<p>Hopkins</a> Insider The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of College Confidential </p>
<p>Admissions_Daniel writes his thoughts on CC...Good, Bad and Ugly.</p>
<p>Can someone sum this up for me it? He wrote A LOT! lol</p>
<p>He wrote that CC can be good, bad, ugly, and frustrating. That’s all you need to know ;).</p>
<p>Really, he said that it can bee a good resource in absence of guidance staff, but the anonymity of users can create a lot of misinformation. Also, we need to make sure people spell Johns Hopkins correctly more often.</p>
andyle
January 26, 2011, 9:09pm
4
<p>lazy prospective college student</p>
<p>o the irony</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>He is definitely over exaggerating the “mass hysteria” aspect of CC. Unfortunately, many of his claims are based simply on 1 or 2 posts. It doesn’t make sense he can speak about CC as a whole just because one or two people posted some “false” information. It was a good post, though.</p>
hume15
January 27, 2011, 7:43am
6
<p>I agree with him completely on the chance threads, but a lot of CC is genuinely informative. Even the “X vs. Y” threads provide people with information that they might not otherwise have access to. That’s hardly “lazy” imo.</p>
<p>^When andyle said lazy I think he was refering to LazyGenius (could be wrong but that’s what I think…)</p>
<p>the man just was not happy with college confidential, he completely ripped the discussion section apart</p>
<p>The good, bad and ugly of Admissions_Daniel’s blog about CC.</p>
<p>The good
He is right. (about it all) </p>
<p>The bad
Most (90%) of schools do not provide a resource as extensive as Hopkins Interactive. His perspective is skewed as a result. </p>
<p>The ugly
Chance threads are silly. The application process has changed so much, getting some (any) feedback while waiting for April is a coping mechanism. There is some very good advice on chance threads, and often there are kind supportive words from other applicants. He is, of course, right (see “the good”), but ‘chance’ threads are here to stay.</p>
<p>My two cents:)</p>
hume15
January 27, 2011, 5:52pm
10
<p>
No it was a reference to the article.</p>
tanman
January 27, 2011, 6:54pm
11
<p>There used to be a day, way back when, when chances threads were banned on CC.</p>
<p>^Yeah right I do not believe that! >:O</p>
gunit5
February 6, 2011, 10:45am
13
<p>I’m going to bump this because I believe it is crucial that everyone on this thread reads this. I also think it is critical that the Bad and the Ugly are specifically pointed out:</p>
<p>
The Bad
For those who have followed me on College Confidential or read a majority of my past posts it is clear that there are two things that bother me the most: **“chances threads” and “college X vs. university Y posts.” **This for me is the bad part of College Confidential and an area I try to avoid altogether. I understand why these kinds of posts exist, and I know back in the day I probably would have been tempted to possibly post such threads if such an online community existed (or the Internet existed). However, it is extremely rare that these posts can help and they have in many ways bred the lazy prospective college student. </p>
<p>The college search and admissions process should not be easy . It should not be a point – click – apply – pay – attend process. High school students should have to put energy into this process, they should have to spend time researching, and, most importantly, they need time to do some form of SELF-assessment . This process is one of maturation and of finding oneself and determining interests and preferences. It is **a rite of passage **where 16, 17, 18 year olds begin to move to that next step in their intellectual and social lives. It is not a time to favor other people’s opinions, thoughts, and preferences, especially anonymous people who know nothing about your history. You hear it all the time that the college search is about finding the right fit. But the phrase is finding “your” right fit. The “your” is being lost and in its place students are leaning on general conclusions, concerns about status, and other opinions.</p>
<p>In the quest for “fit” I respect that college applicants want to know what their reach and safety schools will be. But turning to the members of College Confidential is not the answer. Correct me if I am wrong but **there is not a single admissions application reviewer for any school in the country that is responding to “chances” threads. **The so-called “gatekeepers” are not on College Confidential letting you know you have a 22% chance at school Y and a 46.8% chance at school X because they favor students more whose last name starts with a “L.” **Just because one student was admitted to a school does not make them a credible source on what the school is searching for in its future students. **Just because student X was admitted to Hopkins with a 620 Critical Reading and only submitted two subject exams, does not mean that every student who meets those same criteria will be admitted.</p>
<p>You hear all the time that the admissions review process has become holistic and the application reviews are much more comprehensive than ever before. Fit matters more now than it did in the past. **Our decisions are not based on things one can post on a chances thread, unless that student posts every part of their application and that it is posted in the context of the full application pool that cycle. **I find it funny that members of College Confidential find the assessing of another member’s chances so easy, especially with such little information to go on. Basically that means my ten-plus years of experience in this profession don’t really matter in the determination of who gets in to Hopkins.</p>
<p>**Do your own research and speak with your guidance counselors—those are the sources that should be helping you determine your “chances.” **You’ll be amazed at how helpful your counselor can be. One thing is for sure, they will not ridicule you, they will not attack you, and they will not make you feel lesser about yourself. **They also will not boost your ego, pat you on the back, and just provide you simple lip service. That is what chances threads are for.
</p>
<p>
The Ugly
I mentioned this briefly before but I need to expand on the thought. **The ugly part of College Confidential is the rampant lack of credibility of sources and the blind acceptance that whatever is posted on the site must be gospel. **Every few weeks one of my colleagues and I interact with a student or parent via campus visit, e-mail, or phone and are stunned at the information they are presenting as fact. When a bit of questioning is complete the source is often College Confidential. How many applications did Hopkins receive this year? 26,000 of course because someone said so on College Confidential. (Make the closer to 19,201.) How many SAT II subject exams does Hopkins require? Two of course because someone said so on College Confidential. (Not true. See [Johns</a> Hopkins University Office of Undergraduate Admissions - Apply - Standardized Test Requirements](<a href=“http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/testreqs.html]Johns ”>http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/testreqs.html ).) Greek life dominates the social scene at Hopkins. (Not quite. There are over 360 clubs and organizations on campus.) Yup, must be because someone said so on College Confidential.</p>
<p>**And who are these someones? What do you know about them? Their name. Their age. Their educational background. What school they attend / attended. And are you sure that what they are telling you about themselves is true? **I am not claiming that every post on College Confidential is wrought with misinformation, speculation, and inconsistencies, but what I am asking is **how you know what is credible and what is not? **Does the number of posts a person have lead to that conclusion? Does their self-posted location lead to credibility? Does their screenname choice really mean they are a wealth of information? **Has no one ever lied or ■■■■■■■ on this site? **Please do not get me wrong here, I think there are many people who post of College Confidential who are helpful, respectful, and provide great information but the format of the site does not provide an easy way to discern who is credible and who is not. </p>
<p>One of my firm beliefs as I entered the world of social media years ago (kicking and screaming by the way) is my “grain of salt” methodology. You have heard it before, take everything you learn with a grain of salt. I have always interpreted this as meaning to question the source and realize that there is motive behind the presentation of all information. This skepticism about what you read online should exist whether you are reading an anonymous post, or something that I’ve written. The problem is that when I post something there is background and history of my motives that are clearly evident. When anonymous member 781 posts something what do you know about them?
</p>
al6200
February 6, 2011, 1:16pm
14
<p>I think the College Search/Selection forum is probably the best part of the CC forums, since it offers students a wide variety of suggestions for beginning their college search, rather than definitive answers that are better provided by admissions. </p>
<p>For a student who has no idea of what schools to look at, it can be hard to even begin the process of forming a list.</p>
<p>hmmm what an interesting point of view.
;)</p>