Reply to When posters relay their experiences in admissions, how far back is relevant/relatable to the 2024+ scene?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I can remember as a non-DMVer and current college student in 1988, hearing my then-boyfriend's mom bemoaning that her eldest kid was told by B-CC counselors that he didn't have much chance of getting into Brandeis because he was a cookie-cutter applicant from the region.  Eldest kid indeed ended up somewhere else and was doing great.

The message I got then and is still true today, is that it's unwise to be a generic applicant.

Following that, through observation, I've learned that even seemingly "unhooked" kids can develop legitimate hooks.  Even without spending a lot of money.  But it does require more of parents (acting like a college counselor, acting like a career coach, strategizing) and of the applicant (who may have to work even harder if their family or school system cannot provide such mentoring).

When I read through this board, one thing that comes across is that parents of generic candidates (no offense, I just mean kids with similar records that apply in huge quantities) seem to have difficulty iumderstanding that situation and how to react to it.

In my specific circumstances, I had two fallbacks prepped.  One was for my child to go to the equivalent of UMD-BC and transfer to main campus.  And the other was to go to my undergrad U which has a 50% acceptance rate. I have done quite well with my education from there.

[/quote]

It’s absurd and causes people to lie, manufacture, and manipulate in order to seem special (because most of us are not).

The silver lining for “just” smart and hardworking kids is that they can get a very good education for free at a lot of state schools.  [/quote]

I am PP.  I agree that the situation causes people to lie, manufacture, and manipulate...but humanity is always like that about scarce resources anyway.  And my point is that good parenting and thoughtful preparation by the candidate can work to make applicants more successful.  It is possible to develop a portfolio and rationale for attending that is more believably specific to a school than most candidates end up submitting.  That's why honest college counselors can make a lot of money...they know how to put an applicant on that path.  I do think educated parents can get a lot of the same insights for free by reading and learning.

In sum, even if others behave sleazily due to current incentives, there are still benefits to an intelligent, honest, and higher-effort targeted approach to getting admitted.  It sounds like the "spray and pray" 10+ app pattern talked about on this board is not working well for the admissions ecosystem.

Basically college students have to treat applying for college more like an application for a job.  More prep, less certainty, better-qualified candidates have big advantages.  And the focus should be on being unique (because we all are) and telling a logical, interesting story vs. being special.[/quote]

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