i wish there were a discussion thread about good privqte college counselors in different areas of the country… i asked for help findk=ing one in my area and to9 my surprise got shot down…interesting when i read different articles on the large % of students hiring such professionals…
I may be mistaken, but I don’t think CC has a forum/subforum for those who decide to not enter college immedietly after high school, but take a gap year instead.
I think there have been some great suggestions and would second many of them including:
- A dedicated International Section (covering but not limited to)
- Canadian schools
- UK / European
- Asian
- Foreign study exchange programs
- Foreign study related scholarship programs
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A FAQ section (covering topics discussed time and again)
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A separate “Rankings” section (to cover not only the USNWR rankings discussions, but would also be the place to start and discuss the “Which Best LACs” or “Top 10 Prestigious Schools” type threads)
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A lot of forums have dedicated “seniority” rankings which are related to the subject of the particular forum in question (for instance, a political forum would have newbies start out as “citizens” and work their way via postings to “elected officials” to “Senator” and so on…) … CC could implement a similar system where you start out, say, in high school, college grad, grad school, PHD, etc.)
anyways, this is a fantastic site.
I think that there should be subforum specific “monitors” or the like, like jr moderators that have power over only one subforum so they can more efficiently sticky and remove topics that are in/out of vogue depending on the season. This would be especially helpful on the college specific subforums that often have questions that are unique to the college itself, but common among the applicants, so they get asked repeatedly For instance, my favorite forum is the Cornell subforum. This past week, there have been probably 10 or so different threads about grades and application recindance, and there have also been about 10 different threads about the alumni interview. I think that a forum specfic monitor (my suggestion would be cayuga red 2005) would be able to sticky topics like there to the top of the forum, and then remove them in a few weeks/months when people have different questions about the application process. Thus instead of 10 3-post threads about the interview, there would be one comprehensive 30 post thread about the interview. This active thread management would cut down the similar multithreads we have and consolidate answers to only one thread.
Gap Year forum is a great idea.
Very glad you expanded the grad school forum. It seems to be building momentum. Seems everyone is hesitant to be too frank there, and sure I can’t disclose any info either. It is not me, it is my dd.
But maybe a forum for kids still in college and considering grad school would be good. Grad school forum seems mostly to be people who already decided to apply. Just getting advice on it and reporting results is nice. But for CC people who are in Soph or Jr year of college, and looking for ideas or encouragement or advice to be on grad school track-- it is not here yet.
I think a CC Classics Sage Student Posts and Sage Parent Postssection would be nice…to honor good advice and good prose, one subsection for students (we do have some classics like xiggi’s guide to SAT Prep for instance, or evilrobots choice of Vandy with scholarship over Yale that hit a nerve and have been repeated many times.)
Likewise we have had some “classic” wise parents or amusing parent posts over the years on problems/questions that are universal including what to do when your college bound child receives school discipline for foolish decision, what to do when you must privately dole out consequences to a teen for serious infractions,
to why you chose public over private or scholarship over full pay, to what you expect re contact from your S or D once they are gone, or how you come to terms with budgeting their personal needs accts (they take part time jobs, you send X dollars)
Summer Job/internship Practical Advice, Tips
another topic that is going to matter more and more. we for instance didn’t “budget” in the two summers we put our son up in major cities to build his resume…he did get paid at least and offset some costs…but summer internships are often zero pay…
I think School Supplies should be its own zone as the landscape alters in a couple of years…what they wear in climate and culture of a college, what is needed in a room…what is allowed in a dorm room…newbies each year really appreciate these timely tips especially in July and August
As the mother of a son who ignored most of the stuff I supplied him with when he was 18…my posts were comic but perhaps instructive. No, your son really does not want cute silverware and plastic plates from Target’s college section…that is for girls.
Gifts that Keep on Giving
I often read random threads on Graduation gifts for S or D, Gifts for teachers who shlep out those reference letters year after year, Gifts for the fifty Best friends who are also graduating that don’t cost so awful much, gifts for holidays during the years we parents are frankly pretty broke from tuition…
Some great ideas but they all disappear and get lost.
Beach Week!! Surf is Up…is your kid going?always worth a thread. I was allowed to rent a house for a week at age 18 and cleaned up the usual complete disaster mess day after day in fear of being arrested or my parents showing up…and knowing what went on in my era…didn’t allow my senior to go…his friends were of course cited for underage drinking when they were at a beach house at age 18. My child didn’t go off to a beach with friends till he was 21 as we somehow always had a job he had to report to immediately. Oh…did I mention the very bad speeding ticket he got the very first time he drove home from the shore even though he was a full fledged adult? Parents have very divergent views and some very good ideas on this tradition. Kids old enough to do semesters overseas clearly have other freedoms stateside for leisure and sports travel…so let’s hear one hundred ways to view this sort of proposal…when your S and D starts using Spring Break to do things besides hang out with parents.
College Romance…College Breakups.
OK as parents we are not actually participants in college pairing off and sometimes I have been uncomfortable with the degree of sharing on this topic…at the expense of student privacy. However, there is wisdom sometimes in many posts from parents who have kids who have been in serious relationships or gotten their hearts stomped on or made foolish choices for relationships that weren’t going to last…mostly I guess parents have to simply stay out of this realm…but if they are dialing your number…to weep and complain…you do get pulled in
Cell phones and Parents, Facebook and Parents, Texting and Parents, IMs and ParentsMy son has drawn a big line on all but the weekly cell phone call…which is generous and informative at least…but there are tons of other families with different habits that seem to be fine re boundaries for them. I accept that other parents are free to text and other kids dial their parents cells rather often…but a section on this is always welcome when you are altering your contact from daily to …weekly?
College Rommate Issues, Resolutions, Survival Tips
Gift Baskets for College Students
OK…many kids L O V E them…my son was simply embarrassed. He also throws out brownies from an Aunt…or puts them in the hall for others to eat because he is on a health kick. I got over the fact that the gift box doesn’t mean in 2005 what it meant to me in 1975 when we actually went to our mailboxes daily with hopeful hearts at college…but…in a world where students seldom even go to their real mailbox on campus…parents with winning Gift Box tips ARE out there…(my son at least sent thank you notes to the Aunt…so therein I take some satisfaction.)
<h2>University of South Florida is one of the largest universities in the nation…It should have its own forum…</h2>
Ok, lets get a list going of schools we think should get there own forum
South Florida
Dayton
FAU
More Canadian schools, like UBC.
Famous English and other international schools, like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, etc.
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I think one stone that is left unturned is the stone of SAT scores. I just dont think we’re doing enough to inundate these kids with lectures about how they need to spend their high school years obsessing over these colossal tests that will determine their future. I mean, c’mon now, we need to add more SAT boards so that students are further steeped in the mindset that SAT’s are important. ~ Resident Collegeboard Representative on CC.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/community-forum-issues/644139-new-cc-subform-discuss-issues-facing-higher-education.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/community-forum-issues/644139-new-cc-subform-discuss-issues-facing-higher-education.html</a>
Re post #48: Any school ranked in the USNR top 100 (since there are currently at least that many) ought to have a forum. Unfortunately, that is not currently true. Yes, some schools don’t participate in the rankings. The good ones probably already have forums.
First of all, I’ve very glad that you guys took my suggestion for the “stats profile” area of CC. However, would it be possible for you guys to make that person’s profile accessible from their user profile?
Second, I think a board focused on extra curricular activities would be great.