Well, not really. I’ve encountered great applicants on CC and would admit those without hesitation. But for many on here, I’m as discouraged as an old person can get (“Back in my day…”). Except I’d have to admit that back in my day, it was the same.
I’m amazed by the lack of research applicants might do, rather coming directly to CC for answers and advice, asking the same questions over and over (I’m sure Hobsons doesn’t mind). For example, I look frequently at the College Essays forum on CC, and have given lots of advice. But I can’t help but notice that the majority of those applicants posting make it absolutely apparent that they do not look at previous posts on that forum to see if any can be of help. For a more specific example (there are many to chose from), students are always asking, “Should I talk about overcoming depression/alcohol use/eating disorders/drugs/etc?” The answers are all clear and loud: “NO!” And those answers are posted over and over and over, sometimes only a few threads below the current question.
Another example: Questions about financial aid, wondering how much merit money they might get from elite institutions (short answer: Not enough to bring the COA down to a manageable level). Go to the websites of these schools and get the answer to that question and others you might have.
Is this a non-topic (probably)? Am I becoming more and more of a curmudgeon (probably)?
Each year, there’s a new crop of kids and parents. Many start out with very little information. The learning curve is steep. I suspect that many also don’t appreciate the depth of information available on CC or understand how to search for it.
As long as we have members who are willing to answer the same questions over and over, what’s the harm in people asking them over and over? It’s not the same people who are asking repeatedly. Each inquiry comes from a different – and probably very bewildered and misinformed – person.
Edited to add: My kids have graduated from college, so I don’t usually ask questions here except in the Cafe. And I don’t search the site to see whether a previous thread in the Cafe has addressed the same issue. So I’m just as guilty as the people you’re talking about.
Gee, for those of us who didn’t have parents who went to college and who didn’t come from particularly supportive high schools, we don’t even know where to start.
Remember: just because something seems obvious to YOU given YOUR background doesn’t mean that it’s obvious to those of us who were not raised like that. It’s a case of we don’t know what we don’t know.
As for looking at previous posts- the search function on this site sucks. Searching brings literally thousands of useless posts because we talk about everything from SAT scores to how to care for a dying parent on this site.
So yes, students might ask redundant questions but remember that they do not have thousands of posts. They don’t have years of CC experience. They come to CC because they have questions, and really, isn’t that what we’re here for?
Romanigypsyeyes beat me too it. I agree, the search function on here is indeed inadequate. There have been times I have searched for a thread that I had read a length and know definitely exists, and it doesn’t come up when using all the terms I can think might relate.
I suspect the point isn’t the repetitiveness for us, but the continued fact these kids don’t do the research. And that includes plenty of supposedly smart, high performing kids who want to aim high. We can often tell when a kid has at least tried to inform him/herself, looked at the college web sites, etc. Too many still rest on “someone told me” or the not so wise words of other inexperienced hs kids. That’s what’s a bit head smacking.
Digmedia has been a terrific long time poster. I mean really long time and I mean really terrific!
I just want to remind everybody that we’re here to help people, not so much to be entertained, so please be sensitive that some newbies need to be welcomed even at the risk of repetitive advice. That’s especially true dealing with youngsters.
This, I think, is not always a case of lack of research, but more that we can’t always apply to ourselves advice that we would unhesitatingly give to others. We can’t be objective for ourselves.
So for example let’s say my elderly mother has a grave health crisis. I might ask in the Parents Supporting Parents thread whether I should go to her side, given that I have other responsibilities and it’s inconvenient to cancel appointments, get flights and so on. If I do, I’ll get an avalanche of responses saying, YES, of course, go to the bedside of your dying mother. And the thing is, if someone else had asked the question, I would have been part of that avalanche, because I would have been able to look at the situation objectively. But when it’s me, I can’t.
Or I might ask whether my child should conceal a brush with the law on his college application where it asks about such things, and get told, NO, of course not, do not lie on the application. And the thing is, if someone else had asked about lying on college applications, I would have also said, NO, don’t lie. But I can’t be objective about my own child.
So realize that sometimes people ask because they know that others will be able to give an objective answer that they can’t come to by themselves.
I feel like sometimes we could do a better job of asking the mods to pin key things, though. Example: I bet I have posted 10 times the past few months on how to prioritize what to include in activities, and how to group and explain effectively in additional info when a student has some related activities. Then typing an example. I COULD ask the mods if we could pin a thread with those suggestions on the Common App forum. But have not…I just keep typing.
