Brutal Admissions Year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is these threads working people up. Anecdotal stories, most often the negative ones, does not mean that it has been a brutal year, or that things are necessarily getting worse. I have heard of many good results this year.

+1 I haven't heard any sob stories yet, just success stories.

Well here's one for you....DD....applied to 5 schools within range...and .....5 "wait lists"......

I'm sorry, what about her safeties?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is these threads working people up. Anecdotal stories, most often the negative ones, does not mean that it has been a brutal year, or that things are necessarily getting worse. I have heard of many good results this year.

+1 I haven't heard any sob stories yet, just success stories.

Well here's one for you....DD....applied to 5 schools within range...and .....5 "wait lists"......

OP here - please let your DD know that it's not her, that this is a very common thing this year, according to my friend, who is an educational consultant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:National Association for College Admission Counseling's (NACAC's) annual College Openings Update (formerly the “Space Availability Survey”)

After May1 (don't remember the exact date), you can find out which colleges still have openings. There are usually several good picks

Thank you for this! Very valuable information!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Original poster, I agree with the Previous Poster who said that the college admissions process is not a test on which you are trying to attain a score of 100%.

Your student was admitted to three universities, and one of those colleges is sufficiently competitive that they rejected the class valedictorian.

Please do not complain that there are some rejects in the mix, as it potentially and unnecessarily diminishes your child's accomplishment in your eyes and theirs. It also can make you sound a bit entitled and petulant (which I am certain you are not).

Rejoice! Because your DC will attend a great university next year.

This was never said. The kid who was first in his class was my sister's exchange student from China who was rejected from Berkeley. My kid never even looked at Berkeley. I was using him as an example of another kid I know who was experiencing a brutal year.

Continue though, simply making stuff up. Keeps me amused

Yes, again, it appears to be the bagpiper who was admitted to the university that his class valedictorian was denied admission to. The example of the Chinese student not being admitted to Berkeley does not surprise me, though, as California is a large State that gives some admission priority to its state residents, of which there are many, many intelligent and highly-qualified student residents, including many of those who are Chinese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is these threads working people up. Anecdotal stories, most often the negative ones, does not mean that it has been a brutal year, or that things are necessarily getting worse. I have heard of many good results this year.

+1 I haven't heard any sob stories yet, just success stories.

Well here's one for you....DD....applied to 5 schools within range...and .....5 "wait lists"......

OP here - please let your DD know that it's not her, that this is a very common thing this year, according to my friend, who is an educational consultant.

I am truly sorry, previous poster, that your daughter has been wait-listed at every school that she applied to. That is indeed a bitter pill to swallow, but now is the time to work with your school counselor to make the strong case to get her off those wait lists. Please do not give up hope yet!

It appears that the OP is arguing a doom-and-gloom, the-sky-is-falling, it's-nearly-impossible-to-gain-college-admissions point of view.

It is true, OP, that your argument is substantiated in some cases -- as by the previous poster's sad posting about her daughter's wait-listing -- but your argument is also contradicted in equal measures by other, positive-news postings on this and the other college results threads (including OP's original post about her child being admitted to three colleges, the bagpiper's admission to every college (!), and my own child's admission to two colleges).

What contributes to the academic and college anxiety of students and parents alike, in my opinion, are threads like these which "authoritatively" and anecdotally state that it is nearly impossible for qualified students to be admitted to college today. That is not the case, be intelligent about the process, cast a very wide net, and be willing to look at many schools you might consider safeties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is these threads working people up. Anecdotal stories, most often the negative ones, does not mean that it has been a brutal year, or that things are necessarily getting worse. I have heard of many good results this year.

Same. And last year when my son was applying, many parents were shocked by the same type of rejections. Another PP nailed it, too many kids, too similar, all wanting the same thing, college, etc.

True. There are plenty of good colleges out there with intelligent professors willing to teach your students. The problem is people are too obsessed with rankings and all go after the same colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love the kid who is the bagpiper/chocolatier/just a nice guy!

