Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back in 2017, Colby and right after then U Chicago decided they'd let kids self report SAT scores instead of having kids pay College Board $15 or so per application to report scores. And within years, this was standard. It did nothing for colleges - but didn't hurt them either. It was purely for students. There was an unknown downside risk - what if kids lie when they self report. But colleges guess kids wouldnt - because it would have been useless - and they didn't.

It did take a lot of money from The College Board.

Why don't colleges try this again. For example, if colleges would require high schools to include on transcript how many colleges this student has applied to (hs has sent transcript to), apps would eventually tick down a bit.

Or maybe some other ideas?

I don't understand what you are asking, OP. Self-reported scores are verified with an official report at the one school where the student was admitted and enrolls.

I don't understand how the number of colleges a student has applied to appearing on the transcript would have any effect on how many a student chooses to apply to. The colleges cannot be identified. If it implied that the student would be unlikely to yield, then that high school would see its admissions go down, not a good thing for the high school.

If you are trying to think of ways to decrease the number of apps students submit, the primary way would be to increase certainty in the process. The massive uncertainty in holistic admissions is the reason for the long lists.

This is total BS. Colleges have been employing holistic admissions for decades. The problem is that every kid who “worked hard” in high school thinks they deserve to attend an Ivy or Ivy+ school. Now that the common app makes it infinitely easier to apply to more schools, every kid with a 1500+ on the SAT shotguns the Ivies with no regard for whether or not it will be a good fit. You want to address systemic problems, start with striving prestige whores.

Curious what your “systematic solution” is to ending social mobility (or as you so charmingly put it, “striving prestige whores”). Shall we lock every son into his father’s occupation?

I understand that folks like you believe that the only way to succeed in life is to attend an Ivy+ school. That’s where all the vitriol against athletes, legacies, donors, and affirmative action comes from. (Interestingly, I never hear quite the same opposition to admissions advantages that boys get at most colleges.) I happen to believe this perspective is total crap. Create a balanced list of schools. Identify high reaches, sure. But 3 maybe, not 15! Acknowledge they are reaches for all and identify some targets and likelies. Get your results and choose the best option based on fit and finances. Like everyone else. But if you think your kids future is in peril because they aspired to an Ivy but “settled” for CWRU, or Tufts, or VT or some other great school everyone on this board has heard of, I really just don’t want to hear it. You’re delusional.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back in 2017, Colby and right after then U Chicago decided they'd let kids self report SAT scores instead of having kids pay College Board $15 or so per application to report scores. And within years, this was standard. It did nothing for colleges - but didn't hurt them either. It was purely for students. There was an unknown downside risk - what if kids lie when they self report. But colleges guess kids wouldnt - because it would have been useless - and they didn't.

It did take a lot of money from The College Board.

Why don't colleges try this again. For example, if colleges would require high schools to include on transcript how many colleges this student has applied to (hs has sent transcript to), apps would eventually tick down a bit.

Or maybe some other ideas?

I don't understand what you are asking, OP. Self-reported scores are verified with an official report at the one school where the student was admitted and enrolls.

I don't understand how the number of colleges a student has applied to appearing on the transcript would have any effect on how many a student chooses to apply to. The colleges cannot be identified. If it implied that the student would be unlikely to yield, then that high school would see its admissions go down, not a good thing for the high school.

If you are trying to think of ways to decrease the number of apps students submit, the primary way would be to increase certainty in the process. The massive uncertainty in holistic admissions is the reason for the long lists.

This is total BS. Colleges have been employing holistic admissions for decades. The problem is that every kid who “worked hard” in high school thinks they deserve to attend an Ivy or Ivy+ school. Now that the common app makes it infinitely easier to apply to more schools, every kid with a 1500+ on the SAT shotguns the Ivies with no regard for whether or not it will be a good fit. You want to address systemic problems, start with striving prestige whores.

Curious what your “systematic solution” is to ending social mobility (or as you so charmingly put it, “striving prestige whores”). Shall we lock every son into his father’s occupation?