Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised some schools allow people who aren’t parent of admitted or current students to join.

They want prospective parents to get answers, that's a good thing. Also some are not run by the schools, but by parents, so it's their choice what to do.
I joined for most of the schools my kids were considering applying to, then dropped once kid decided where to attend.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I would not do this. It's mostly the most intense parents fretting about minutia they shouldn't even think about, and not a realistic picture at all of what the schools are like. I'm not even in my kids' college facebook pages anymore.

Not at all schools. It really depends. And you can filter thru the junk and get to the realistic issues (for example if kids always "cannot get the classes they need and always have to sit on waitlists hoping they get them before semester starts"---one kid had a school they wanted to apply to like that....and when it's 50+ parents agreeing on each post like that, you realize that yes it is an issue (I'm not talking---my kid got the 8a section and wants 2pm, I'm talking my kid needs X this semester to stay on track to graduate in 4 years, and when they registered they are #200 on the WL and never got into the course, so we had to do an extra semester to graduate).

Anonymous wrote:Do any of you do this? I did it this for my first born, and it helped me understand some of the “good, the bad and the ugly” of my kid’s top choices.

Some groups only let you join once you show acceptance letter (looking at you UVA group). I get it sounds like too much hovering, but if we are paying for their schooling, then we should have a good understanding of what our kids are getting into, and what is expected of us.

Ok, go ahead, and say I need to cut the umbilical cord!

Yes, I joined several for each kid, once they had a list of where to apply to. It is an excellent way to get a true feel for the good/bad/issues a school has.

If I'm paying $90K (or anything) per year, I want to have all the information we can to make an informed decision. At the school my oldest picked, I knew going in that the parents were extremely nice and helpful. I knew that despite us being 2K miles from our kid (and 85% of the students being from within 4-6 hour drive) that I would always have a "parent" who would step up in an emergency. I've seen some of those parents go to the hospital and wait with a kid until their actual parent can arrive (2 appendectomies, and several other urgent situations requiring surgery). So complete strangers just willing to take it upon themselves to do exactly what any parent would want if they are a distance from their own kid and an emergency happened. Similarly, no kid would go without a place to be for a holiday if they were on campus, unless the kid didn't want to go to a "stranger's home"....always notifications of "we live nearby and can host X kids for the holiday---for dinner or for the 5 days of thanksgiving if your kid wants to get off campus for any/all of it.

For me, that provides comfort knowing my kid would be good should any emergency arise. I took comfort in that

Ugh, no, please don't do this.

You will only see the craziest parents. The ones whose kids are just going about college life, adjusting and managing well, aren't posting on Facebook.

There's a woman who became famous for sharing posts from the LSU parent group on tiktok. The posts were hilarious!

I joined a couple parent groups after my daughter was admitted. I found them mostly helpful. Sure, there are crazies, but there also were some incredibly helpful folks. At one school (very small private), the president of the school was even part of the group-she personally responded to one of my questions.

Joined only after my student was committed and found it is not a very robust page. So, probably depends on the school.

It can be helpful. I have joined a few of the schools that my son has been accepted to. I did it mainly to learn about things that my son frankly could care less about.

For example, he was accepted to Mizzou last year. I learned that sometimes finding a part time job in Columbia is tough. A job is necessary if you are trying to gain residency. At Mizzou this is possible after a year but you need to jump through some hoops.

Anonymous wrote:No, because it’s the craziest and most anxious and weird people who are on Facebook at every college. Don’t make any judgments about the student body based on Facebook.

+1. At DC's school, there are multiple parents posting on the FB page who worried that "we" won't get the classes "we need" next semester, and wondering how this should be handled.

No, because it’s the craziest and most anxious and weird people who are on Facebook at every college. Don’t make any judgments about the student body based on Facebook.

I've joined the groups for both kids' colleges and found them overall useful. Yes - there is some crazy there. But I have found both helpful for odds and ends that are more parent than student related and also appreciated the heads up on things we may be sorting out in the years ahead. One of the groups was VERY well moderated and that made a big difference. The other is a bit of a free-for-all. I 'm not sure either really give me much information on the campus vibe itself though.

Anonymous wrote:This is insane but you'll fit right in because the Facebook group parents who post their anxious stream-of-consciousness are all outlier nuts too.

The usefulness of the parent FB group will vary widely among colleges.

I agree with the PP that any really useful group will not be run by randos. It will be affiliated and require proof of admission. There is no access for you prior to admission.

Your student needs to visit the school to get a feel for the school. What a handful of parents say is irrelevant.

Moved the needle for our kids was the in person visits/tours not the website, IG, etc

I just read about some sorority girls have to move out of their houses over winter break. That is info not listed on school website.