<p>Feelings</a> of Ecstasy, and Guilt, About Getting In - NYTimes.com</p>
<p>I’m so glad I never had a dream school. I knew which undergrad I wanted and knew I was getting in, plain and simple. </p>
<p>Grad school admissions are far more nerve-wracking, but I’m glad that I don’t have a date that the decision will come. Makes it easier. </p>
<p>CC makes the process so much more intense than it needs to be. It’s too bad because it takes a lot of the fun out of applying IMO. And I think all things in life should be fun :)</p>
<p>Agreed that, after observing D1, grad school admissions are extremely unnerving. Undergrad choices–which is what it should be, a choice, if one has picked an array of schools correctly based on personal statistics & cost–are a piece of cake by comparison.</p>
<p>Yes, CC does probably make the process more intense, but has been invaluable in learning the processes involved in that crucial period between campus visits HS junior year all leading up to the 1st day on campus. That’s what’s been important to me–I think a lot of people skip over the long threads about the nuances between being accepted to Williams vs. Bowdoin or whatever.</p>
<p>“I tried to assuage my fears by turning to the Web, specifically to the dangerous (and intimidating) waters of College Confidential, but that only made the situation worse. I felt guilty for even daring to apply to Williams with less than a 4.3 grade-point average and a 2400 SAT.”</p>
<p>Hopefully this is not the message we are giving out to kids on CC.</p>
<p>I think it IS the message. I read CC a lot now while my daughter is a junior in H.S. Will probably read much less, or stick to the parent cafe, when she’s actually in the process of applying or waiting next year.</p>
<p>I think that blog post is filled with false modesty and phony drama. I’m sure he felt had to cook up something exciting for the blog, but it comes off as so obnoxious. “I felt like death…I felt guilty for even daring to apply to Williams with less than a 4.3 grade-point average and a 2400 SAT.” Puh-lease. And then, “If my dream can come true, pretty much anyone’s can.” Well, no, that’s of course not remotely true, and he knows it, but he thought it was the right note to on which to conclude the post. I have to assume his essay was more genuine, or he never would have been admitted.</p>
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I think this is only the message for people who just skim the forums superficially. Those who pay attention, and who read results threads, and think critically, will get a different message.</p>
<p>Agreed. I know that in our parents group we had everyone from low GPA/average test scores to Ivy-bound and what we gave/give to one another is support. I learned a lot about different schools here, especially outside our area. A year later the problems we face are often the same whether they are at unknown LAC or big research university. Still, senior year on CC can make one question every application, interview, essay.</p>
<p>Then again, CC is no place for a neurotic and I come across hundreds of neurotics in my CC life (I chanced 700+ kids, maybe 800+ kids…)</p>
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<p>That’s the way that it came across to me too.</p>
<p>CC is intimidating? Maybe in the parents forum but there are lots of people here that are very helpful too.</p>
<p>I’m glad that the last few posts have validated my views on the blog which are the same everybody else. All he had to do was a little research on Common Data Set ( learned about here on CC) an he would see that nearly 40% of those admitted to Williams had Math SAT or CR SAT scores below 700…Hardly the 2400/4.3 that he cites…
About 7 years ago I learned the lesson of how tough it is to get admitted to the IVYs and other elites when someone close didn’t get in despite being Valedictorian, 2 sport captain and very good board scores. He was one of many BWRK and in the age of then low teen admit rates found himself out in the cold…Nothing is guaranteed and while there is black and white in admissions, there is still that grey zone of the unknown.
Back to the blogger. Both of my sons would be mortified to broadcast their situation to the world. Our youngest son has asked us not to tell anyone where he is applying or to tell his scores. He likes to play things “close to the vest” and doesn’t want anyone to know his business let alone see it in the NY Times…</p>
<p>texaspg–quite honestly, it is the exact message that is given out here. First, only the HYP, etc. schools are acceptable, everything else is worthless. If you don’t have perfect grades, test scores, cured cancer, you won’t get in anywhere so why bother–oh, and you can’t afford to go anywhere but a state school anyway unless the above is true so why bother. Most of what is said/projected on this board only applies to a handful of schools but you wouldn’t think so based on the information given here. Look at the acceptance threads here. Any “inferior” school has to be qualified with “honors college”, “merit award” or whatever. Why not just list the school. If your child liked it enough to apply, why does it matter what other’s think?</p>
<p>I thought this blog post from the Choice was the best one yet [Spare</a> Me Your Glossy College Postcards - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/envelope-please-candice-childress-3/]Spare”>Spare Me Your Glossy College Postcards - The New York Times) </p>
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SteveMA, I think you’re seeing what you want to see on CC, because I’ve never gotten those impressions from reading these forums. Yes, it’s very difficult to get into top schools, and yes, paying for college is a challenge. Doses of reality on both those subjects are sorely needed by many dreamers who post here. With poorly trained guidance counselors, parents with 30 year old concepts of the admissions process, friends who assure kids that they’ll get free rides to wherever they want to go because they’re the top student in their 150 member class, the cold hard truth needs to be found somewhere. Neither of my kids attended top level colleges, but I found the information here to be invaluable. There are entire forums for hundreds of colleges of all types. I see posts referencing schools I’ve never even heard of. (As I write this, the first schools listed in the Campus Vibe visit section are College of the Holy Cross, San Jacinto College, U. of North Texas, Reed, Whitman, and Ramapo College of NJ.) Students with mid-range grades and scores are given guidance about suitable colleges all the time. (Maybe you need to stay away from the Ivy section?) As for the acceptances lists, well, they’re basically brag sheets, and it shouldn’t be surprising that they’re filled with people who want to toot their own horns. They have no value, so I don’t know why you’d even read them.</p>
<p>The parent forum on CC is very, very different from the forums that HS kids post in, IMO.</p>
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<p>I think CC is like any other tool or information source; it is how you use it or what you make of it that is important. You can make it into a source of pressure and envy, or you can make it into a source of support and important information.</p>
<p>Prior to finding CC, the college application process for the high-end schools, that my daughter aspired to, felt to me like a wild flume ride - barreling along, out of control, buffeted by unexpected twists and turns, headed for an uncertain destination. CC helped me gain better much control of the situation and provided a lot insight into where we were going and how best to get there.</p>
<p>CC also provided me with the valuable insight that we might not succeed - that having straight-A grades and high SATs did not guarantee she would get in anywhere she wanted, as I had naively believed. So we were better able to plan and prepare for the rejections as well and the successes.</p>
<p>I think CC was invaluable. It helped me think more strategically about the whole process. I already knew that the world didn’t revolve around HYP, but I think I approached the process more expansively as a result. Some of the posters on here are just FABULOUS sources of info and ways to think about things.</p>
<p>Ditto pizzagirl. CC has some incredibly knowledgeable posters. I am continually amazed at the wealth of information that many possess and provide to HS students, college students, and parents. I have benefited in many ways from these virtual “friends” and try to pass some of this info on to others in my real life!</p>
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<p>The stories on that blog are the usual fifteen minutes of fame of misguided teenagers. In so many words, the typical garbage shared by self-absorbed navel gazers. </p>
<p>One has to wonder why reasonably intelligent people cannot find the smarts to turn the media vultures down and keep their admission stories … Private. And wonder about the lack of parental guidance.</p>
<p>I imagine the idea of an adult giving you some time and stroking your ego can be a pretty big rush for teenagers.</p>
<p>We used to get calls from our superintendent asking us if we wanted to talk to a reporter on an article or radio piece. Always said no after reading stories about reporters butchering what the people quoted said.</p>