7 college admissions myths

Applying to College
1

<p>I always get a kick out of these admission-tips roundups. This article has a few that are rather obvious. How about:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>It’s best to set your heart on one school and really go for it.</p></li>
<li><p>The tuition price listed in brochures is what everyone pays.</p></li>
<li><p>The admissions department adores you.</p></li>
<li><p>Essays don’t really matter much in the end because grades and test scores are so dominant in admissions decisions.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Etc.</p>

<p>I wonder whose mythology accepts these as wisdom.</p>

<p>7</a> college admissions myths - The Washington Post</p>

2

<p>Regarding “It’s better to have a high GPA than to take difficult classes.” </p>

<p>It depends what better means…</p>

<p>Obviously it’s better to have a high GPA and take difficult classes. However, sometimes, students take too many difficult classes.</p>

<p>Take 2 students at the same high school (jr year) Assume everything else is the same.
Student A- all honors exc 1 AP All As
Student B- all APs exc 1 honors 4As 3 Bs </p>

<p>Who gets in?</p>

3

<p>One of the stupidest things about this sort of article is the way all admissions are lumped together. The authors don’t make the slightest effort to distinguish between colleges that admit holistically and those that are statistically-driven, those that are super-selective and those that are not, etc. And they have the gall to announce that “help is here,” that this article is sufficient for all those “frantic seniors” and their families. What a waste of space.</p>

4

<p><a href=“myth”>QUOTE=article in Washington Post</a> Essays don’t really matter much in the end because grades and test scores are so dominant in admissions decisions.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>Most college students attend non-selective community colleges or moderately or less selective state universities where grades and test scores are dominant in the admissions process.</p>

5

<p>They talk about 3.22 Million students graduating but their focus seems to be geared towards top 30-50 private colleges or mainly the CC crowd.</p>

<p>GPA and rank are king in most public universities, even some of the highest ranked universities. Some don’t even ask for a single essay or an LOR. </p>

<p>As for netprice calculators, everyone of them tells me I have to pay in full for my kid.</p>

6

<p>Interesting points. Several of the same myths mentioned show up in this [Never</a> Happened! | uraccepted.com blog featuring news and commentary from Joe College](<a href=“http://uraccepted.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/conversations-that-never-happened-never/]Never”>Never Happened! | uraccepted.com blog featuring news and commentary from Joe College) definitely the funniest of the stuff I’ve read about these issues. We used it to talk with both son and daughter. Gave us some common ground and a few laughs. Hope it helps.</p>