As we work to improve your experience on the site, we’d like to run a short questionnaire by you to collect your thoughts. We appreciate you taking the time to answer the questions below. Thank you!
Are you a student or a parent?
When you hear the name “College Confidential” what words immediately come to your mind? Why did you choose those words?
What do you like most about CC? What do they do really well?
Conversely, what do you like least about CC?
If you were telling a friend about CC, what would you say?
Let’s have a little fun and pretend that you are now in charge of CC, what changes (if any) would you make and why?
What does CC do better than any other competitive products/brands?
College Confidential is looking to enhance and strengthen engagement with students and parents like yourself. Please help fill in the blanks in these two sentences:
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change __________ because _________________________ .”
B ) “If I didn’t use CC, I would use __________________________ because _____________ .”
Research, college search, info. That’s what I use it for.
The search function, the wide range of differing experiences.
The heavy moderation, the inability to delete either a post or my entire profile.
I wouldn’t be. CC feels too non-anonymous so I wouldn’t try to drive others here to possibly read what I’ve shared. I know I could’ve avoided sharing any identifying details but that would defeat the purpose of posting for advice.
Let’s have a little fun and pretend that you are now in charge of CC, what changes (if any) would you make and why? I would allow people to change their usernames, to delete posts, and to add pictures (within rules).
For me it’s easier to use/navigate than reddit, and I don’t know other competitors.
I got nothing here. I would just use google and FB groups for parents of various schools (which I also already use). At this point with both my kids already in college I use CC as a distraction during my extra time during the pandemic.
Interesting Forum. It’s fun to come on here and hear interesting topics people bring up.
I like the active community. Every one of my threads people have responded to in less than 24 hours with helpful answers.
Very rarely, some people are condescending.
Check out this cool forum, really tells you everything you need to know. Helpful and interesting information and if you have a question people respond.
None
Manage the community with active and helpful mods.
College Confidential is looking to enhance and strengthen engagement with students and parents like yourself. Please help fill in the blanks in these two sentences:
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change the interface because it’s easy to use and easy to understand .”
B ) “If I didn’t use CC, I would use Quora because I can ask questions there too .”
I like the community here. Very knowledgable posters.
Inconsistent moderation.
Super place for parents. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend for students.
Change user names. Ability to edit posts beyond 15 minutes.
Easier interface.
8). A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change the parent forum because it’s a wonderful place for parents to gather and learn from each other. Ditto for parent cafe on non college questions.”
B) I would stick to my parent college page on FB.
I like the detailed advice that can be given; the opportunity to help students. The design scheme is not bad, and it seems easy enough to navigate…
But I do have some pet peeves. Comments can not be deleted, or edited. I understand editing could be seen as dangerous in that something could be misrepresented, but perhaps edits after the 15 min window could be added in a different text color and labelled as an edit. I wish there was a page describing the different types of members, and maybe a tutorial on how to use CC. I see lots of first time users making threads in strange categories or being vague- it isn’t intuitive how to create a post. Right now it is a button that says “Ask your question now” but a simple “Create a post” button would be better imo.
I would tell high school students that they could receive good advice on admissions here. I don’t go out of my way to talk about it to good friends, because they could probably figure out who I am, and I like anonymity.
I would change the aforementioned things in Question 4, and also add a College Students counterpart to the Parent Cafe. Tbh, I’m a bit jealous of the parents and all the fun they have there… I read some of those threads more than I’d like to admit. I know there is a Student Lounge but it is hard to navigate too and I’m not sure it is very active, and also unsure if it is for HS or college?
CC has better advice than Reddit A2C because the interface is more visually pleasing, but also it is school specific. When I was applying I did go to a college subreddit and get helpful advice, but it is a rare sub that is actually big and active for that school (I still maraud as if I chose to attend that school over there haha).
College Confidential is looking to enhance and strengthen engagement with students and parents like yourself. Please help fill in the blanks in these two sentences:
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change how threads are separated by schools because they can serve as easy to find info for applicants for years to come.”
B ) “If I didn’t use CC, I would use Reddit because I am unaware of any other semi-anonymous college application help forums.”
I value the expertise of the parent contributors. Almost any school, any topic, there is someone with the necessary knowledge who is willing to take the time to share it.
Interface is klutzy - I mostly just look at Latest Posts. I really dislike the new hashtags, which are arbitrary and distracting.
I would say there is a lot of expertise available if you look for it. (Always doublecheck the info of course.) I don’t think CC deserves its reputation as a site where everyone is hypercompetitive and focused only on the Ivies. It’s a generous community.
I’d get rid of the color boxes at the top of each forum and the hashtags, as they are distracting.
