controversial opinions about college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you make too much for financial aid you are a bad parent for not finding a way to pay for the school best for your child

So if a family of 4 makes about 200k, they should be able to save up half a mil by the time their kids go to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're old enough to go in the military, you should be allowed to drink alcohol.

The data doesn’t support this, dwi accidents were significantly higher when 18 year olds could legally drink,

You think it is right that you can't buy a beer at 18 but can be prosecuted as an adult for drinking one?

Don't answer that, I threadjacked and in retrospect this discussion does not belong here. Apologies.

[Anonymous]

Upper middle class white kids are in a dead zone for admissions unless they’re a recruitable athlete. They’re in the same pile as rich kids, private and boarding school kids but have a fraction of the resources. Especially if you live in a high COL area.

And moving in high school should be considered the disadvantage that it is.

[Anonymous]

There’s space on the CA to detail this as a disadvantage. Kids just have to write something brief and compelling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're old enough to go in the military, you should be allowed to drink alcohol.

The data doesn’t support this, dwi accidents were significantly higher when 18 year olds could legally drink,

The driving age should be significantly higher than it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s space on the CA to detail this as a disadvantage. Kids just have to write something brief and compelling.

Having a place to mention it doesn’t mean schools actually weigh it. A compassionate reader may recognize it as a disadvantage. A toxically positive one may just hear whining. It should be as consistent as the consideration for other disadvantages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Upper middle class white kids are in a dead zone for admissions unless they’re a recruitable athlete. They’re in the same pile as rich kids, private and boarding school kids but have a fraction of the resources. Especially if you live in a high COL area.

And moving in high school should be considered the disadvantage that it is.

Correct.

But with squash, field hockey, volleyball, lacrosse, baseball, golf, tennis, wrestling, water polo, fencing, cross country, etc, etc, etc, there's plenty of opportunities for UMC white kids to get a hook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Making people pay for college is actually a good thing.

Clearly you are not educated.

Clearly you are wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper middle class white kids are in a dead zone for admissions unless they’re a recruitable athlete. They’re in the same pile as rich kids, private and boarding school kids but have a fraction of the resources. Especially if you live in a high COL area.

And moving in high school should be considered the disadvantage that it is.

Correct.

But with squash, field hockey, volleyball, lacrosse, baseball, golf, tennis, wrestling, water polo, fencing, cross country, etc, etc, etc, there's plenty of opportunities for UMC white kids to get a hook.

Absolute rubbish. Only about 7% of high school athletes play in college (2% play division I), and that number includes kids who are not UMC or white. Many UMC white kids are not even athletes. Very far from being “plenty of opportunity” especially as a hook to an elite school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your most controversial opinion about college and the college admissions process?

Great donut hole students in states with good public universities should only take more than about five AP classes, or any other classes beyond what the state flagship requires, if they think they’ll enjoy those classes, need those classes to get into state flagships honors programs, use those classes to meet state flagship distribution course requirements or benefit from those classes, not for the sake of private college admissions.

Some non-US universities use AP scores in the basic admissions process. It makes sense for great students to take whatever AP classes they need to take to keep non-U.S. options open.

But the reality is that, for most top-tier students, the only colleges that are a better deal than a good state flagship or flagship equivalent are about 30 private universities (maybe the University of Rochester on up) and, arguably, 30 or so liberal arts colleges, and admissions to most of those schools is a lottery. And, really, for sane, organized, cost-conscious students who can survive big weedout classes, there are only about 20 schools, at most, that have a big enough edge over UVa. or UMCP to be worth paying $40,000 per year more for them. And those schools all have lottery-like admissions. It makes no sense at all for students to have a bad time in high school for the sake of those lottery schools.

There might be hundreds of other universities and colleges that are actually worth their tuition, but most of them aren’t that selective or just aren’t worth the price differential between them and UMCP, or even between them and UMBC or George Mason, for great, focused kids.

Whitman College or Colorado College might be wonderful schools that earn their keep, but they just aren’t $40,000, or $60,000, per year better for the kinds of kids who’d get in-state tuition, honors college classes and merit aid at UMCP and have a hard time paying an extra $40,000 per year.

So, certainly, a lot of those kids are five years of more ahead of grade level. They might need AP-level classes simply to feel as if the schools aren’t insulting their intelligence.

But, if they’d find taking a lot of AP classes unpleasant, there might not be any reason for them to take any AP classes beyond, at most, the classes on the state flagship’s recommended class list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper middle class white kids are in a dead zone for admissions unless they’re a recruitable athlete. They’re in the same pile as rich kids, private and boarding school kids but have a fraction of the resources. Especially if you live in a high COL area.

And moving in high school should be considered the disadvantage that it is.

Correct.

But with squash, field hockey, volleyball, lacrosse, baseball, golf, tennis, wrestling, water polo, fencing, cross country, etc, etc, etc, there's plenty of opportunities for UMC white kids to get a hook.

Absolute rubbish. Only about 7% of high school athletes play in college (2% play division I), and that number includes kids who are not UMC or white. Many UMC white kids are not even athletes. Very far from being “plenty of opportunity” especially as a hook to an elite school.

Colleges are pretty much built for UMC whites.

No excuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You are attending school with people whose parents or grandparents were president (Roosevelt, Kennedy, Bush, Obama, Biden) or billionaire CEOs of companies or entertainment megastars. These are the connections that help make the school elite.

If you are middle class Joe Schmo from suburbia then these scions of wealth and the political elite are not going to be your best buddy. They associate with each other not with nobodies. Sorry.

+1, is it really worth it to take on $70k/year in debt for mummy and daddy to say that their kid sat next to a Kennedy in BIO 101?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper middle class white kids are in a dead zone for admissions unless they’re a recruitable athlete. They’re in the same pile as rich kids, private and boarding school kids but have a fraction of the resources. Especially if you live in a high COL area.

And moving in high school should be considered the disadvantage that it is.

Correct.

But with squash, field hockey, volleyball, lacrosse, baseball, golf, tennis, wrestling, water polo, fencing, cross country, etc, etc, etc, there's plenty of opportunities for UMC white kids to get a hook.

Absolute rubbish. Only about 7% of high school athletes play in college (2% play division I), and that number includes kids who are not UMC or white. Many UMC white kids are not even athletes. Very far from being “plenty of opportunity” especially as a hook to an elite school.

Colleges are pretty much built for UMC whites.

No excuses.

Not anymore. They are designed for 1% wealth whites and URMs of any social class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper middle class white kids are in a dead zone for admissions unless they’re a recruitable athlete. They’re in the same pile as rich kids, private and boarding school kids but have a fraction of the resources. Especially if you live in a high COL area.

And moving in high school should be considered the disadvantage that it is.

Correct.

But with squash, field hockey, volleyball, lacrosse, baseball, golf, tennis, wrestling, water polo, fencing, cross country, etc, etc, etc, there's plenty of opportunities for UMC white kids to get a hook.

Absolute rubbish. Only about 7% of high school athletes play in college (2% play division I), and that number includes kids who are not UMC or white. Many UMC white kids are not even athletes. Very far from being “plenty of opportunity” especially as a hook to an elite school.

Colleges are pretty much built for UMC whites.

No excuses.

Not anymore. They are designed for 1% wealth whites and URMs of any social class.

For Top 25 or so, yes. However, there are literally thousands of colleges.

Tailor made for UMC whites, especially full payers of average students.

[Anonymous]

AP is a scam.