Me . . . JD.
Husband . . . drop-out.
Maybe we got points for that? Probably not. 
ETA: H does fine. 
I HATE it when some sales clerk asks me for my email address & zipcode. They seem startled when I say NO, which makes me wonder how people can give away their info so freely.
1999? Know how much things have changed in even the last ten years? Apps to many schools have doubled, the competition among top kids is fiercer.
One of my favorite lines is: “Is this the hill you want to die on?” Much as I love a good protest, I think it’s important to choose battles wisely. All sorts of worthy causes that we can push our energies at.
The Common App schools all agree to view holistically. Maybe some would prefer colleges that just choose by stats. Go for it.
“they discount your application due to the perceived advantages that you child has had.”
NOPE. Funny how some buy into a process they know so little about, then diss it based on assumptions.
It is not about charity – it is about the idea that a given level of achievement coming from a disadvantaged beginning indicates a higher level of merit than the same level of achievement coming from an advantaged beginning. I.e. hitting a home run is more impressive than being born on third base and eventually scoring.
However, there are probably not that many colleges that consider this very strongly or for very many students, at least among the highly selective private schools. These schools are usually heavily skewed toward the scions of wealth (e.g. many have half of their students getting no financial aid, which usually means coming from top 2-3% income families). Probably because admitting more such students is expensive on the financial aid budget, and few people care about SES diversity (compare to the attention that people give to racial/ethnic diversity).
I understand your point. I disagree though. In any case, if that is the extant methodology then simply asking about the education and current employment of parents is a blunt instrument and probably inaccurate.
I see a lot of kids who have well educated and well to do parents but they are awful parents and the kid suffers. I see other kids with uneducated but caring parents who give them many relative advantages. If their kids “tied” I don’t think I would consider parenting the tie-breaker.
SES diversity is a factor at those same colleges that give generous aid (and even if they still seem to matriculate a good share of wealthy kids.) If you can call asking the parents’ backgrounds a blunt instrument, what makes you so sure adcoms put such a heavy emphasis on how one answers? It’s just a couple of lines and what the kid actually did and how he answers in the rest of the app swamps that bit of detail about what Mummy and Poppy accomplished.
Seriously, so many seem to put more energy into what’s wrong with the CA process and holistic reviews than putting that effort into knowing what those schools like and look for, figuring what the match really is, beyond “You have my major” or “You’re a top school and I want a top school.”
I wish everyone would make up their minds. It’s unfair that they let so many legacies in at the same time it’s unfair that they hold high parental education against a student? Can’t have both.
Legacy preferences smacks of hereditary aristocratic privilege.
But since the school will get more alumni donations, I guess the school snacks on hereditary aristocratic privilege.
I think many posters erroneously assume that colleges are, or should be, looking for the highest achieving kids. When in fact, I think some of them are looking for the kids with the highest potential. And to do this, they need to evaluate the kids’ achievements in context. It makes perfect sense to me; I’m not sure why so many people find it so hard to understand.
Exactly, @mathyone
There are approximately 4000 colleges/universities in the United States.
There are approximately 700 schools (17.5 % ) that are common app members.
You want to revolt against the common app; pick one or many of the ~3300 schools or (82.5 %) that do not require or use the common app. Problem solved!
I posted the very same rant last week on the 2017 Parents thread. The parent and sibling information is overly intrusive and unnecessary and just leads to judgments being made about the applicant and family even when the student isn’t applying for financial aid.
The legacy consideration requires only a simple question regarding whether a parent or grandparent graduated from the institution to which the student is applying.
Oh and to whomever said upthread that colleges can tell from a student’s profile what kind of educational background the parents of a student have, what would you say to this:
Student A: weighted GPA of 4.6, 1500/1600 SAT, AP scholar with distinction
Student B: unweighted GPA of 99%, SAT 1400/1600, varsity letter in tennis
Which student’s parent’s have received a college degree and which student’s parents work in a blue collar profession?
A or B?
Like it or not, the best predictor of college retention rates/graduation is family income http://www.americaspromise.org/news/pbs-newshour-biggest-predictor-college-success-family-income.
In stead of the Common App, use CAAS ( http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/members.html ), where you can share more info on the applicants themselves.
With a few years of tax returns that show 15% of $M income donations to churches and schools, their kids will be attractive.
I personally think the CA questions and tax returns tell a lot about an applicant, in addition to her own records. And more info is better than less.
If you think your backgrounds will be held against you at these schools, why would you want to send your kid there? They don’t sound like very good fits for your family.
Good paper demonstrating the relationship between parental level of education and graduation rates of their children http://www2.ed.gov/documents/college-completion/practical-steps-to-improving-retention-and-graduation-rates.doc
55 the issue is not that the school's admission office holds the parents' background against (or in favor) of the student. The issue is that detailed aspects the parents' background are none of their business.
For example, would a criminal background check of the parents be an acceptable factor in admission of the child? As a parent, I would prefer that to knowing which college the other student’s mother attended. But it would be none of my business (or the school’s).
As a practical matter, the Common App will do whatever it’s customers (the schools) want and I doubt the parents will have any say. We go through the process once and then forget about it. But it is another example of the intrusiveness of business and government that should be resisted when possible.
That information is already on the internet for both of us anyway. (Linked in, company and university websites). I think some of this info is used by the colleges more for figuring out who is applying than for making decisions. Market research probably drives a lot of these questions.
IMO it’s naive to think its “none of their business”. With the advent of the national college completion agenda in 2008 http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/advocacy/policycenter/college-completion-agenda-2012-progress-report.pdf and, IIRC, incentives at the state and federal level for improving retention and graduation rates, why wouldn’t schools want data on the 2 variables (parent level of education and income) that are, like it or not, the best predictors of retention and graduation.