The value of CC is exclusively in the Forums for me. I would use Fitch or the college websites for anything else. Sites like Reddit or Niche or unigo have mostly students as posters, and it’s not a broad enough group to be helpful.
College Confidential is looking to enhance and strengthen engagement with students and parents like yourself. Please help fill in the blanks in these two sentences:
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change the Forums because they work well as they are .”
B ) “If I didn’t use CC, I would use Fitch and other guidebooks because I don’t like/trust any of the other online forum-type sites .”
When you hear the name “College Confidential” what words immediately come to your mind? Why did you choose those words?
Useful advice.
What do you like most about CC? What do they do really well?
Experienced people who give their advice freely.
Conversely, what do you like least about CC?
-People who never come back to respond.
-Still hard to find the right forum to ask a question. I.E., College Life. There is no rhyme or reason as to why College Essays are found in the broad category College Admissions and Search. Then there is a separate forum for both those topics under Hihglights.
-Tags. They don’t work and don’t seem to serve a purpose. The more people who tag their post with COVID19, when they are asking about taking an AP class, or whatever, the less credible it makes CC.
-I don’t think CC pays enough attention to the students who use the site. That is starting to change.
If you were telling a friend about CC, what would you say?
It’s a place where people can get good advice.
Let’s have a little fun and pretend that you are now in charge of CC, what changes (if any) would you make and why?
I’d add a dedicated forum for Low Income, First Gen, and URM students.
What does CC do better than any other competitive products/brands?
Enables people to ask questions and get answers.
College Confidential is looking to enhance and strengthen engagement with students and parents like yourself. Please help fill in the blanks in these two sentences:
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change being able to post questions because where else can they get good answers? .”
B ) "If I didn’t use CC, I would use Niche___________________ because _student perspective is more important than adults think ."
SUGGESTIONS:
YES to a tutorial on how to use CC.
Provide some kind of incentive for users to come back and provide feedback on their college process. A bit like the student stories on College Data.
College, because it has the word College in it’s name.
Questions are answered fairly quickly.
The inability to delete accounts, delete posts, or even edit posts after 15 minutes.
Read the Terms and Conditions before signing up because you can’t delete your account if you change your mind.
I would make it so people can delete their accounts, delete their posts, and edit their posts.
N/A
A ) N/A
B ) “If I didn’t use CC, I would use reddit because at least on reddit you can delete your account and I idiotically signed up for CC without realizing I can’t delete my account .”
A) DON’T CHANGE THE COMMUNITY!! BECAUSE WITHOUT IT, CC IS NOTHING (SERIOUSLY, I NEVER READ THE “ARTICLES” ETC, ALL THE BEST ADVICE AND CONVERSATION IS FOUND IN THE FORUMS
When you hear the name “College Confidential” what words immediately come to your mind? Why did you choose those words?
Anonymous college information.
What do you like most about CC? What do they do really well?
Access to professors, counselors, experienced parents, youthful hope and exuberance. TOS around a welcoming environment.
Conversely, what do you like least about CC?
Elitism. Political undercurrents. Debating. Snark and condescension towards the students.
5) If you were telling a friend about CC, what would you say?
Go for advice and not to reinforce your self esteem.
Let’s have a little fun and pretend that you are now in charge of CC, what changes (if any) would you make and why?
Eliminate or really moderate the covid threads. They aren’t really more than veiled political threads that were pleasantly not part of the experience here. It was a welcome respite in online life. There are so many venues for that already.
What does CC do better than any other competitive products/brands?
Incredibly realistic advice. Great for school lists based on goals and objectives.
College Confidential is looking to enhance and strengthen engagement with students and parents like yourself . Please help fill in the blanks in these two sentences:
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change The TOS ______ because ___civility and community are fractured without them .”
B ) “If I didn’t use CC, I would use nothing because it was a unique place .”
I think that the information on CC is pretty useful and the moderation helps.
I don’t like that you can’t edit/delete after 15 minutes. Many of the posters are very condescending (especially to students who are just looking for simple advice).
I’d say that it’s a good place to go if you have questions that can’t be googled.
I’d make a tab for posts that need answers. When scrolling through the “latest posts” tab, its annoying to have to sort through the ones that are just parents arguing about current events.
The advice on CC is definitely more trustworthy than other places, and the website is more user-friendly.
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change the moderation because it makes the website more trustworthy.”
B ) “If I didn’t use CC, I would use reddit because its the closest thing and is less competitive.”
@Lindagaf Sure thing! - I also had a Zoom meeting regarding suggestions for CC.
But here is what I shared with them:
Incoming College Freshmen
Counseling, competitive, secure and reliable, somewhat clique-y,
I like how diverse CC is in terms of topics and, of course, the variety of students, parents, alumni, and even admissions staff/counselors willing to contribute to discussions and take their time to answer important questions.