+ 1 Most refreshing post on this thread!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Original poster, I agree with the Previous Poster who said that the college admissions process is not a test on which you are trying to attain a score of 100%.

Your student was admitted to three universities, and one of those colleges is sufficiently competitive that they rejected the class valedictorian.

Please do not complain that there are some rejects in the mix, as it potentially and unnecessarily diminishes your child's accomplishment in your eyes and theirs. It also can make you sound a bit entitled and petulant (which I am certain you are not).

Rejoice! Because your DC will attend a great university next year.

This was never said. The kid who was first in his class was my sister's exchange student from China who was rejected from Berkeley. My kid never even looked at Berkeley. I was using him as an example of another kid I know who was experiencing a brutal year.

Continue though, simply making stuff up. Keeps me amused

Yes, again, it appears to be the bagpiper who was admitted to the university that his class valedictorian was denied admission to. The example of the Chinese student not being admitted to Berkeley does not surprise me, though, as California is a large State that gives some admission priority to its state residents, of which there are many, many intelligent and highly-qualified student residents, including many of those who are Chinese.

I would agree with you had there not been a history of Asian discrimination at Berkeley. The Dept. of Ed. even investigated it as far back as '98.

[Anonymous]

I am seeing that even as schools claim to be holistic in their decisions, they seem to be more and more driven by numbers. There are just too many applications and no other way to differentiate between kids with over inflated GPAs. Class rank means so much more than GPA and a 2100 SAT isn't a big deal anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is these threads working people up. Anecdotal stories, most often the negative ones, does not mean that it has been a brutal year, or that things are necessarily getting worse. I have heard of many good results this year.

+1 I haven't heard any sob stories yet, just success stories.

Well here's one for you....DD....applied to 5 schools within range...and .....5 "wait lists"......

OP here - please let your DD know that it's not her, that this is a very common thing this year, according to my friend, who is an educational consultant.

I am truly sorry, previous poster, that your daughter has been wait-listed at every school that she applied to. That is indeed a bitter pill to swallow, but now is the time to work with your school counselor to make the strong case to get her off those wait lists. Please do not give up hope yet!

It appears that the OP is arguing a doom-and-gloom, the-sky-is-falling, it's-nearly-impossible-to-gain-college-admissions point of view.

It is true, OP, that your argument is substantiated in some cases -- as by the previous poster's sad posting about her daughter's wait-listing -- but your argument is also contradicted in equal measures by other, positive-news postings on this and the other college results threads (including OP's original post about her child being admitted to three colleges, the bagpiper's admission to every college (!), and my own child's admission to two colleges).

What contributes to the academic and college anxiety of students and parents alike, in my opinion, are threads like these which "authoritatively" and anecdotally state that it is nearly impossible for qualified students to be admitted to college today. That is not the case, be intelligent about the process, cast a very wide net, and be willing to look at many schools you might consider safeties.

OP here. I am not arguing gloom-and-doom by any means, evidenced by the fact that I stated up front that my kid DID get into three schools. Of course that was turned into I was demanding a 100% acceptance rate. Something I expect from DCUM, given the ego-centric nature of the DC area.
My point was, is, and will be, that the applications process is fundamentally flawed on many levels. The rankings systems have contributed to racial quotas disguised as [pick name so it doesn't sound like racial quotas], as diversity drives a college up the chart. Kids have had to work at super-human levels in order to even feel like they have a chance at a space in the baby Ivies, never mind the Ivies, unless you can check a box, which has led to a number of mental-health problems, as well as lying on applications. In addition, some 10% of the spaces in these colleges are going to foreign students, because they bring in big bucks.

Somewhere along the line, we have forgotten that these are our CHILDREN, i.e. they are all under 18. At what point do we, as parents, say this is ridiculous, and fight back, rather than push and push our kids into schedules that we ourselves would collapse under? I have brought up the subject with friends who are in pediatrics, as well as mental health. They see what I see - in spades.

