Purposefully & strategically leaving blanks in the Common App

[Anonymous]

Which ones did your child leave, or may leave, blank?ie parent occupation, etc.

[Anonymous]

SSN
Parents occupation if kid wants to do the exact same thing (shows lack of creativity)

[Anonymous]

this SSN thing is a myth according to Yale FA department. they say it's used if two kids have same or easily mixed up names, which happens more than you'd think. and only in double checking stage.

[Anonymous]

What? I am feeling so nervous reading this and like we are morons for not knowing all the tricks. Why would it be good to leave off info? I would have thought it would make the app incomplete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:this SSN thing is a myth according to Yale FA department. they say it's used if two kids have same or easily mixed up names, which happens more than you'd think. and only in double checking stage.

agree. apparently some high school kids think it's a signal you're not applying for FA, which isn't true.

[Anonymous]

There is no advantage to doing this.

[Anonymous]

if you're high up at Blackrock and your kid wants to work in finance, believe me, schools will be just fine about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no advantage to doing this.

Yeah, this is galaxy-brained college consultant stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:this SSN thing is a myth according to Yale FA department. they say it's used if two kids have same or easily mixed up names, which happens more than you'd think. and only in double checking stage.

Its a myth at Ivies and T10.
But its real at other T25 privates (you can guess which ones).
And its irrelevant at publics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:if you're high up at Blackrock and your kid wants to work in finance, believe me, schools will be just fine about it.

Agree. Usually advantageous to list careers, esp high-profile ones.
On the other hand, if you work in CS/IT or are a doctor and your kid lists the EXACT same thing in his/her career goals (CS/IT or pre-med), then makes the kid seem a bit un-original and boring. And that's the very 1st impression remember. Works the same for law most likely.

So I'd omit parents occupation there or switch kids career goals to NIH researcher or something from doctor...

[Anonymous]

I have heard on various podcasts not to put SS# or parent occupation. But parent’s education IS required, so not hard to figure out you have two lawyers for parents when you both have a JD. Some of this advice is just silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this SSN thing is a myth according to Yale FA department. they say it's used if two kids have same or easily mixed up names, which happens more than you'd think. and only in double checking stage.

Its a myth at Ivies and T10.
But its real at other T25 privates (you can guess which ones).
And its irrelevant at publics.

For T50, its best to omit SSN and not complete FAFASA for these schools if you are full pay - it doesn't matter anywhere else in the T50:

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
ND
Georgetown
Emory
WashU

USC
NYU
BC
Tufts
BU
Lehigh
Wake

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard on various podcasts not to put SS# or parent occupation. But parent’s education IS required, so not hard to figure out you have two lawyers for parents when you both have a JD. Some of this advice is just silly.

+1

[Anonymous]

if you don't apply for financial aid when applying, most t50 will NEVER allow you to apply for financial aid. Not when you lose your job or when a sibling goes off to college. Don't be foolish.

Need blind colleges are need blind. Need aware are need aware.

if you're mom or dad has been in CS for an entire career, believe me .. all schools are totally okay with that. even if you do want to go into CS. It may show "lack of creativity" but it also shows a depth of understanding. Colleges can also wonder if you come from a artsy family or finance family and want to go into engineering, do you really know what an engineer day to day life looks like? And where pay tops out?

Don't over think this stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have heard on various podcasts not to put SS# or parent occupation. But parent’s education IS required, so not hard to figure out you have two lawyers for parents when you both have a JD. Some of this advice is just silly.

+1

parent occupation is also required.

any college counselor who tells an aspiring family doctor to put down NIH researcher instead .. is just telling your kid to lie with a lot of specificity. Which is weird to me.