Very parent/adult-oriented (which is fine as Reddit and Discord seems to be more teen-oriented). I also wish there was a section for low-income teenagers to advertise programs like Questbridge and other scholarship programs like Gates and other tuition programs. Questbridge - very difficult to even find on this forum and is something I mentioned a while back but never implemented (which is fine, but it would be nice to have it discussed/considered).
CC is a great place for getting suggestions on “What next?”. Lots of advice from lots of people from different backgrounds able to provide insight into the matter. However, some topics can be cliquey and somewhat toxic such as the Chance Me sections and also having an entire separate Ivy League section.
The organization is, mostly good. However, I would add changes to certain sections being highlighted or made more visible in general. In addition, I’d probably add a feature (if the forum system/platform allows) for signatures/banners at the bottom where people could say which school they go/went to or where their sons/daughters are attending or things like that. Maybe even what they do (are they an Admissions Counselor/etc).
Forum based platform. All information is neatly organized and filed for review. In addition, CC feels more “secure” and reliable compared to other platforms because as anonymous as it is, there is a good focus on College and one can see member reputation/history.
College Confidential is looking to enhance and strengthen engagement with students and parents like yourself. Please help fill in the blanks in these two sentences:
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change organization because it’s mostly great and pretty easy to find “broad” topics. Although as mentioned, perhaps making low income categories more visible would appeal to a larger group of students.”
B ) “If I didn’t use CC, I would use Reddit/Discord because there are more students my age, more connection, and closeness in the discussion. Casual laid back, and can make actual friends since there is an age disconnect on the forum.”
I am curious about this Zoom meeting. Who were the participants? Have there been any Zoom meetings with posters in the Parenting section? I would think CC would want feedback from them, since these are the longtime posters who are responsible for the success of this site, at least as it is now. If you want parent participation, then to not include them is sending a strong message.
@CTTC , Cc is making an active effort to encourage more student participation and I believe the zoom session mentioned was especially for students. There might be a similar session at some point for parents.
When you hear the name “College Confidential” what words immediately come to your mind?
Experienced perspective
Why did you choose those words?
Many users have been through this process for years and have a lot of experience about the ins and outs of college admissions. It is important to keep in mind that regardless of how experienced someone is, it is their perspective.
What do you like most about CC? What do they do really well?
CC allows you to get into the minutia of college admissions and ask questions that you might not find on a college website, from a school counselor or in a book. It opens your eyes to types of schools, aid and other options that you might not have previously considered.
Conversely, what do you like least about CC?
People who ask a question and then never come back.
Political and argumentative threads. Personally, I don’t think they belong here. Allowing them to continue “lightly” moderated leads to users bringing that tone and political debate into other threads. For example school opening in the fall is discussed in a COVID thread but it is also discussed in the HS Class of 2020 and college Class of 2024 threads. Look at the COVID posts. Would a user be able to post the same message in all three threads?
If you were telling a friend about CC, what would you say?
You have to do some hunting to find the information you are looking for as the site and search functions aren’t user friendly. Just like any review, you need to read a variety of opinions and follow up with your own research and then make an informed decision.
Let’s have a little fun and pretend that you are now in charge of CC, what changes (if any) would you make and why?
Allow posts to be edited and deleted. Why? Because information changes. Because people post from their phone, on the go, or in the heat of passion and might want to go back to add links, add information, clarify their statement or change their tone. I feel that there will be less bickering and less need for moderation if people are given the ability to edit or delete their posts. I also feel that threads will be a lot shorter if people can go back and edit one post rather than posting multiple times. Editing and deleting would allow users to move their post if they realize that they put it in the wrong forum.
Allow the user to follow a college forum rather than just individual threads.
Create and add short cuts in the first post of some very long threads. For example, in the Class of 2024 threads for colleges, add a short cut to the first page where admission decisions are released, when scholarships are announced, when housing is assigned, etc. This will help next years class not have to scroll through hundreds of pages.
After admissions, this site becomes a ghost town. Students move to other social media sites to connect, find roommates, etc. I would figure out a way to allow those students to connect.
What does CC do better than any other competitive products/brands?
CC allows one to post confidentially. Some may feel comfortable sharing details of grades, scores, hometown, etc. but the appeal to many is that they can remain confidential. CC has is a mix of parents and students whereas some other forums are mostly students speculating and guiding each other.
College Confidential is looking to enhance and strengthen engagement with students and parents like yourself. Please help fill in the blanks in these two sentences:
A ) “Whatever you do, don’t change CONFIDENTIAL because USERS WON’T POST AS FREELY .”
B ) "If I didn’t use CC, I would use OTHER FORUMS/RESOURCES/TOOLS because THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PROCESS TO RESEARCH.