There will always be those that attack the messenger. Disagree? Fine. If you don't have anything constructive to say - positive or negative - might I suggest you don't?

[Anonymous]

OP again - I think Ms. Weiss did a good job with this opinion article for the WSJ a couple of years ago. She sums up - from a student's point of view - what I am saying in a comical way:

To (All) the Colleges That Rejected Me
If only I had a tiger mom or started a fake charity.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324000704578390340064578654

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yea, please be aware that the top schools are not awash in diversity. 5-8% African American is the norm for the top schools.

I fully understand that. To me, the main goal isn't balancing a class racially - this isn't a TV commercial or magazine spread. The main goal should be to make sure that kids who get into the school, 'fit' the school and will do well there. Instead the focus is on increasing their own climb up some silly artificial ranking system by messing with how they admit kids.

To me, the worst thing that can happen is admitting a student because they are minority because it increases your rankings, then not supporting those kids, so they are destined to fail, or worse, accepting them, then pushing them through by being soft on grading (or in the case of athletics, making up classes like they did at UNC). What a horrible thing to do to a kid!

And why the fuck are you assuming that the kids of color are being accepted only for their race and then can't hack it? And that they need extra support? You really think that these kids can't handle the course load and need hand holding simply because they're minorities? That there are no kids of color who are as smart and capable as the white kids who were admitted alongside them? What the fuck is wrong with you?

[Anonymous]

My son got into just one college out of the seven where he applied. It is a great school especially for what he wishes to major and he got some financial assistance as well.

He got turned down by every other school or wait-listed. But within the scheme of things it really does not matter unless one is wanting to brag about the number of acceptances received. After all, he can only go to one school when the time comes.

Keep a perspective people ......... for your own sake and, more importantly, for your children's self-esteem.

WTF, are you trying to prove?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yea, please be aware that the top schools are not awash in diversity. 5-8% African American is the norm for the top schools.

I fully understand that. To me, the main goal isn't balancing a class racially - this isn't a TV commercial or magazine spread. The main goal should be to make sure that kids who get into the school, 'fit' the school and will do well there. Instead the focus is on increasing their own climb up some silly artificial ranking system by messing with how they admit kids.

To me, the worst thing that can happen is admitting a student because they are minority because it increases your rankings, then not supporting those kids, so they are destined to fail, or worse, accepting them, then pushing them through by being soft on grading (or in the case of athletics, making up classes like they did at UNC). What a horrible thing to do to a kid!

And why the fuck are you assuming that the kids of color are being accepted only for their race and then can't hack it? And that they need extra support? You really think that these kids can't handle the course load and need hand holding simply because they're minorities? That there are no kids of color who are as smart and capable as the white kids who were admitted alongside them? What the fuck is wrong with you?

So you found this thread too, did you? Good Lord, you are tiresome!

Why am I assuming this? I'm not. It's been a problem in the past in universities and colleges. The problem isn't that they are minorities, the problem is some are admitted simply BECAUSE they are minorities, even if their grades and scores show they they should not be. There are also some minorities that are admitted because their grades and scores show they ARE up to the task and that's as it should be.

When diversity is sought after just for diversity's sake, it is the individual that pays the price. If the problem is there is lack of qualified minorities, college is not the place to try and solve that. By then it's too late. You need to hit it hard at a much lower level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son got into just one college out of the seven where he applied. It is a great school especially for what he wishes to major and he got some financial assistance as well.

He got turned down by every other school or wait-listed. But within the scheme of things it really does not matter unless one is wanting to brag about the number of acceptances received. After all, he can only go to one school when the time comes.

Keep a perspective people ......... for your own sake and, more importantly, for your children's self-esteem.

WTF, are you trying to prove?

That the inmates are running the asylum and our kids are paying the price.