Any Parents Privately Disappointed with College Placement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is copied directly from Stanford's undergraduate admissions website:

2. Would attending Stanford’s Summer Session before the senior year improve one’s chances for freshman admission?
Not in terms of signifying added interest in Stanford (see above). But what taking enrichment and advanced courses might do, wherever they are taken, is indicate to us your enthusiasm for a subject area, or your excitement about discovery. The fact that you are taking summer or enrichment programs is not in and of itself the value-add to your application; it is what you take from that experience, how you share that experience with us through your essays, and how that experience has enhanced your intellectual life that is of importance.

Exactly, attending a summer session sets you apart from an applicant that hasn't. Also, it helps an applicant answer the essay question: why Stanford? Your answer will surely have way more depth and passion than an applicant who has only visited once or read the website or catalog's literature about the school. As a pp stated by excelling and paying for a summer session an applicant conveys to their adcom that she has merit, motivation, and money. I would think this trumps your high school teacher or guidance counselor's recommendation.

Students can earn credit at Summer at Stanford University so doesn't that mean a transcript is involved? "It is what you take from that experience, how you share that experience with us through your essays, and how that experience has enhanced your intellectual life that is of importance." It's possible that the adcom has access to reviewing these transcripts. During Stanford's rep visit at my DD's school she wrote down the names of each interested girl.

If you really believe what you just posted (and are not someone who is trying to promote college summer programs), then you are exactly the kind of gullible customer that feeds these programs. If you are a parent, get a grip!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is copied directly from Stanford's undergraduate admissions website:

2. Would attending Stanford’s Summer Session before the senior year improve one’s chances for freshman admission?
Not in terms of signifying added interest in Stanford (see above). But what taking enrichment and advanced courses might do, wherever they are taken, is indicate to us your enthusiasm for a subject area, or your excitement about discovery. The fact that you are taking summer or enrichment programs is not in and of itself the value-add to your application; it is what you take from that experience, how you share that experience with us through your essays, and how that experience has enhanced your intellectual life that is of importance.

Exactly, attending a summer session sets you apart from an applicant that hasn't. Also, it helps an applicant answer the essay question: why Stanford? Your answer will surely have way more depth and passion than an applicant who has only visited once or read the website or catalog's literature about the school. As a pp stated by excelling and paying for a summer session an applicant conveys to their adcom that she has merit, motivation, and money. I would think this trumps your high school teacher or guidance counselor's recommendation.

Students can earn credit at Summer at Stanford University so doesn't that mean a transcript is involved? "It is what you take from that experience, how you share that experience with us through your essays, and how that experience has enhanced your intellectual life that is of importance." It's possible that the adcom has access to reviewing these transcripts. During Stanford's rep visit at my DD's school she wrote down the names of each interested girl.

If you really believe what you just posted (and are not someone who is trying to promote college summer programs), then you are exactly the kind of gullible customer that feeds these programs. If you are a parent, get a grip!

Parent here, not gullible at all. And certainly not a salesperson for college summer programs.

You seem awfully defensive, why don't you get a grip.

[Anonymous]

Not much mention of an important component: the college essay. That one really does matter, and as a former teacher at one of these Big X independent schools I can tell you that even among the top 10-20% the writing ability varies widely. Ultimately, though, the landscape has changed since this parent generation went through college admissions. Computers/the Internet, the Common App, lots of foreign application, focus on geographic diversity-- it is very difficult to get into any one school. We are fortunate in the USA to have a wealth of great colleges and universities, though. Try Rice, or Grinnell, or Macalester, or William & Mary, or Pomona, or Sewanee--they will offer a superb education to your happy kid, even if they are not in sports leagues denoted by wall-crawling vines.

[Anonymous]

Character is another key component not often recognized. Of the top 10 to 20 percent of a class, a few students stand out for their honor and integrity. Character is unquantifiable and intangible, but it counts for a lot in college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Character is another key component not often recognized. Of the top 10 to 20 percent of a class, a few students stand out for their honor and integrity. Character is unquantifiable and intangible, but it counts for a lot in college admissions.

And how do the writers of recommendations know the true character of any given applicant? Some total pieces of crap have received special accolades that should only go to those with honor and integrity. Among students and peers including those from other schools it can be a joke.

[Anonymous]

You sound very bitter pp. Teachers write college recommendations and the colleges want teachers from junior year to write the recs. The vast majority of teachers don't put their names on the lines w/o meaning what they are writing. Get a grip. Your kid will get in someplace good too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not much mention of an important component: the college essay. That one really does matter, and as a former teacher at one of these Big X independent schools I can tell you that even among the top 10-20% the writing ability varies widely. Ultimately, though, the landscape has changed since this parent generation went through college admissions. Computers/the Internet, the Common App, lots of foreign application, focus on geographic diversity-- it is very difficult to get into any one school. We are fortunate in the USA to have a wealth of great colleges and universities, though. Try Rice, or Grinnell, or Macalester, or William & Mary, or Pomona, or Sewanee--they will offer a superb education to your happy kid, even if they are not in sports leagues denoted by wall-crawling vines.

Pomona and W&M are nearly as bad as the ivies for admissions. But tell me about Sewanee. My dd is interested in it and I have to confess I can't quite get excited about it. Is it worth a visit (given that it's not that easy to get to and there aren't any other schools nearby we'd be visiting).

[Anonymous]

There was a really good athlete from Holton who went to Sewanee one year and surprised everyone since many had never heard of it. She really liked it.

[Anonymous]

The University of the South (Sewanee) is a top-tier liberal arts institution in a beautiful, if slightly remote, location. Combine your visit with one to Vanderbilt, just a couple of hours up the road.

[Anonymous]

The school's website looks interesting.

[Anonymous]

Sewanee is an excellent liberal arts college. Most people here don't look at it because it's in the South, but that, along with Davidson, I would warrant serious consideration if you are looking at a top-tier liberal arts college. (I'm a college prof.).

[Anonymous]

Davidson is a higher caliber and more selective than Sewanee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You sound very bitter pp. Teachers write college recommendations and the colleges want teachers from junior year to write the recs. The vast majority of teachers don't put their names on the lines w/o meaning what they are writing. Get a grip. Your kid will get in someplace good too.

I'm not bitter. just disgusted. How well do you know what level of integrity exists for your DC's peers?

[Anonymous]

I didn't worry about it pp and my kid did just fine. We worried about her...not everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Davidson is a higher caliber and more selective than Sewanee.

What is the basis for your assertion? I disagree, and I am also a college prof.