus you've got a few folks in this thread riding on laurels of in-state admission to public colleges. With the exception of STEM majors at Cal, UCLA & UT Austin, in-state admission to publics is very different than admission to elite privates, being far more formulaic on GPA/SAT (OOS to those publics mostly just upping the threshold on GPA/SAT)

For the record, colleges in California will not be allowed to even ask for parents' colleges starting next fall. Doesn't mean you couldn't include it in an essay or Extra Info section, but they can't ask."

❤️
Another reason to look at CA in this whole college applying process. Doubt it will happen. Good luck to all in uncertain times.

[Anonymous]

Doubt other schools (that use common app) will drop parents' degrees and other required info even if and when UC does.

[Anonymous]

Virginia schools do not look at specific colleges attended because they are no longer allowed to consider legacy. But if you are trying to avoid looking privileged this can be a good thing.

We answered the questions honestly. One parent has a JD and is a lawyer. Other parent has a masters and is a teacher.

Just the truth. It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Found a good reddit thread on a related topic:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1fto1x7/not_disclosing_parents_colleges/

"OP has a good "strategic" question - what information could be reasonably omitted to improve chances of admission. This happens lots of times for strong applicants. They might have been in 13 activities, so 3 of them aren't going to make the cut for the CommonApp list. They might have 7 awards, so a couple get dropped. Maybe their grandparents helped them with SAT prep - that isn't going to make it anywhere on the application. Extending this line of thought to the specific college attended by a parent is very natural."

"Usually AOs looking for an extra degree of excellence for such an applicant. If the kid has parents from Podunk U, they view them as the "underdog" and root for them"

"I agree. I would assume children of Stanford grads come from a privileged background, with a lot of resources for ECs and SAT-prep. I might discount high SAT score a bit."

"OP - I had the exact same thought for my kid who applies next year. Having parents with HYPSM degrees will be viewed as an advantage in the eyes of AOs, setting expectations even higher. And there is that whole weirdness about yield protection at non-legacy schools. College admissions is a game so here we are playing it.

I mean, the same folks in this thread who are chastising you, well they don't list their parents' info on their current resumes when applying to jobs. Exception: those looking for nepotism hires. And they certainly didn't go out of their way to list every advantage they may have encountered on their journey (ever see anyone list "received 100 hours of SAT prep tutoring" or "parents drove me to school every day until they bought me a car the day I turned 16 so I wouldn't have to lose time on a bus ride" on a college app? Is that dishonest for not listing those?).

Plus you've got a few folks in this thread riding on laurels of in-state admission to public colleges. With the exception of STEM majors at Cal, UCLA & UT Austin, in-state admission to publics is very different than admission to elite privates, being far more formulaic on GPA/SAT (OOS to those publics mostly just upping the threshold on GPA/SAT)

For the record, colleges in California will not be allowed to even ask for parents' colleges starting next fall. Doesn't mean you couldn't include it in an essay or Extra Info section, but they can't ask."

So eye-opening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you can't leave degrees off. unless you want to lie/commit fraud.

you can leave your profession off

+1

You can't leave off JD. Not an option.

I would go further, I don't think most should want to hide that. Do not underestimate the importance of likelihood of yield as well as likelihood of continuing college through graduation, both due to money and due to educational expectations/values.

Not to mention parents that might be more likely to participate in events and programs related to the job search, including internships. I would assume you would want a school to know an applicant was from an educated family and thus more likely to graduate and be active in university programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you can't leave degrees off. unless you want to lie/commit fraud.

you can leave your profession off

+1

You can't leave off JD. Not an option.

I would go further, I don't think most should want to hide that. Do not underestimate the importance of likelihood of yield as well as likelihood of continuing college through graduation, both due to money and due to educational expectations/values.

Not to mention parents that might be more likely to participate in events and programs related to the job search, including internships. I would assume you would want a school to know an applicant was from an educated family and thus more likely to graduate and be active in university programs.

it depends on how strong the profile of the applicant is. for a strong applicant, sure - your reasoning holds.

if its a reach or kid is in lower quartile of applicants, it might not make sense - raises more questions than answers.

these blanket answers are not nuanced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a strange question. Why would you hide that? Also, the common app asks you to list parents' employers, which also signals profession (maybe not definitively, but likely).

Is it required to list occupation? Probably not.