Believe in your kid, be supportive, they can do amazing things anywhere and everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges have intentionally created a lot of this mess.

They've put more money into marketing and admissions management experts than into paying their own professors. All with the intention of driving up applications and yield while driving down acceptance rates. They do this to boost their own ratings and prestige. And it means more pressure to apply ED, more pressure to apply to more schools, and the advent of vehicles that are purely designed to manipulate school stats, like the freshman year abroad programs, that have questionable benefits to students.

They've raised tuition at rates that far outstrip inflation, making the investment in college higher stakes for families.

All of this would be less egregious if colleges were for-profit institutions. But as non-profits that accept lots of our taxpayer dollars, their motives should be more altruistic.

You're in a bubble of people who are focused on the most competitive colleges. Most kids aren't gunning for Chicago, the Ivies, etc. They're applying to a few schools in their region, looking at which is the best, deal, and are done.

Some people actually have fun looking at colleges with their kid because they target good schools that accept lots of kids. You can make it miserable if you only fixate on what are deemed "top" schools by status-obsessed folks.

Do you work at one of the local privates or perhaps you’re a current parent at one but I suspect you have the means to afford the outrageous price tags at most colleges. When your state university is admitting less than 50% of applicants then you have few options and no one wants to pay astronomical rates for schools with abysmal ROI.

All states have more than one university. There is a college for everyone. Kids get out of what they put into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every year around this time until summer, many families go through the college admissions torture (congrats to those who have survived it).

I can’t help but wonder why colleges haven’t figured out a better system that works for most people. In my opinion, it’s only getting worse. Kids seem to start preparing or being prepared for college admissions since they were fetus

This is not the fault of colleges.

Not the fault but things can be done in a more positive way. Right now it looks like hunger games and deliberately done this way

Only for like 15-20% of college applicants and their parents.

Correct. And that percentage is probably closer to 15%.

This. Most college students are educated outside the T50. People are coming off as weirdly sheltered in this thread. Most Virginians are served by GMU, JMU, and VCU than go to UVA, W&M, and VT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every year around this time until summer, many families go through the college admissions torture (congrats to those who have survived it).

I can’t help but wonder why colleges haven’t figured out a better system that works for most people. In my opinion, it’s only getting worse. Kids seem to start preparing or being prepared for college admissions since they were fetus

This is not the fault of colleges.

Not the fault but things can be done in a more positive way. Right now it looks like hunger games and deliberately done this way

Only for like 15-20% of college applicants and their parents.

It looks like 15-20% to those along the Boston-DC corridor & in coastal California. In the rest of the country only a tiny% aren’t content with attending a decent state college or a generic small private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every year around this time until summer, many families go through the college admissions torture (congrats to those who have survived it).

I can’t help but wonder why colleges haven’t figured out a better system that works for most people. In my opinion, it’s only getting worse. Kids seem to start preparing or being prepared for college admissions since they were fetus

Ha, I’d say folks prepare before they even have a fetus- assortive mating and all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges have intentionally created a lot of this mess.

They've put more money into marketing and admissions management experts than into paying their own professors. All with the intention of driving up applications and yield while driving down acceptance rates. They do this to boost their own ratings and prestige. And it means more pressure to apply ED, more pressure to apply to more schools, and the advent of vehicles that are purely designed to manipulate school stats, like the freshman year abroad programs, that have questionable benefits to students.

They've raised tuition at rates that far outstrip inflation, making the investment in college higher stakes for families.

All of this would be less egregious if colleges were for-profit institutions. But as non-profits that accept lots of our taxpayer dollars, their motives should be more altruistic.

You're in a bubble of people who are focused on the most competitive colleges. Most kids aren't gunning for Chicago, the Ivies, etc. They're applying to a few schools in their region, looking at which is the best, deal, and are done.

Some people actually have fun looking at colleges with their kid because they target good schools that accept lots of kids. You can make it miserable if you only fixate on what are deemed "top" schools by status-obsessed folks.

Do you work at one of the local privates or perhaps you’re a current parent at one but I suspect you have the means to afford the outrageous price tags at most colleges. When your state university is admitting less than 50% of applicants then you have few options and no one wants to pay astronomical rates for schools with abysmal ROI.

Did you miss the part about picking the school that offers the best deal? How in the world did you assess my financial situation and job? Crazy.

To say colleges play no part and parents are in a bubble shows you’re in your own bubble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every year around this time until summer, many families go through the college admissions torture (congrats to those who have survived it).

I can’t help but wonder why colleges haven’t figured out a better system that works for most people. In my opinion, it’s only getting worse. Kids seem to start preparing or being prepared for college admissions since they were fetus

It’s not the colleges fault half the applications in the entire country go to 20 schools.

Source: Jeff Selingo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges have intentionally created a lot of this mess.

They've put more money into marketing and admissions management experts than into paying their own professors. All with the intention of driving up applications and yield while driving down acceptance rates. They do this to boost their own ratings and prestige. And it means more pressure to apply ED, more pressure to apply to more schools, and the advent of vehicles that are purely designed to manipulate school stats, like the freshman year abroad programs, that have questionable benefits to students.

They've raised tuition at rates that far outstrip inflation, making the investment in college higher stakes for families.

All of this would be less egregious if colleges were for-profit institutions. But as non-profits that accept lots of our taxpayer dollars, their motives should be more altruistic.

You're in a bubble of people who are focused on the most competitive colleges. Most kids aren't gunning for Chicago, the Ivies, etc. They're applying to a few schools in their region, looking at which is the best, deal, and are done.

Some people actually have fun looking at colleges with their kid because they target good schools that accept lots of kids. You can make it miserable if you only fixate on what are deemed "top" schools by status-obsessed folks.

Social media and peer pressure have exacerbated the problem (ands kids can opt out, although that isn't easy), but the universities created it. If you don't see that, then you're in a bubble.
Is your point that there's nothing to see here since only 100 or so schools are doing egregious things with our tax dollars and to our children's mental health?