Is there an Idiot's Guide to College Confidential?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I'm the Idiot.

Just want to know some basic tips to get good/reliable info out of the site and what, if anything, to avoid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I'm the Idiot.

Just want to know some basic tips to get good/reliable info out of the site and what, if anything, to avoid.

Avoid the chance me stuff.

[Anonymous]

Ha ha. I'm with you OP. I have tried to give CC a try a number of times because the site always gets mentioned as being a good resource but I just find the site so hard to navigate. It's overwhelming and hard to search. For those who find it usefule, please give us some advice.

[Anonymous]

I'd start with the Parents Forum. There are always a lot of good topics there. If you find particular posters to be insightful, you can click through to find all their threads and posts. I've learned a lot using that approach. I also found the SAT/ACT prep forum helpful for specific questions, and I like the College Search and Selection forum as well.

I stumbled on CC a couple of years ago when we were trying to figure out if our daughter's PSAT score was likely to qualify her as a National Merit Semi-Finalist. This was the year they changed the format so the PSAT index score was out of 228 instead of 240, and no one knew what the cutoffs would be. The humor, statistical analysis, and camaraderie on that thread (all 465 pages of it!) was incredible. There are a lot of very smart posters on CC who are extremely generous with their time and insights. Here's the thread if you are interested: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1849640-national-merit-cutoff-predictions-class-of-2017.html

[Anonymous]

The parents forum is great. My kid is a senior so I follow the thread for the Class of 2018. You can use the bookmark feature to bookmark particular threads so you can go back to them. Some of the information I've learned using CC:
- I learned about diversity fly-ins for top LACs. I was told by a college advisor that we would be seen as too rich to be accepted. My DC got into three fly-ins (we had to pay for airfare) and it dramatically increased chances of acceptance, face time with admissions officers, and an insider view of campus. Boosted DCs confidence. BTW these programs use the very broadest definition of diversity.
- I learned about University of Pittsburgh rolling admissions and generous merit aid
- The threads on particular schools can be very informative as well. Sometimes current students will post and answer questions about what the campus is like, favorite classes, dorm conditions, etc.
- Chance Me threads are awful. But the decision threads are really helpful to look to see the type of accomplishments that lead to acceptance.
- There are very helpful and knowledgeable posters who share their experiences. Be sure to look at the "sticky" threads at the top of each Forum category.
- Here is my favorite thread of all time on CC. Read it through to the end it really delivers and is an example of the helpfulness parents and students can find there. https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/1335649-homeless-didnt-get-in-through-the-waitlist-have-no-where-else-to-go-need-advice-p1.html

[Anonymous]

I think CC has had its day. The parents’ forum is now filled with too many who have been there for too long and many of the insights are less relevant now. I would supplement CC with other sources if possible.

[Anonymous]

At different times as we've tried to navigate the college admissions process, CC has been very helpful. At different points in the process College Search and Selection, College Admissions, Financial Aide and Scholarships and Essays have all been helpful. Once the list was narrowed down and DC started applying the different sub-forums for specific schools under Colleges and University's were great.

Totally agree on the "Chance Me" threads. My particular pet peeve is the inevitable 9 out 10 or 10 out of 10 on recommendations (which a poster has probably never seen) and Essays (for which the poster has no basis for comparison).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha ha. I'm with you OP. I have tried to give CC a try a number of times because the site always gets mentioned as being a good resource but I just find the site so hard to navigate. It's overwhelming and hard to search. For those who find it usefule, please give us some advice.

Thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd start with the Parents Forum. There are always a lot of good topics there. If you find particular posters to be insightful, you can click through to find all their threads and posts. I've learned a lot using that approach. I also found the SAT/ACT prep forum helpful for specific questions, and I like the College Search and Selection forum as well.

I stumbled on CC a couple of years ago when we were trying to figure out if our daughter's PSAT score was likely to qualify her as a National Merit Semi-Finalist. This was the year they changed the format so the PSAT index score was out of 228 instead of 240, and no one knew what the cutoffs would be. The humor, statistical analysis, and camaraderie on that thread (all 465 pages of it!) was incredible. There are a lot of very smart posters on CC who are extremely generous with their time and insights. Here's the thread if you are interested: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1849640-national-merit-cutoff-predictions-class-of-2017.html

Thank you for the tips, just what I wanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The parents forum is great. My kid is a senior so I follow the thread for the Class of 2018. You can use the bookmark feature to bookmark particular threads so you can go back to them. Some of the information I've learned using CC:
- I learned about diversity fly-ins for top LACs. I was told by a college advisor that we would be seen as too rich to be accepted. My DC got into three fly-ins (we had to pay for airfare) and it dramatically increased chances of acceptance, face time with admissions officers, and an insider view of campus. Boosted DCs confidence. BTW these programs use the very broadest definition of diversity.
- I learned about University of Pittsburgh rolling admissions and generous merit aid
- The threads on particular schools can be very informative as well. Sometimes current students will post and answer questions about what the campus is like, favorite classes, dorm conditions, etc.
- Chance Me threads are awful. But the decision threads are really helpful to look to see the type of accomplishments that lead to acceptance.
- There are very helpful and knowledgeable posters who share their experiences. Be sure to look at the "sticky" threads at the top of each Forum category.
- Here is my favorite thread of all time on CC. Read it through to the end it really delivers and is an example of the helpfulness parents and students can find there. https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/1335649-homeless-didnt-get-in-through-the-waitlist-have-no-where-else-to-go-need-advice-p1.html

So helpful, thank you!