I’ve also been frustrated but am tempered by the fact that often, it’s new users and as a CC member, I can do my part to make the experience pleasant or not (I’ve crossed a line a few times and in hindsight have either retracted or apologized). Often, I try to contain my snarkiness but bite my tongue when “call and ask the school” is the most obvious answer to give.
And echoing intparent- I have given the same advice on ignoring the advertising of the paid financial aid “guru’s” and instead sitting down with your own checkbook, tax return, and bank/brokerage statements. Because if you have no clue how much you can actually afford every month, the fact that some random Net Price Calculator says you’ll get 10K in need based aid, and some consultant has a great method for increasing that to 15K… well, it’s not worth paying for that advice if you don’t have a plan for funding the balance.
And week after week, someone posts that someone told them that it’s a good idea to buy an annuity with the funds in their checking account to “shelter” them from the aid calculation. And after 50 posts it emerges that there’s no way in %^&* they can pay their portion of the EFC even with a few thousand dollars more in aid.
Sigh. It does get tiring. But what would we do with our free time otherwise?
I had to stay off the Harvard boards when I started getting snarky. I was so tempted to write, “If you are smart enough to apply to Harvard, you are smart enough to figure out what your chances are.” And no - they aren’t likely to be better than the admissions rate if you don’t have a good hook, and what does it matter if your chances are 15% or 30% instead of 6%? They are 0% if you don’t apply.
I’m pretty new here, still, and it’s easy to be repetitive - but I also get the OP’s point and agree to a certain extent.
I also notice mods telling people not to revive really old threads, but to use them for research purposes only. That might cause some people to post threads where a new one is not really needed.
I gain patience by switching it up. Right now I am on a roll responding to internationals with just okay test scores and high financial need. When I get tired of that, I will start skipping those threads and go on to kids desperate to escape New Jersey with parents who won’t pay for it. :). Soon we will see the arrival of many posts about late recommendations. It is the circle of life on CC!
Personally, I enjoy repeatedly bloviating on my own pet theories about college admissions, and I appreciate the repetitive questions that give me the opportunity to do so.
@Hunt - Best answer of the day!!! Still chuckling.
@ClassicRockerDad - I’d never post something like this directly in response to a question from a student or parent. I recognize the sensitivities, so that’s why I posted it here - to get other opinions. I agree that the learning curve is very steep. I read a post a few days ago from a mom that just about broke my heart. She had NO experience with college, didn’t seem to recognize the difference between an AA degree and a BS degree, and didn’t know what a “for-profit college” was. She was so sincere in wanting to help her son make decisions and her “voice” went right to my heart.
So, I do understand. And, if I didn’t enjoy “bloviating” over and over, I guess I wouldn’t still be here!
I see both sides of this…when i came here 18 months ago, I was CLUELESS. it pains me to see the questions that i asked now that i realize the answers are all around me.
but I"ve also begun to understand what it must be like to work in an admissions office…honestly, it must be painful…the same dumb essays over and over…the same descriptions…the stats and grades and standings and scores repeated over and over and over…its a wonder that anybody gets admitted.
isn’t asking questions part of the research process?
its very easy to tell someone do “do their own work”, but thanks to the internet and the myriad of experts on the subject today there is an overwhelming amount of source material that may or may not be accurate or relevant to the nuances of someone’s individual situation.
it seems to me that the reason there are as many redundancies here has more to do with this site being perceived as a trusted source of accurate information and less about laziness.
The stream of fresh answers to new-but-same-old questions also permits new trends to emerge. Like, the trend toward offering honors programs and honor colleges.
Also, the current generation of HS students is unfamiliar with researching using organized information. Might never have opened a printed directory or encyclopedia. So, Google first.
@SouthernHope - I’m sort of glad I can’t see my first posts here. I was on the OLD discus CC forum (“back in the day…”). But I suspect I would see a similar cluelessness in myself. As for the same essays over and over, I’ve had a LOT of essays come through my inbox and, while most are mundane, they have the potential to be interesting.
And then there is the time I got an essay from a student in Dallas that was the best I ever saw. I shared it with Sally Rubenstone (“The Dean”) and she also agreed it was the best SHE had ever seen (and she’s seen thousands). I wrote back to the student and said, “Don’t edit this; don’t polish this; don’t TOUCH this.” She was admitted to every elite school she applied to (except Yale) and ended up going to USC because they gave her a full merit scholarship. I think her essay was a key factor in all her acceptances. I still go back to that essay from time to time just to see how great an essay can be, even with a “mundane” topic.
So there are bright spots, and even hope in the dim spots.
