What is an unpopular belief that you hold about the college application process?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:that college application readers are largely naive and are often impressed by passion projects that the average mom of a high schooler would spot as bullshit a million miles away.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That top colleges just serve wealthy, connected families and UMC of color.

That many kids who get into top schools lie on their applications.

Lie about what?

Activities, awards, volunteerism, etc

[Anonymous]

People who understand college as primarily a trade or technical school, rather than as a means to become more cultured, will never break into the social circles of the elite.

[Anonymous]

I’m a University of Maryland alumni. I’ve said for years that the school lacks strong leadership. It’s focused on liberal values.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have to take out loans to pay for an 85k year school, you are better off going to an in state flagship. The benefits of going to those “elite” schools are practically non existent for students not of a wealthy background, and in fact the crushing debt will set students of a middle class background back even further on the socioeconomic ladder of life.

Idk with the exception of the super elite schools if you are motivated to take advantage of it. Like if you get into HYP and want to major in Econ and go to Wall Street, go for it! It will pay off.

I hate to be the one to break it to you but those wall street jobs right out of college are going to the children of the wealthy and well connected. They don’t get the job because they went to yale, they go to yale because they come from the kind of people who get those jobs.

Quant geniuses can come from any background, of course, (and frankly more likely to come from the hoi polli who have experience with grinding their way through public education) but it is far cheaper and easier to do that via the ole drop out of a physics phd program loophole versus the modern day indentured servitide system of student loans

Thanks for letting me know, 25 years post graduating HYP and working on Wall Street with no family connections at all

[Anonymous]

That while my kid is qualified to be admitted to an elite institution, and we can pay for it, I think attending one of these places will do violence to things about him that I like, and so I'm hoping it doesn't happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who understand college as primarily a trade or technical school, rather than as a means to become more cultured, will never break into the social circles of the elite.

Do you think a first gen kid at an elite school will actually break into those social circles?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That it’s not worth the stress and pressure to play a sport in college.

D1 I would agree.
D3 It has made all the difference to my child's happiness and adjustment to school.

[Anonymous]

Don't get the Nescac love. College scorecard shows the median earnings of graduates as fairly low for their rankings. For example, Franklin Marshall is shown as 80k whereas Williams is 74k. Bowdoin is 68K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who understand college as primarily a trade or technical school, rather than as a means to become more cultured, will never break into the social circles of the elite.

Do you think a first gen kid at an elite school will actually break into those social circles?

Who cares? The world is much bigger than those circles!

[Anonymous]

I don’t care where you went, if you say “alumni” when you mean “alumnus” or “alumna,” I think you’re a moron.

Test optional is insane. Those tests sre the only real way to compare people. You can get free test prep now. No excuses!

Unless you are rich or getting a full tide, you are a sucker to pay for 4 years of college instead of finishing in 3 years.

[Anonymous]

It’s crazy how people speak authoritatively about which colleges to attend or which is batter than another, without any evidence backing them up except for personal bias. Example: “Cornell is better than Michigan.” How the F do you know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a University of Maryland alumni. I’ve said for years that the school lacks strong leadership. It’s focused on liberal values.

Maryland’s problem is that college park isn’t Boulder or Madison or Burlington

It’s screwed by geography

Stick some lakes and mountains around campus and suddenly it goes into the top 30 with how strong test scores there are

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't get the Nescac love. College scorecard shows the median earnings of graduates as fairly low for their rankings. For example, Franklin Marshall is shown as 80k whereas Williams is 74k. Bowdoin is 68K.

Senators earn less than big law associates

College scorecard does a very poor job in measuring “quality of job”

[Anonymous]

I don’t believe there is such a thing as need blind. Organizations lie to make themselves look noble. All the time.