I’d rather they use the info, not to accept more full pay educated families and more to provide the supports that low-income kids from families without a tradition of higher education so that they can succeed too. What makes so many of them give up?
Reposting the FSU article as that’s what they are of course proposing @mathmom http://www2.ed.gov/documents/college-completion/practical-steps-to-improving-retention-and-graduation-rates.doc
But providing more tutorial assistance and supports… Takes $. Maybe if it doesn’t come from the states or the Feds, it comes from full pay families.
Isn’t the common app supposed to be filled out by the student? My kids didn’t complete them, but they’d have no idea of my last jobs, or even my college information. Does the parent have to sign the common app, and if not, why not just not answer those questions?
If you don’t want to provide the information, dont.
“colleges can tell from a student’s profile what kind of educational background the parents of a student have”
No, you can’t tell about the parents from the kid. But what was said early on, is you can tell how far a kid has come from where he started.
Top schools aren’t admitting the parents. They’re looking for energy in the applicant, his or her vision, dedication, and industriousness, etc. Just being born into some money doesn’t mean a kid has it. And there are many programs and influences on lower SES kids that do foster what some parents can’t.
Being wealthy provides opportunities and a safety net. It doesn’t guarantee a kid stretches or climbs out of his box.
My kids applied to colleges that were not on the Common App, such as state universities and MIT. They all asked the same general personal questions. It’s not a Common App issue. I am guessing that the colleges tell the Common App folks what information they want to know.
Like the Kinks said, paranoia will destroy ya.
“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”
It’s just another example of hypocrisy, along the lines of “I despise how elite colleges admit so many undeserving URM/legacies/development/athletes, and I’d give my right arm for my kid to get in and have those people as classmates.”
If indeed 80% of schools are straight-stats and require no common app, then your “problem” that the admissions office is secretly going to use the info that you worked at Macy’s 10 years ago against you goes away. Yay!!
Geez forgive all the typos above!
I’d rather they use the info, not to accept more full pay educated families, and more to provide the supports that low-income kids from families without a tradition of higher education need, so that they can succeed too. What makes so many of them give up?
@jym626 I’d certainly rather my full pay dollars went to supporting students who need it, than more climbing walls and fancy suites.
I thought this article was really interesting in giving really concrete examples of what it takes. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/a-prescription-for-more-black-doctors.html?_r=0 And Xavier does it without a huge full pay contingent or big endowment.
I assume that all the people who are horrified by being asked to provide some background info don’t have Linked-In profiles and have always refused to provide work and/or educational background info for anything publicly searchable or fairly widely distributed.
I don’t see where there is evidence of “data mining” and misuse of the data that the OP claims exists. It is used as part of holistic admissions. I have not heard of any cases where universities are selling that info to third parties (that would be what data mining is really for). You are casting aspersions, implying nefarious actions by college admissions offices – please provide evidence if you have it beyond the use already discussed here of evaluating the whole picture of a student’s background.
And also, regarding why not just ask what degree parents have, as an example, I personally draw a distinction between a student whose parent went to Harvard Law and one who went to a law school ranked in the 300s – and if you are applying to top schools that are not H, that info still matters in placing the student in context.
Not to mention Facebook!
The anger at the Common App seems misplaced - it is the member colleges who want that information; the CA is just the collector of the information. You can argue that the schools shouldn’t require it, but it’s their game, their rules.
And they really don’t care if a few parents want to “revolt,” because it really doesn’t matter and most of their applicants can see that.
My S17 and I did the basics of the common app today. I did identify mine and H’s terminal degrees but not the schools we attended.
In terms of data mining and web presence, I am not on FB, but my H is an addict. Neither of us has a linked in account, nor do we have Instagram, snapchat, twitter or any other social media. I go to great pains to keep myself from doing anything that could get me googled. My H is not allowed to post photos of me or refer to me by name on FB, although I do insist that he list himself as married because you wouldn’t believe how many women there are out there fishing!
You do you, but unless you have some special situation (stalker victim, etc) that feels a little paranoid. If your husband refers to you on FB, no one is going to see it aside from his friends who presumably already know your name, so what’s the big deal? I’m guessing maybe you’re not familiar with the distinction between setting posts to private vs public?
I’m not sure what you win by playing with the application. You do what you want and they can do what they want. Your privacy is risked by carrying a cellphone, using a credit card, offering the last four of your ssn, filling out a job application, not checking numerous online info collection sites, using your real name on FB, using a username across various web sites, and more. It seems some are rather selective in what they worry about.
My parents stopped going to Walt Disney World when they instituted the finger scan. Either they’re super spies or they’re paranoid.
The point of this is while I’m kind of bummed that I have to list all TEN of the colleges and universities I’ve been attending over the past 30 years (and counting, I should have my BA this coming spring, finally!), because it’ll look weird and I feel bad for my unorthodox approach to higher education possibly dinging my two D’s application in some way, I don’t think it’s all a government plot.
Nobody has a perfect application, and it’s the price of admission (just like WDW).
Immediately after S’s application season, DH started receiving lots of college junk mail related to MBA programs. We definitely suspected data mining, so call me paranoid along with the OP.
Also, a few years after my son applied to Columbia University and was rejected, the college’s application files were stolen. Back then, Columbia was not even on the Common Application and so DS sent a snail mail, paper application. The school notified the students of the security breach and provided them with credit monitoring, but not their parents. We were very surprised they had kept the files of REJECTED applicants for several years such that they were among those taken! Now why would they do that if they did not have a use for it unrelated to the application process?
@MotherOfDragons Ten colleges IS a lot fir a BA, but anyone would have to admire your persistence to earn a degree through that many schools and years! You might set a record, if the college apps even allow enough space to list that many colleges! If not, I would probably just put the most recent one (or two) from which you are likely to receive your degree.
I’m 100% certain this won’t negatively affect your Ds’ admissions chances. Rest easy, and congrats on your upcoming degree–that you’ve taken a long and winding road only makes your achievement more impressive, imo.