And, P.S., what are fly-ins???

I am such a newbie!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The parents forum is great. My kid is a senior so I follow the thread for the Class of 2018. You can use the bookmark feature to bookmark particular threads so you can go back to them. Some of the information I've learned using CC:
- I learned about diversity fly-ins for top LACs. I was told by a college advisor that we would be seen as too rich to be accepted. My DC got into three fly-ins (we had to pay for airfare) and it dramatically increased chances of acceptance, face time with admissions officers, and an insider view of campus. Boosted DCs confidence. BTW these programs use the very broadest definition of diversity.
- I learned about University of Pittsburgh rolling admissions and generous merit aid
- The threads on particular schools can be very informative as well. Sometimes current students will post and answer questions about what the campus is like, favorite classes, dorm conditions, etc.
- Chance Me threads are awful. But the decision threads are really helpful to look to see the type of accomplishments that lead to acceptance.
- There are very helpful and knowledgeable posters who share their experiences. Be sure to look at the "sticky" threads at the top of each Forum category.
- Here is my favorite thread of all time on CC. Read it through to the end it really delivers and is an example of the helpfulness parents and students can find there. https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/1335649-homeless-didnt-get-in-through-the-waitlist-have-no-where-else-to-go-need-advice-p1.html

So helpful, thank you!

And, P.S., what are fly-ins???

I am such a newbie!

So some schools especially small liberal arts colleges host what are called diversity fly-ins. It is a way for LACs in particular to identify promising students who are under-represented (poor, first-gen, minority students, from a rural area). If you are selected you get flown out for a weekend to learn about a school. For example, here is the link to the one for Amherst: https://www.amherst.edu/admission/diversity/divoh

There is a whole thread on CC just about fly-ins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think CC has had its day. The parents’ forum is now filled with too many who have been there for too long and many of the insights are less relevant now. I would supplement CC with other sources if possible.

+1. Bored stay at home moms in flyover country with average adult children dominate all the threads. I think many must have mental disorders because my oldest are six years apart and when I recently glanced at the CC forums it's the same people posting the same exact posts all these years later!

They make those nuts moderators, so you have idiots cultivating a strong anti-elite, pro mediocre university bias, and let their internet friends hi-jack all the threads with their out of touch talking points. It's basically a white trash mom echo chamber with the tiny decent info not worth the time to find. If you google search the forum, you can tell the insights 10 years ago were vastly superior to the echo chamber crap on there now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

They make those nuts moderators, so you have idiots cultivating a strong anti-elite, pro mediocre university bias, and let their internet friends hi-jack all the threads with their out of touch talking points. It's basically a white trash mom echo chamber with the tiny decent info not worth the time to find. If you google search the forum, you can tell the insights 10 years ago were vastly superior to the echo chamber crap on there now.

In other words, it's not the 'HYPSM are the only schools worth anything, and anyone looking anywhere else is a complete loser doomed to live in their parents' basement and it's your fault as a parent for not pushing them harder' mentality that you find all over this forum. There is so much nastiness here (not from everyone, but it's so pervasive). CC is refreshing in that parents seem to be supportive of each other and post useful information.

I've found a lot of useful information in the College Search and Selection, the Parent Class of 20XX threads, and the specific university threads. Completely agree that the Chance Me threads are best avoided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They make those nuts moderators, so you have idiots cultivating a strong anti-elite, pro mediocre university bias, and let their internet friends hi-jack all the threads with their out of touch talking points. It's basically a white trash mom echo chamber with the tiny decent info not worth the time to find. If you google search the forum, you can tell the insights 10 years ago were vastly superior to the echo chamber crap on there now.

In other words, it's not the 'HYPSM are the only schools worth anything, and anyone looking anywhere else is a complete loser doomed to live in their parents' basement and it's your fault as a parent for not pushing them harder' mentality that you find all over this forum. There is so much nastiness here (not from everyone, but it's so pervasive). CC is refreshing in that parents seem to be supportive of each other and post useful information.

I've found a lot of useful information in the College Search and Selection, the Parent Class of 20XX threads, and the specific university threads. Completely agree that the Chance Me threads are best avoided.

I bet you don't even live in DC. Are you one of those CC nutjobs posting the same crap over and over, year after year? If your kids are average and they're planning to attend average colleges, you don't need to waste time on a college admissions forum. Colleges outside the top 50 accept everyone with a pulse and the merit awards are clearly detailed on their websites.

[Anonymous]

CC was much better before it went corporate .. maybe 10 ish years ago it was much better. Still think it has some valuable, just nothing like it use to be.